Business School vs. Law School
In defense of law school
By an HLS Graduate (former USMC)
It will come as no surprise to most people reading this that B-school is the most common choice for EASing service members, and not without reason. Here is the simple truth, most people who enjoyed their time in uniform will enjoy B-School more.
I remember my first Marine Corps’ birthday in grad shool. It was at the business school, and pretty much everyone there was from the B-School. They were collegially chatting and having a laugh, and then there were we three sad souls from the law school joking about how we would make a pretty good fire team. Frankly I think we were outnumbered by the exchange officers from France. And as we mingled with the B-schoolers we all had the same reaction: We may have made a mistake.
But as I reflect on my choice to get a JD I become more and more certain that it was the right choice. I wont say it is the right choice for everyone, it isn’t, but I do believe it offers something an MBA doesn’t, and that is that it is rock solid evidence that you can sit in a chair for hours, synthesize vast amounts of written information, and write an iron clad analysis of it. And I hate to say it, but that is what even the sexiest civilian jobs demand.
So with that in mind here is a framework and some seed ideas about which graduate program is the one for you.
Cost: Time, money, and experience
Direct costs: Of course tuition+room+etc varies wildly but due to the extra year law school will be about half again more expensive than B-school.
Opportunity cost:That third year of law school is a year of salary you are missing out on, so that is a cost.
Subjective costs: without giving a comprehensive list I will submit that most vets will enjoy their classes, extra-curriculars, and classmates more at B-school than at law school.
Total cost: So with the above in mind some very rough numbers might look like this: 120K for an MBA vs. 160K for JD tuition + 70K of missed salary your third year or 230K, making law school almost twice as expensive, and significantly less pleasant.
Revenue: Reinforce strength or be the total package
Despite the extra pain upfront I think that the combination of a law degree and military experience is an especially powerful pairing in the long run. Employers look for basically the same things: leadership ability, work ethic, and intellectual horse power. And for the average student and MBA covers the bases, but as a veteran you’ve already checked a few of those boxes.
Leadership: Employers are not worried about this one, as an officer or NCO you’ve had more leadership experience than anyone else your tenure. They are also not worried about putting you in front of clients. The military taught you to be respectful, to dress well, and to have the kind of bearing that sets clients at ease.
Work ethic: They also know that you are a hard worker, sort of. Most employers’ views of the military are shaped by TV and movies, so they expect that you can run, drill, and execute Saving-Private-Ryan-style missions without complaint. But they are worried about whether you can sit behind a desk for hours a day and crank through towers of reports or draft killer memos. And a JD will put their mind at ease since you don’t get through law school without becoming an expert at sitting and cranking.
Intellect: Finally there is the issue of intellect. I won’t say that a JD is more intellectually or academically challenging than an MBA, but I will say that that is the perception. To succeed on the GMAT and in B-School you need intellect, presence, leadership, quant skills, and a lot of common sense. At law school the only one that matters is the first, and a bit of the last.
Fundamentally I think that a veteran with a law degree is especially attractive to the top consultancies and corporations because you check all the boxes. If you know you want to be a banker and do finance then go to B-School, but if you want to consult or go to industry I encourage you to think about how you would look to an employer, identify any gaps, and then choose the degree that fills those gaps most effectively.
Business School | Law School | |
US presidents | 2 | 12 started 7 finished, 3 more became lawyers through independent study |
Current Senators | 5 | 55 |
CEOs of fortune 100 | 32 | 12 |
Opportunity | Business, finance, consulting | Law, business, finance, consulting, public sector, social sector |
Typical early tenure salary (top 10 schools) | ~124K | ~160K |
-Geoff, guest blogger, former Marine Officer, Harvard Law School Graduate, and currently a consultant at a top management consulting firm.
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