Help! Completely Lost... Law or Med school? Advice Needed

[CheshireCat1]

So I don't know what I am doing with my life anymore. I am in my junior year and am a female psychology major. To be quite honest, I am so lost that I just feel like such a failure. Over my winter break, I started to deeply contemplate things. I started to freak out about taking out a huge loan( if I was fortunate enough to get into med school in the first place). I also am panicking that I probably wouldn't be actually making a decent salary to pay off the loans until I'm at least 35 because of 4 yrs of med + residency. My whole life I thought I was going to be a doctor. Unfortunately, I shadowed a couple of physicians and they tried to discourage me from going into medicine because of all of the changes.
During the fall, I was so confused and I kept going back and forth between med and dental school. Over the holidays, I had people in my family trying to dissuade me from med. They kept going on and on about how "medicine is changing in a bad way and that dental school or the T14 law schools would be a smarter decision." I guess I really love medicine but I am just so scared about the debt and it is making me consider law school. Although lifestyle would be nice since I want to be a mom, I also want to focus on pursuing a profession that is lucrative (I know that sounds really bad but I just don't know how else to word it.) Although it appears those in law do have higher salaries, medicine is appealing because it offers a great work life balance and you are actually saving lives.
I really am lost and don't know what to do anymore.
However, there are a couple of negative things that I have against me for both med and law:
-I have a 3.94 cumulative GPA right now HOWEVER due to a bad freshman year at another school, I received a horrible GPA (3.3) for the first year... So my GPA would have to be recalculated....
-I have many Ws my first year of college due to some health issues
-I am very behind in the game since I am a junior and have not yet taken Orgo(or Biochem). I haven't taken it yet because I am very worried that it will astronomically hurt my GPA. I also have not yet taken MCAT.
My pre-reqs are not that great and currrently are:
Calc I B-
Bio I A
Bio I lab B+
Bio II A
Bio II lab A
Chem I B+
Chem I lab B+
Chem II A
Chem II lab A
Phys I A
Phys I lab A
Phys II & lab (Taking 2nd semester)

I would appreciate any advice that someone can give me.

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[AspiringERMD]

So I don't know what I am doing with my life anymore. I am in my junior year and am a female psychology major. To be quite honest, I am so lost that I just feel like such a failure. Over my winter break, I started to deeply contemplate things. I started to freak out about taking out a huge loan( if I was fortunate enough to get into med school in the first place). I also am panicking that I probably wouldn't be actually making money until I'm at least 35. My whole life I thought I was going to be a doctor. Unfortunately, I shadowed a couple of physicians and they tried to discourage me from going into medicine because of all of the changes.
During the fall, I was so confused and I kept going back and forth between med and dental school. Over the holidays, I had people in my family trying to dissuade me from med. They kept going on and on about how "medicine is changing in a bad way and that dental school or the T14 law schools would be a smarter decision." I guess I really love medicine but I am just so scared about the debt and it is making me consider law school. Although lifestyle would be nice since I want to be a mom, I also want to focus on pursuing a profession that is lucrative (I know that sounds really bad but I just don't know how else to word it.) Although it appears those in law do have higher salaries, medicine is appealing because it offers a great work life balance and you are actually saving lives.
I really am lost and don't know what to do anymore.
However, there are a couple of negative things that I have against me for both med and law:
-I have a 3.94 cumulative GPA right now but due to a bad freshman year at another school, I received a horrible GPA (3.3)...
-I have many Ws my first year of college due to some health issues
-I am very behind in the game since I am a junior and have not yet taken Orgo(or Biochem). I haven't taken it yet because I am very worried that it will astronomically hurt my GPA. I also have not yet taken MCAT.
My pre-reqs are not that great and currrently are:
Calc I B-
Bio I A
Bio I lab B+
Bio II A
Bio II lab A
Chem I B+
Chem I lab B+
Chem II A
Chem II lab A
Phys I A
Phys I lab A
Phys II & lab (Taking 2nd semester)

I would appreciate any advice that someone can give me.

There are med school that offer five year MD/JD degrees, you know.

If you want a financially secure profession, law probably isn't it. There are more unemployed lawyers right now than you could shake a stick at. And do you really want to wonder forever what life would have been like going into something you actually enjoy?

I would try to learn as specifically as possible about the things doctors cite as unwelcome changes and weigh them for yourself (as best you can, not yet being in the situation yourself). If your passion for medicine overrides how much you think those things would bother you, then go into medicine. You can pay back your loans as you earn more. If those things make medicine seem sufficiently unappealing, then look for something else. I'm not sure law is the answer though.

