OK since I’m in a good mood I’ll share the main benefit. When I was applying to business school and worked for a company which hires top 3-5 MBAs like the plague, I made sure that all my recommenders graduated for the programs I was applying to. I asked all of them for the main benefit of the program they graduated from. Surprisingly, the most prevalent response was: “you what REALLY is, Evil Voice? It’s not the networking or the brand on your resume, but the realization you can do whatever you want to do”. At the time I thought: “WTF dude I won’t spend two years of my life and $200K to realize that. Just tell me where my MoFo money is!” It turns out that those people had it right. That’s the main benefit. I didn’t understand it until probably my second year. The real power of a top MBA program is that if you want to do finance, you can do it, but if you decide you’ll want to do an entirely different thing (entrepreneurship, executive roles, non-profit, you name it) you can do it anytime and have a fair shot at it. Of course it doesn’t mean you have secured lifetime success or anything, similar to having a good networking doesn’t guarantee you’ll find your dream job. However, that state of mind definitely opens doors and helps to find opportunities you probably hadn’t even considered before the program.
Inner Evil Voice Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > OK since I’m in a good mood I’ll share the main > benefit. > > When I was applying to business school and worked > for a company which hires top 3-5 MBAs like the > plague, I made sure that all my recommenders > graduated for the programs I was applying to. I > asked all of them for the main benefit of the > program they graduated from. Surprisingly, the > most prevalent response was: “you what REALLY is, > Evil Voice? It’s not the networking or the brand > on your resume, but the realization you can do > whatever you want to do”. > > At the time I thought: “WTF dude I won’t spend two > years of my life and $200K to realize that. Just > tell me where my MoFo money is!” > > It turns out that those people had it right. > That’s the main benefit. I didn’t understand it > until probably my second year. The real power of a > top MBA program is that if you want to do finance, > you can do it, but if you decide you’ll want to do > an entirely different thing (entrepreneurship, > executive roles, non-profit, you name it) you can > do it anytime and have a fair shot at it. Of > course it doesn’t mean you have secured lifetime > success or anything, similar to having a good > networking doesn’t guarantee you’ll find your > dream job. However, that state of mind definitely > opens doors and helps to find opportunities you > probably hadn’t even considered before the > program. The key word here is " top MBA program".
I don’t think it’s just the “state of mind”. People will actually will be more likely to hire you if you have a top tier MBA.
ohai Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I don’t think it’s just the “state of mind”. > People will actually will be more likely to hire > you if you have a top tier MBA. Really? In that case sign me up.
Ohai and Blackswan are spot on. But all add this. Assuming top-MBA (or similar), where else can you find an excuse to pretty much goof off for 1-2 years and get a possible 50-100% salary increase without having to explain your lack of employment for that time.
^ yea but you pay a lot for it. Give up 2 years of salary = ~$140k Pay for 2 years of MBA = ~120k Not to mention rent/food/living expenses. Now you are $260,000 poorer with a MBA. And in today’s market, there’s no guarantee you get a 50-100% salary increase.
CFABLACKBELT Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > where else can you find an excuse to pretty much goof off for 1-2 > years and get a possible 50-100% salary increase > without having to explain your lack of employment > for that time. LAW SCHOOL!!!
Law school is actually a lot of work. It also takes 3 years and is more expensive (though you get paid more on average when you graduate).
For me, when I made the mental shift from anti MBA to wanting a top 5 MBA very badly, was the same day I decided f*ck intellect, I just want to make a lot of $$
Once again, this is for TOP law schools. Many lawyers are unemployed or making relatively little right now. I still feel like if you make decent money there is little reason to do MBA. I’d really like to do it because it would be fun and prestigious, but I’d probably be richer if I didn’t.
ohai Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Law school is actually a lot of work. It also > takes 3 years and is more expensive (though you > get paid more on average when you graduate). yeah, its a lot of reading and writing, but i actually enjoy both. i also like games of reasoning. i’m targting some public schools (top 30+) that are actually affordable. now that i have ‘real world exp’ under my belt, i feel like i have an idea of niches to target for intern/externships, also. i’m not a fan of taking three years to get through the thing, but the bright side is spending some quality time w/ southern blonde undergrads, studying abroad (both figuratively and literally), and at least doubling my pay when i get out.
ohai Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Law school is actually a lot of work. It also > takes 3 years and is more expensive (though you > get paid more on average when you graduate). More than whom? Not finance guys (MBA or not). Law school is really overpriced for what it is on a relative-basis compared to b-school and medical school. Starting JDs at big firms are pulling like $110K or something last time I checked, and that’s after 3 years of opp cost and massive student loans. Law comp also ramps slower than finance. Anyway, there’s really no reason anyone should ever go to law school. Law is still the only profession I’ve ever heard of that has support groups called “Leaving the Law,” which basically means “I just got jacked by spending all this time and money for a career I hate that has less upside than I originally believed.” I mean, I guess if you actually like arguing with people all day about asinine details, then law school might be a good idea, but let’s be real here. 75% of my close friends from UG with went to law school and everyone of them hates their life now, 2-3 years out of law school.
Well, i am pretty confident i can score very high on LSAT, as well as on MCAT or any other test, and i do enjoy ‘games of reason’. So does any other person who craves intellectual challenges… It doesn’t automatically mean you should go to Law school
Law school was the cushy path to a nice six figure salary 4 years ago. If you went to a decent school and were ranked in the top 15% or so of your class you were almost guaranteed $150-160K fresh out. Fast forward to 2010. A lot of my friends are 3rd years in law school. Most of them go to top 30 programs and are all ranked in the top 50% of the class at a minimum. A few of them have found BIG law jobs but, for the most part, many of them have struggled to find anything remotely resembling the law jobs of 2006.
i guess it depends what line of work you’re in here in the structured/loan world we have a lot of docs that need to be signed and events that need to be understood and communicated. i’m sure that’s oversimplifying it, but its a pretty big world and those guys make 2x3 times what i get and are hiring constantly. my ex made 160k w/ no prior exp out of a top 50 school and another friend i have made 135k out of a top 15 w/ no prior exp. we can all talk about pay and whatever, but i like my chances w/ having actual business/product exp.
comp_sci_kid Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Well, i am pretty confident i can score very high > on LSAT, as well as on MCAT or any other test, and > i do enjoy ‘games of reason’. i am pretty terrible at standardized tests…but am great at this lsat stuff > It doesn’t automatically mean you should go to Law > school it doesn’t, but in comparison with the choice of local mba programs, i feel that its the better choice for me. i have a strong finance background and have been in multiple parts of large banks for years. instead of re-hashing the same stuff i’d rather add to my “tool-kit” than stay in the pack. Blankfein was a tax lawyer 
My buddy is making $170k out of law school (just started this September at his firm), but he went to a top-10 (maybe top 5) law school and is working in Manhattan. I’d say his story is atypical for most lawyers out of, say, the University of New Mexico or Ava Maria.
You need to think about law school in terms of risk vs. return. Entry level lawyer positions are pretty homogeneous - junior associates all do the same thing. Since good law programs tend to have almost 100% placement rates, law school is viewed as a safe path towards a $150k+ entry level salary. Business school, in comparison, leads to many possible careers. In other words, there is a lot of volatility in the sorts of jobs and compensation that you will receive. Business school is cheaper than law school in terms of time and money. However, it is more risky, since your job after graduation is uncertain.
Ha entry level law school associate jobs are being outsourced to India. Why pay a new associate 150K when you can get the same grunt work done for 30K.
You can’t.