The Ultimate JD/MBA Thread (x-posted)

tetrishead
Tue, 06 May 2008 21:17:58 +0000

The people who should get a JD/MBA are people who want to acquire the skill sets study of both a JD and MBA make available to active (people that work hard) participants. You’re right, it’s not an intellectual bonanza, most of higher education isn’t. Life in any time sensitive industry is stifling and difficult.

Honestly, your mistake was putting the profession on a “pedestal” in the first place. There is no perfect, enjoyable profession–which the exception of those guys who paint clothes on SI models, but they’re gay, so… Most people who wanted to be firefighters or cops since they were kids will hate it, most people who wanted to be doctors just wanted to be a “doctor” without any of the work, most people who want to be athletes don’t want to push themselves physically to a point where they feel like they’ve been hit by a truck the next morning.

For the MBA, look at the curriculum of the school you’re going to. Is there a specific skill set you want to develop that they offer a track for? Do you want to expand your own professional network with the alumni of the school you’re interested in? If the answer to both of these is yes, you should get an MBA.

For the JD, if you don’t want to be a practicing attorney, what does it get you? Do you need a greater understanding of law as it is practiced (Columbia is popular for black letter study), or do you want to study it slightly more in the abstract (Yale)? Is there a skill set (being able to handle massive amounts of information, being taught how to argue for something well and within a framework, having a basic understanding of judicial procedure) that a law school will give you that you find useful? If the answer to the second question is yes, then figure out the kind of law school you want to attend and attend it. I generally wouldn’t recommend a JD to someone who does not want to practice law, but it’s certainly your prerogative.