Best major (choosing between better employability and poli sci).

SoccerMomGenie
Wed, 13 May 2015 16:54:39 +0000

Kudos to HappyAlumnus for some insightful and well-made points. And frazzled1 made some great points and helped me to see that I might not have been entirely clear.

First, a disclaimer. I’ve been far from the law school admissions scene for a while. No doubt, GPA and LSAT are the 2 most important factors for getting into law school. They may be even more important now than they were “back in the day.” I am no expert on law school admissions.

On the other hand, I have many years experience as an employer. I was on the hiring committee at a very large law firm and I was the head of the legal and contracts department for a multi-billion dollar company. I won’t try to speak for others, but I will tell you that for myself, when I was hiring, I most definitely cared much more about a candidate’s “story” than any other single part of his or her resume.

What do I mean by “story?” I want to see candidates who know themselves. I want to see that they’ve found something that truly excites and motivates them – and no,“getting the best GPA and going to the best law school so I can get a job that makes a lot of money” doesn’t count for much in my book. I want to see evidence in your job history, extracurriculars, majors/minors, etc. that back up your story. Once you’re in the working world, money is not much of a motivator for very long. I tried to find candidates who had some sort of passion for what they did. Maybe they knew that they enjoyed working as part of a team (as evidenced by team sports and other team-based activities). Some people love a challenge and take pride in overcoming hardships (and they can give me examples of this from their past). Some people love technology and innovation. Some love debate. A strong legal department (and most employers) will need a diverse workforce, so I wasn’t looking for any single type. I wanted employees who were self-aware (understood their strengths and weaknesses), who had a passion for something (and I could tell by the spark in their eye), and who were team-players. I didn’t like self-promoter types because I knew they were not likely to be acting in the best interest of the company and the department. I didn’t like “check the box” types who took the right courses or joined the right clubs simply because it would look good on a resume, because I wanted people who had a source of motivation beyond just checking boxes to get to the next rung.

By following this approach for hiring – and then emphasizing mutual-respect, hard work and collaboration – we created an amazing legal team that was highly respected throughout the company. Within the team, most became great friends and felt it was their best job ever.

So coming back to OP. What I meant is that you need to find what truly excites and motivates you. You need to do this for your own benefit over the long-term, not just for getting into law school. It ties into the important question I did not ask – WHY do you want to go to law school? If your answer is because you don’t know what else to do, or because it’s a good profession where you can have prestige and make a lot of money, that’s not going to carry you very far. You need to figure out what really makes you tick. If what really makes you tick leads you toward a difficult college course where your grade may not be as high as some other fluff course, it’s my personal view that you would be best-served over the long run by following your interest. That will lead you in a direction toward your more authentic self. It will lead you toward greater self-fulfillment and long-term happiness. And it MIGHT lead you to the right law school and employment opportunity after law school. And if you end up not going to law school, you are much more likely to find other employment if you have chosen a major because it interests and inspires you, not just because it’s the one where you could have obtained the highest GPA with the most ease.

What does this mean for your immediate choice? I think economics is more employable than political science. If you like them both equally, I’d recommend the economics. I don’t think you should shy away from the economics just because it might be a bit more challenging. On the other hand, if you don’t think you’ll enjoy the economics because of the math, I think it would be foolish to set yourself up for a potential career in a field where you’ll be miserable. Although political science might be less employable generally, it might still be a good choice if you are absolutely passionate about it – if you are a political junky or if you would like to work in state politics or if you plan to go on to a graduate degree. If you’re not passionately excited about either poli sci or econ, there are many other fields and majors that also pair well with international studies. What about communications, for example?

I fully support the idea of getting some legal-related experience … with a small caveat. The legal field is so huge and so diverse, I wouldn’t want you to judge the entire field based on a single experience. A small town legal office is very different from a large multinational law firm which is very different from a medium-sized company which is very different from a public defender’s office, etc. There are civil litigators and criminal litigators and real estate lawyers and M&A attorneys and government antitrust lawyers and advocates for the environment or civil liberties,etc. If you can find a legal-related job – any legal-related job – that would be excellent. But you might also want to do some research and reading and talk with the career advisors at your college. As you are a freshman, there is no immediate rush. Later on, when you have some ideas of the type of legal career you may be interested in, consider contacting a few different attorneys for informational interviews. Not a job interview under false pretenses, but a sincere interview to learn more about their particular field of expertise and to receive whatever advice they might have to offer. I would gladly give 20-30 minutes of my time (or more) to a student sincerely looking for advice. (After all, that’s what I’ve just done here!)

Good luck!