 

[Dr Van Helsing]

Firstly, pick yourself up and quit wallowing in self-pity. Your grades are fine, though I don't know your application outside of that.

It is good you are seriously weighing your options, but I can tell that you obviously aren't passionate about medicine--or excited, to say the least--which, I think will cripple you in the long run. I have shadowed physicians who love their jobs and did not expect the pathway or career to be easy. As a physician, you will live to work (for most specialties). Chasing a lucrative salary might leave you burned out and disappointed. However, playing Devil's advocate here, at the end of the day, being a physician is just a job, so long as you perform that job well. You may match a lucrative specialty, hate your job, but still hit the pillow every night with money hand over fist. What I can tell you is that you should do more research of your own to decide whether or not being a physician is the right choice. You should respect others opinions, but only take them as a grain of salt until you research for yourself.

Just keep in mind that in life there are only two things that are definite: death and taxes. Enjoy the ride. If you go chasing the money, it may or may not happen. However, if you are passionate, or interested enough, more than likely, where you currently stand, you can become a doctor, dentist, or lawyer (lawyer: being a field I know nothing about, but is notoriously in the pits here on SDN).

Good luck, OP. Ultimately, you will have to make this decision on your own!

 

[LuluLovesMe]

If you don't get into a top 10 law school, your job prospects are grim. Just understand that law school isn't like med school where graduating from any one guarantees job security.

 

[cactus8910]

My S/O is in law school and regretting it. The job market for JDs is terrible. Even coming from a T14 you aren't guaranteed anything, and if you want the really lucrative jobs, you have to go into big law, which is even more competitive and definitely doesn't allow for a good work-life balance.
I'm not saying you should go to med school, b/c you don't seem so sure of it, but I don't think law should be your plan B.
You can do things other than go to professional school, you know.

 

[Cyberdyne 101]

DO NOT GO TO LAW SCHOOL.

 

[doapplicant2015]

DO NOT GO TO LAW SCHOOL.

This. Unless you have a full ride or get into Harvard/Yale/Stanford absolutely do not risk the equally crushing debt that law school grants with significantly less opportunity to pay it back

 

[LChristmas]

If you are worried about debt, law school is a lot more of a risk than med. Like others have said, a JD does not offer the same job security like MD/DO. At the end of the day though, you have to do what YOU want to do, and not what your parents/family want you to do. Best of luck!

 

[IntriguedStudent]

Based on what you're saying, it doesn't sound like either one is good for you. Law is really no longer a lucrative career for the majority of the people that enter the field. Job prospects are dismal and salaries have decreased. As stated above, if you did happen to go to a T14 and enter into one of the high paying positions coming out of law school, you would not have a good work-life balance. Entering into medicine requires that you have a passion for the field. It has to be something you really, truly want. I suggest exploring other options at this point.

 

[occams_razor]

if you want to make money as a lawyer you will not have a good lifestyle (at least not for a while). my friend graduated from a T14 law school and works at a corporate law firm. she makes great money but she works 15+ hours per day and often pulls all nighters. she literally does nothing but work and is pretty miserable.
if you want to make really good money and be at the top of your field this is what is involved. it doesn't matter if it's medicine, law, business, etc.

also law school is really expensive too! harvard law school is 55k per year for tuition and that doesn't include living expenses, books, etc. I just checked their website and they estimate a student budget of 82k per year...

 

[tea guzzling traveler]

It seems like you are limiting yourself between just the professional schools, med school, dental school and law school. There are many more options than that. You could be a dive instructor in the Carribean, an actuary, go to business school; the possibilities are virtually endless. Just from personal experience, all my friends who have gone into CS/programming are finding high paying jobs at an entry level, so if that is your critical criteria you might consider going that direction. I would recommend taking some time off and really thinking about what you want and whether your idealized picture of medicine matches reality (I personally am pursuing the MD, but it took a lot of soul searching to make sure that was the right path for me). However, if you need reassurance about your grades, they will not automatically disqualify you at this point, just make sure you keep them up for your last few semesters. Also, if your passion for medicine is strong enough, while you will be in debt for a while, you will also be able to pay it off and eventually to live comfortably. Medicine is a long, arduous and potentially rewarding road, but you should certainly think long and hard about the decision before hand.

 

[Goro]

1000% agree. OP, if you were my kid, I'd physically block the door to prevent you from going to law school. This is a terrible time to be a lawyer!

