For those preaching Law as an alternative

[DrBowtie]

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Read then flame away. Then thank the AAMC/LCME for keeping the number of schools low.

The result: Unemployment among new law school grads nationwide has risen for two straight years, to a rate of 12 percent for the class of 2009, according to the National Association for Law Placement. Among the employed, one in four jobs were temporary, while one in 10 were part-time. One-fifth of those employed said they were searching for another job, twice as many as in the boom years a decade ago.

Recognizing the mounting crisis, the American Bar Association recently urged prospective students to carefully weigh the costs and benefits of a legal education. For a law degree to pay off, the association said in a memo, a grad should earn at least $65,000 a year. Nearly half of employed 2008 grads had starting salaries below that amount.

 

[tweek125]

Fist pump!!!!

life in jersey sucks? i'm shocked...

 

[schrizto]

It's simple. Law is a scam when you go to a no-name law school not ranked in the top on USNWR, then that JD could be nearly worthless. It's a much different story when you talk about a T14 law school.

 

[morning]

The LCME currently has a for-profit medical school (Palm Beach Medical College) in the earliest stages of accreditation!

 

[Dartmouth2005]

There is a lot of truth in this article. The debt is rather humbling especially when job prospects are so bleak. Your law debt cannot be discharged in bankruptcy absent a showing of exceptional circumstances. So what exactly is one going to do if they cannot pay Sallie Mae back and has to work at Starbucks?

When I was a lawyer, I thankfully did have a job in a very specialized field for a boutique firm. However, in this economy, I would not recommend going to law school at all unless: (1) you have a full ride (not just tuition but also cost of living covered); (2) you go to Harvard, Yale, or Stanford; or (3) you have a job already guaranteed (the old boy network was/is huge in my field of law). Barring that, don't go. The work is really not all that exciting, and there are so many frivolous lawsuits in my opinion being thrown around that you will get bored really easily. I had cookie cutter motions and briefs ready for some of the arguments that I would come across.

I disagree with the assertions regarding the T14. Even grads from those places are having trouble finding their normal Biglaw employment. This of course makes problems for people who went to Iowa or Fordham as T14 people are taking their jobs. Naturally, people who went to Cooley (the worst law school in Michigan) or William Mitchell have little chance of employment.

One way that I've thought that the Bar can make law a more financially rewarding career is to make the bar exam a lot harder. Having studied for both the Michigan Bar and the MCAT, I can tell you that the MCAT is tougher. The Michigan Bar is a joke. Seriously, I know very little about certain areas of the law (like Property), and I scored very well on those sections on the Michigan Bar.

 

[TheRadiologist]

It is not the number of U.S. accredited medical schools that determines the supply of physicians in the U.S.; rather it is the number of accredited residencies. At the present time, there are more residency slots that U.S graduates. The surplus is filled by IMGs. As long as the number of residency slots does not increase, increasing the number of U.S. medical graduates will not increase the supply of physicians in the U.S.

Best way to prevent a glut of physicians is to limit the number of residencies.

 

[Charles_Carmichael]

It is not the number of U.S. accredited medical schools that determines the supply of physicians in the U.S.; rather it is the number of accredited residencies. At the present time, there are more residency slots that U.S graduates. The surplus is filled by IMGs. As long as the number of residency slots does not increase, increasing the number of U.S. medical graduates will not increase the supply of physicians in the U.S.

Best way to prevent a glut of physicians is to limit the number of residencies.

This is how I understood it as well. Even if the US starts graduating 100,000 medical students each year, the actual number that can practice is limited by the residency spots available (since you have to have at least one year of residency in order to practice medicine). So, it doesn't really have to do with schools limiting the number of seats they have.

 

[DOwnage]

I have a feeling that if it ever gets to the point where medical graduates severely outnumber residency slots, something legislatively will be proposed to allow graduates to practice in some form without residency. Med students who graduate after 4 years are already more qualified than PA's, yet PA's can practice while MD's/DO's w/o residency can't? Lenders are going to want some money back and not allowing someone to practice w/o residency while letting other fields with less training do similar work is ridiculous. Remember, there's still a health care shortage in this country.

 

[ReptarBar]

i would only go to a t14 law school...those numbers would be totally different. at least thats what my roommate says.

 

[Charles_Carmichael]

I have a feeling that if it ever gets to the point where medical graduates severely outnumber residency slots, something legislatively will be proposed to allow graduates to practice in some form without residency. Med students who graduate after 4 years are already more qualified than PA's, yet PA's can practice while MD's/DO's w/o residency can't? Lenders are going to want some money back and not allowing someone to practice w/o residency while letting other fields with less training do similar work is ridiculous. Remember, there's still a health care shortage in this country.

I'm a little hesitant to say that there's a shortage of health care workers. From the little bit of reading I've done, it seems more like there's a maldistribution of workers (ie. too many in urban areas, too few in rural areas, etc). I could be completely wrong of course; like I said, I haven't done too much reading on this particular topic.

Wasn't there a thread in the Gen Res forums a while back about how the number of graduating US medical students is approaching the number of residency spots available and that in the near future, might even exceed the number of residency spots available? It seems like that would make it harder for FMGs/IMGs to match if that were the case. But it's definitely a little scary to think about how that will affect current premeds.

 

[getright]

It's simple. Law is a scam when you go to a no-name law school not ranked in the top on USNWR, then that JD could be nearly worthless. It's a much different story when you talk about a T14 law school.

Bingo...

 

[PremedGunner]

v

 

[Dartmouth2005]

a law degree is still worth more than an MBA

MD > JD > MBA

how dare they blame the universities. idiots.

An MD or DO blows the JD and MBA out of the water. No question.