If you don't get into a top 10 law school, your job prospects are grim. Just understand that law school isn't like med school where graduating from any one guarantees job security.

 

[noleknight16]

Law is the wrong way to go! Outside the T-14 the field is a disaster and it's not getting any better. Your grades are fine. Knock out the MCAT and go to medical school. If you want more information you can PM me and I'd be glad to help.

 

[Doudline]

T14 is fine.

You can make $$ in big law in exchange for working a surgical resident's hours for 5-10 years, then you'll get higher up in the food chain and have more say on your schedule (you'll probably be working 60+ hours/week until your retirement tho).

Or get into Yale/Stanford/Harvard and make use of their fantastic loan forgiveness policy by working for charities/humanitarian organizations. You won't have to pay a penny back.

But either way it sounds like you're simply scared and trying to find excuses not to get into medicine.
Law is not for you tbh.

 

[ridethecliche]

 

[FutureOncologist]

Be a PA or an NP. We're gonna need more of those in the next 5-10 years.

 

[Shams al Deen]

Getting into a T14 law school doesn't really seem that hard. Some of the best law schools in the country have over 30% acceptance rates, no medical school I know of has even half that. And those T14 graduates are almost 100% employed.

 

[Mad Jack]

Really only half of the T14 have respectable employment at graduation.

http://abovethelaw.com/2013/03/who-...graduation-rate-among-the-top-14-law-schools/

If you're not going to one of those seven schools, don't go.

 

[bc65]

DO NOT GO TO LAW SCHOOL.

I have always considered going to law school post-retirement, as a second career, and therefore have kept a close watch on the profession, and lurk on prelaw websites. As many have noted above, the legal profession has imploded over the past 5-10 years. Unless you can get in to a top school ( t-14, meaning the 14 schools that rotate in and out of the top ten ) preferably Yale, Harvard, or Stanford, you probably won't get a decent job. Law school is three years, and tuition and living expenses per year are the same or higher than med school, so you will owe about the same amount of money when you graduate, but with less chance of paying back your loans. Even with a HYS degree, a "big law" job ( 160k per year ) is hard to come by these days, and most of those new grads won't make partner, and therefore won't make the big bucks. Even if you make partner, a lot of firms have developed a two-tier partner track, so new partners won't be "equity partners", ie won't be able to share in the big profits, which would have earned you salaries of over a million a year or more. The average lawyer salary is 62k, I believe, vs about 155k for a physician. Many, many law graduates are unable to find jobs in the legal profession. Official figures say that 85% of graduates have jobs, but many surveys show that only about 50% of law school graduates have jobs that require a law degree. "Employment" includes delivering pizza. At least one school has set up a non-profit school-based law firm so that they can "employ" their unemployed graduates and thus boost their employment statistics. Many paralegals make more money than many law graduates. And the kind of work that lawyers do is very hard and miserable. I have been involved in several lawsuits ( fortunately, only as a witness) and I can assure you that those guys work very long, hard hours and have lots of stress. Like many jobs, actually doing it is very different from what you think it will be like from the outside. Also, you will need to take the LSAT, which requires a lot of preparation. It's very different from the MCAT; it's primarily verbal, along with an "Analytical Reasoning" section.( i.e. logical games ) One's LSAT score will often track their verbal SAT score, so that should give you some idea of your basic aptitude. Some people do well on the MCAT and do poorly on the LSAT. As noted above, you will need a score above the 95th percentile to get into a top school, and in the 97-99+ range to get into HYS. Also, extracurriculars, etc, have very little if any effect on the application process. It seems to be strictly numbers based. Few, if any, law schools have formal interviews. Harvard has a brief phone call prior to sending out a formal admission.

Regarding the post above: Harvard law has a 15% acceptance rate, vs 4% for Harvard med school. However, there is indeed a lot more self selection involved. People don't tend to apply to as many law schools as they do to med schools, so acceptance rates are higher. Also, law school classes tend to be larger than med school classes. Nonetheless, Harvard is still Harvard. If it were easy to go to a top school, then everyone would go to a top school, but of course they don't.

Go to top-law-schools.com for more info.

Bottom line: only go to law school if it's the only thing that will make you happy, AND you can get into a T14, preferably a top 5, school. OP, it doesn't sound like you meet either of those criteria.

Also, for anyone considering it, there's no good reason to go to both medical school AND law school, unless you want to be in government, and even then, there's little reason to get both degrees. In the end, you will be either a doctor or a lawyer. Just pick one.

 

[EventualMD]

You don't have to go to professional school you know. You can get a 9-5 corporate job with your stats and make good money.

 

[Imnotfromjersey]

Really only half of the T14 have respectable employment at graduation.

http://abovethelaw.com/2013/03/who-...graduation-rate-among-the-top-14-law-schools/

If you're not going to one of those seven schools, don't go.

That's "employed at graduation" though. those are fantastic stats given that these students havent even passed the bar or been licensed yet. I would expect to see similar numbers or worse from residents who havent finished yet.

Also keep in mind these ivy students have only had 3 years of education following undergrad and they're signing contracts for 160k/yr. Meanwhile, med students are paying tuition and have another 3-5 years of making next to nothing and having their loan interests balloon up.

 

[Mad Jack]

That's "employed at graduation" though. those are fantastic stats given that these students havent even passed the bar or been licensed yet. I would expect to see similar numbers or worse from residents who havent finished yet.

Also keep in mind these ivy students have only had 3 years of education following undergrad and they're signing contracts for 160k/yr. Meanwhile, med students are paying tuition and have another 3-5 years of making next to nothing and having their loan interests balloon up.

But med students get the bonus of not being lawyers.

 

[chillinillinkillin007]

So I don't know what I am doing with my life anymore. I am in my junior year and am a female psychology major. To be quite honest, I am so lost that I just feel like such a failure. Over my winter break, I started to deeply contemplate things. I started to freak out about taking out a huge loan( if I was fortunate enough to get into med school in the first place). I also am panicking that I probably wouldn't be actually making a decent salary to pay off the loans until I'm at least 35 because of 4 yrs of med + residency. My whole life I thought I was going to be a doctor. Unfortunately, I shadowed a couple of physicians and they tried to discourage me from going into medicine because of all of the changes.
During the fall, I was so confused and I kept going back and forth between med and dental school. Over the holidays, I had people in my family trying to dissuade me from med. They kept going on and on about how "medicine is changing in a bad way and that dental school or the T14 law schools would be a smarter decision." I guess I really love medicine but I am just so scared about the debt and it is making me consider law school. Although lifestyle would be nice since I want to be a mom, I also want to focus on pursuing a profession that is lucrative (I know that sounds really bad but I just don't know how else to word it.) Although it appears those in law do have higher salaries, medicine is appealing because it offers a great work life balance and you are actually saving lives.
I really am lost and don't know what to do anymore.
However, there are a couple of negative things that I have against me for both med and law:
-I have a 3.94 cumulative GPA right now HOWEVER due to a bad freshman year at another school, I received a horrible GPA (3.3) for the first year... So my GPA would have to be recalculated....
-I have many Ws my first year of college due to some health issues
-I am very behind in the game since I am a junior and have not yet taken Orgo(or Biochem). I haven't taken it yet because I am very worried that it will astronomically hurt my GPA. I also have not yet taken MCAT.
My pre-reqs are not that great and currrently are:
Calc I B-
Bio I A
Bio I lab B+
Bio II A
Bio II lab A
Chem I B+
Chem I lab B+
Chem II A
Chem II lab A
Phys I A
Phys I lab A
Phys II & lab (Taking 2nd semester)

I would appreciate any advice that someone can give me.

in a previous post you said you were prepharm

So your deciding between pharmacy school, dental school, law school, and medical school? In other words, you have no idea what you want to do. In other words, don't do medicine.

 

[Irish Luck]

Do you have any clinical experience? If not, I think that's where you need to start. You have plenty of time to figure out what you want to do, and it is best to make this choice once. Get some experience working with patients in real healthcare settings and see what you think. If you love it then keep pushing forwards towards medical school. If you don't , then run. I would not recommend medicine to someone looking for a fat paycheck and work-life balance. As others have said, only pursue medicine if it's the only thing you could see yourself being happy doing.

That said, I was a lot like you when I was a junior. I cycled through wanting to be a veterinarian, clinical psychologist, and doctor, and ultimately graduated without pursuing any of them because of all the hyped "negatives" of each career. The pay off for each of them was years away and didn't seem worth the years I was going to spend in school. I ultimately talked myself out of three careers, each which I probably would have been happy with, beacuse of things I heard and read. After graduation I got a "real job" and began working my way up. I was making decent money quickly after graduation with room to make more, but I realized that the paycheck I had been chasing was a lot less valuable when your time is spent doing something that isn't personally rewarding. I left, dove head first into clinical experience, and found a love for medicine.

You need to do some real soul searching, and not just by thinking about different careers. Get your hands dirty and see what pulls you in.

 

[Lucca]

But med students get the bonus of not being lawyers.

Worth 150k/yr at least.

 

[bc65]

That's "employed at graduation" though. those are fantastic stats given that these students havent even passed the bar or been licensed yet. I would expect to see similar numbers or worse from residents who havent finished yet.

Also keep in mind these ivy students have only had 3 years of education following undergrad and they're signing contracts for 160k/yr.

Not to beat this to death, but you're missing a few points here. First, all residents are, by definition, employed physicians. Then, after residency, doctors are almost never unemployed. Almost all will either have a job in their specialty, be starting a practice, or at the very least, be working in an urgent care or other per diem setting.

Just as interns are not licensed when they start working, so too law students have not yet passed the bar. Passing the bar is not necessary for law graduates to get jobs. Just like for med students, if you don't have a job by the time you graduate, you probably won't find one for a year. The hiring season is already over. Also, the statistics quoted in other studies are usually at 9 or 12 months post graduation.

The study you cited was for the top schools. They only had about a 90% employment rate, even at the top 3 schools (HYS ) Below 6 or 7, the numbers dropped down to 80, then 60%. Note that there are over 200 law schools. Once you drop down in the rankings, the employment rate is dismal. As for the $160,000 a year salary, that's only for the select few from the top schools who land the top spots. ( and those jobs come with brutal hours and lifestyles ) Almost no one gets those jobs outside the top 20 schools, usually only the T14. Those jobs are as scarce and hard to get as derm and plastics residency spots. The others will consider themselves lucky to get a government job at 50K a year, or may be doing document review for $25 an hour. That's for the ones who have jobs. Half won't have legal jobs at all. They will actually be doing landscaping or working in McDonalds. That doesn't happen to med school graduates from US schools who want to work.

Just spend some time on top-law-schools.com and you'll get a better sense of what's going on in the legal profession. It took a few years for the message to trickle down to the new applicants, but the general advice now is not to go to law school unless you either have a full scholarship, or you're going to a top 10 school, preferably a scholarship to a top 10 school. Otherwise, no one expects to be able to pay back their loans.

 

[Temerit]

Why is law school tuition so high?

 

[Mad Jack]

That's "employed at graduation" though. those are fantastic stats given that these students havent even passed the bar or been licensed yet. I would expect to see similar numbers or worse from residents who havent finished yet.

Also keep in mind these ivy students have only had 3 years of education following undergrad and they're signing contracts for 160k/yr. Meanwhile, med students are paying tuition and have another 3-5 years of making next to nothing and having their loan interests balloon up.

I've never known of an unemployed grad that wasn't in path or rads, personally. The vassssst majority of physicians have positions within months of the end of their residency.

 

[bc65]

Why is law school tuition so high?

The concensus seems to be that law schools charge high tuition because they can. Law schools are moneymakers. They don't need labs, they don't need research. They just need classrooms, and maybe a library, although even that is not as necessary these days now that so much legal research is done online. Professors, at the low end of the spectrum, are easy to find. Any lawyer or judge can be a professor. And many law schools have night classes, so teachers can teach at night, part time. And up until recently, students kept flocking to law schools, assuming that once they graduate, they will have well paying jobs as lawyers. So schools simply charge what the market will bear. So law schools and business schools charge about the same per year as med school. eg I looked at Stanford: Med school 51 k per year, law school 53 k per year for 3 years, business school 62 k per year for 2 years.

 

[CheshireCat1]

This is all very interesting information. I have learned a lot from some of the posts. This is definitely the biggest decision that I will have to make in my life as of yet. I am getting advice from some friends to study for the LSAT and take it in October and apply and see how it goes. If my score is not in the range of a top 10 law school, then I will not go. The problem is, is that if this is what I do, I will have to invest a lot of time to study and a lot of money to purchase all of the LSAT prep classes, books, and materials.... This will be costly if I don't get the score I want or change my mind and take the MCAT or possibly DAT.... Not only will it be an investment of time and money,but also take away my ability to do continue with research and clinical volunteering. Obviously I have to make the decision quick because I only have this semester and the summer.

 

[radkat101]

This is all very interesting information. I have learned a lot from some of the posts. This is definitely the biggest decision that I will have to make in my life as of yet. I am getting advice from some friends to study for the LSAT and take it in October and apply and see how it goes. If my score is not in the range of a top 10 law school, then I will not go. The problem is, is that if this is what I do, I will have to invest a lot of time to study and a lot of money to purchase all of the LSAT prep classes, books, and materials.... This will be costly if I don't get the score I want or change my mind and take the MCAT or possibly DAT.... Not only will it be an investment of time and money,but also take away my ability to do continue with research and clinical volunteering. Obviously I have to make the decision quick because I only have this semester and the summer.

Be honest. Are you just chasing status/prestige/money? I don't understand how you could be so unsure about things that are so different from each other. I'm not trying to be condescending, but you haven't mentioned any of the positives you see in any of these fields (from your OWN experience and not what other people have told you). What do you like about medicine? What do you like about law? Sure, they are just jobs in the end, but there's no reason to be miserable while you pursue them.

 

[CheshireCat1]

Be honest. Are you just chasing status/prestige/money? I don't understand how you could be so unsure about things that are so different from each other. I'm not trying to be condescending, but you haven't mentioned any of the positives you see in any of these fields (from your OWN experience and not what other people have told you). What do you like about medicine? What do you like about law? Sure, they are just jobs in the end, but there's no reason to be miserable while you pursue them.

Thanks for responding. For the past couple of weeks, I have literally been up all night researching and try to solidify a decision but I am still drawing a blank. I have always wanted to be a doctor. I really think that a medical career is extremely rewarding and that is appealing to me. I also like that depending on the specialty, there is a great work life balance because I'd like to be a mom someday and it also provides a stable, secure income. However, I am very scared about med school debt and not being able to actually have the means to pay it off until I'm in my 30s (4 yrs +residency)... (That is why I've contemplated even dental school, because you'd be able to pay off the debt immediately after graduation without having to do residency).With law, I like how you can start paying off the debt right away and I really like how basically the sky is the limit with the salary. This is mainly why I am very torn between the two fields. I really wish there was something that combined both of those factors...

 

[radkat101]

Thanks for responding. For the past couple of weeks, I have literally been up all night researching and try to solidify a decision but I am still drawing a blank. I have always wanted to be a doctor. I really think that a medical career is extremely rewarding and that is appealing to me. I also like that depending on the specialty, there is a great work life balance because I'd like to be a mom someday and it also provides a stable, secure income. However, I am very scared about med school debt and not being able to actually have the means to pay it off until I'm in my 30s (4 yrs +residency)... (That is why I've contemplated even dental school, because you'd be able to pay off the debt immediately after graduation without having to do residency).With law, I like how you can start paying off the debt right away and I really like how basically the sky is the limit with the salary. This is mainly why I am very torn between the two fields. I really wish there was something that combined both of those factors...

Don't forget that residents make an amount comparable to fresh law grads lucky enough to get a job. With medicine, you are essentially guaranteed that residency spot if you can make it through med school (pretty much everyone does), as well as a job paying 150k+ when you finish residency. You really shouldn't be stressing over finances if you can get accepted into a US medical school. You're in much safer territory than you'd be if you went off to law school. How would you not have the means to pay the loans off? Everybody does. The most important factor here is that you actually like medicine. Seriously, ignore EVERYTHING else people are telling you about the future of medicine, and the debt, and the lifestyle for now and worry about answering the most important question first. How much do you really love medicine? The people who are most miserable in med school (and eventually as doctors) are the people who don't enjoy studying physiology and disease, and those who are only here for job security and prestige in the first place. This is what is going to consume your life for the next several years. There is enough variety in medicine, and so much you can do with an MD/DO degree, that chances are, you'll be able to find something you're at least content with, provided you have determined that you'll actually enjoy studying medicine and dealing with patients, and couldn't imagine yourself doing anything else.

Also, how is the sky the limit with law, but not medicine? Having the letters MD/DO after your name can take you all kinds of places financially.

 

[CheshireCat1]

Don't forget that residents make an amount comparable to fresh law grads lucky enough to get a job. With medicine, you are essentially guaranteed that residency spot if you can make it through med school (pretty much everyone does), as well as a job paying 150k+ when you finish residency. You really shouldn't be stressing over finances if you can get accepted into a US medical school. You're in much safer territory than you'd be if you went off to law school. How would you not have the means to pay the loans off? Everybody does. The most important factor here is that you actually like medicine. Seriously, ignore EVERYTHING else people are telling you about the future of medicine, and the debt, and the lifestyle for now and worry about answering the most important question first. How much do you really love medicine? The people who are most miserable in med school (and eventually as doctors) are the people who don't enjoy studying physiology and disease, and those who are only here for job security and prestige in the first place. This is what is going to consume your life for the next several years. There is enough variety in medicine, and so much you can do with an MD/DO degree, that chances are, you'll be able to find something you're at least content with, provided you have determined that you'll actually enjoy studying medicine and dealing with patients, and couldn't imagine yourself doing anything else.

Also, how is the sky the limit with law, but not medicine? Having the letters MD/DO after your name can take you all kinds of places financially.

Thanks for responding. I found your post actually really encouraging. I guess I meant the sky is the limit with law because they can earn millions a year depending on the case and when they make partner whereas, I've been told that it is rare for doctors to do that because the income is fixed more so.

 

[ZX10R]

Thanks for responding. I found your post actually really encouraging. I guess I meant the sky is the limit with law because they can earn millions a year depending on the case and when they make partner whereas, I've been told that it is rare for doctors to do that because the income is fixed more so.

Are you forgetting the work:life balance that is required to reach those numbers as a lawyer? Honestly Dentist/PA/NP seem like your best fit, but it seems you are chasing $$ more then your willing to admit. I bet you wont be happy working 80 hours a week as a resident/lawyer.

 

[bc65]

Don't forget that residents make an amount comparable to fresh law grads lucky enough to get a job. With medicine, you are essentially guaranteed that residency spot if you can make it through med school (pretty much everyone does), as well as a job paying 150k+ when you finish residency. You really shouldn't be stressing over finances if you can get accepted into a US medical school. You're in much safer territory than you'd be if you went off to law school. How would you not have the means to pay the loans off? Everybody does. The most important factor here is that you actually like medicine. Seriously, ignore EVERYTHING else people are telling you about the future of medicine, and the debt, and the lifestyle for now and worry about answering the most important question first. How much do you really love medicine? The people who are most miserable in med school (and eventually as doctors) are the people who don't enjoy studying physiology and disease, and those who are only here for job security and prestige in the first place. This is what is going to consume your life for the next several years. There is enough variety in medicine, and so much you can do with an MD/DO degree, that chances are, you'll be able to find something you're at least content with, provided you have determined that you'll actually enjoy studying medicine and dealing with patients, and couldn't imagine yourself doing anything else.

This.

I guess I meant the sky is the limit with law because they can earn millions a year depending on the case and when they make partner

Technically, that's true. However:

In prior years, IF you got a "big law" job, and IF you were offered a partner position after 7 years, then you got a partner's share of the firm's income, and IF your firm was a high earner, then you could get over a million dollars a year, mayber even 2 or 3 million. But those opportunities are extremely rare, and many law firms are no longer offering new partners a share of the profits, just a salary and bonus.

You can also win a big product liablility class action lawsuit, and earn billions ( think cigarette liability ) but those cases are rare and have huge expenses and end up being shared by hundreds of lawyers and law firms.

Expecting to make equity partner at a big law firm would be like deciding in college to start playing football so you can go to the NFL and get a high salary. Does it happen to some people? Yes. Is it likely? No. Should you give up medical school to try it? No. What is the likely outcome? With law: An average salary of about $62,000 a year. If you're lucky. Most likely, unemployment.

Also, you can make a million as a doctor. Be a very busy spine surgeon, or a famous cosmetic plastic surgeon, or a very busy Mohs dermatologic surgeon with a few people working for her. Is it likely that you will do well enough in med school to get into those residencies? No, you have to be in the top 5%-10%. If you do go into those specialties, are you likely to be that busy , and make that much money? No. But it's just as rare for a lawyer to do that well also.

But the Average doctor will make more than the Average lawyer, and is more likely to like her job.

 

[tymont12]

My father is chief counsel for a large tech company. He loves law but he hates what most law jobs have become. Although the idea of dealing with patients 80 hrs per week in training may sound long and arduous, atleast it is engaging and variable (atleast in my mind). For nearly a decade, my dad worked 80 hrs / week just sitting in a cubicle and conference rooms. That sounds like my personal hell.

He was also in private practice for 10 years prior. Well-known law firm in the area, 15 lawyers, 5 partners. 80 hrs / week in his office with no guarantee that he would take home his expected pay due to collection issues / high expenses that month. He left the private sector to pursue a more stable position. Private practice lawyers can be very feast or famine.

Taking a gap year and working a desk job full time, without being a student, really gave me perspective. Matured my leanings and ideas about what it means to be a physician vs. the 8-5 grind of an office job (which is what the majority of being a lawyer is).

 

[radkat101]

Are you forgetting the work:life balance that is required to reach those numbers as a lawyer? Honestly Dentist/PA/NP seem like your best fit, but it seems you are chasing $$ more then your willing to admit. I bet you wont be happy working 80 hours a week as a resident/lawyer.

Many EM jobs where I live pay mid 200s an hour. If you were to pick up enough shifts to hit 80+ hours a week, working lawyer hours, you would be making 1mil+ a year. The thing is that nobody wants to work this much. When you get older your priorities will most likely change (you already mentioned you want a family), and that 300k a year will be pretty nice when you're able to work <40 hours a week and have a balanced life outside the hospital. Your chances of landing an EM residency are also much much greater than making partner at a fancy law firm, and I've yet to meet a single EM doc down here who regrets going into medicine. If by that time money is still so important (doubt it) then the sky's pretty much the limit. This is just one example, so really try to keep this all in perspective.

 

[occams_razor]

Thanks for responding. For the past couple of weeks, I have literally been up all night researching and try to solidify a decision but I am still drawing a blank. I have always wanted to be a doctor. I really think that a medical career is extremely rewarding and that is appealing to me. I also like that depending on the specialty, there is a great work life balance because I'd like to be a mom someday and it also provides a stable, secure income. However, I am very scared about med school debt and not being able to actually have the means to pay it off until I'm in my 30s (4 yrs +residency)... (That is why I've contemplated even dental school, because you'd be able to pay off the debt immediately after graduation without having to do residency).With law, I like how you can start paying off the debt right away and I really like how basically the sky is the limit with the salary. This is mainly why I am very torn between the two fields. I really wish there was something that combined both of those factors...

You seem to be coming back to the money a lot.. as others have said, I really think you need to do some soul searching. You will be unhappy if you go into medicine primarily for financial reasons. If you apply to med school and get interviews, when you are asked "why medicine" - saying that you just always wanted to be a doctor isn't going to cut it. You can't really know if medicine is for you without clinical experience. Do you have clinical experience? You need to like being around sick people and be okay with the really difficult, unglamorous aspects of medicine.

Thanks for responding. I found your post actually really encouraging. I guess I meant the sky is the limit with law because they can earn millions a year depending on the case and when they make partner whereas, I've been told that it is rare for doctors to do that because the income is fixed more so.

From all your posts it honestly sounds like making money is the biggest factor for you. You should not expect to make millions as a doctor OR as a lawyer. It is rare to make millions in law - the overwhelming majority of lawyers will never make millions. BTW there are doctors who do make millions a year, but that is also rare.
As I said before, people who go into medicine mainly for the money usually end up very unhappy.

 

[Victorys MG]

1000% agree. OP, if you were my kid, I'd physically block the door to prevent you from going to law school. This is a terrible time to be a lawyer!

Helicopter mom alert

 

[Goro]

Ahem... dad, thank you.

Helicopter mom alert

 

[Victorys MG]

Ahem... dad, thank you.

You know I love you goro <3

 

[lawyer2doc]

You shouldn't be preparing for either law school or med school if you aren't certain you want to do it for a living. Professional schools aren't just "I don't know what I want to do so I'm going to stay in college until I'm 30" options. This is a far more pressing concern than the relative prospects in either job market. If your soul was set on being an attorney, it isn't quite as bad as everyone here is making it out to be (For example, most T14 schools have LRAPs that make attendance effectively free if you commit to working for a charity or government entity for 10 years, or something to that effect; also, if you're getting into a T14, you're probably going to get offered a free ride to a regionally well-regarded state school with decent employment prospects in one-and-only-one metropolitan area).

The problem isn't that law school is too expensive. It may not even be that the job prospects are too bad (they look much brighter than they did when I graduated just a few years ago). The problem is that there's no reason to go to law school if you don't want to spend forty years practicing law. And law is a soulless, thankless, mind-numbing, spirit-crushing profession for anyone who isn't innately wired for it. You will be treated like utter garbage by complete *****s (known as "clients" in the business), you will have responsibility and stress on par with surgeons (most people are about as happy losing their homes or going to prison for a crime they didn't commit as they are with a surgical mishap), and unless you go to a great school or are the very best at a good school, you won't make much more at it than you would working at Starbucks. You are far less likely to commit suicide working at Starbucks (No joke, during my bar admission ceremonies, I was warned several times by several speakers that I was likely to become severely depressed and/or drug addicted and reminded of all the mental counseling the state bar pays for now to help us to off ourselves at a lower rate).

I think medical school is an equally stupid idea if you aren't thoroughly committed to practicing medicine, but I'll let the kids in that field handle that.