Psy Grad School vs. Law School

[PonyGirl93]

So apparently I cannot just focus on finishing one project without getting all in a whirl about the next project. I plan to take a year off after my BA, but that isn't stopping me from debating my grad school choices.... So, I'm making pro/con lists (my standard method of decision making for all major life decisions hilarious)... At the same time I have no idea why I'm doing it, because I don't actually want to make a decision, I just want to clarify options :p

These options are in no order of preference.

Psychology- APU
Pros:
-very cheap
-online
-interesting field/classes
-easy to get into

Cons:
-research opps are limited
-no in-class interaction, professor mentoring, etc.
-haven't researched the transferability to a PhD program
-very competitive field

Psychology- Ohio State
Pros:
-could get school almost entirely paid for
-has a social psychology program
-can study "minor areas"= more diversity of courses
-have opportunity for faculty mentoring, etc.
-rewarding field
-job op diversity- practicing psychologist, study crime, research, therapy, etc.
-straight thru to PhD in 5 yrs

Cons:
-will probably have to TA or Research Assist (which could also be a pro)
-very competitive to be accepted
-very competitive job market
-must go full time

Law School -Ohio State
Pros:
-has a criminal law program
-has prosecution clinicals working at a real DA =D
-quite decent starting salary, if you can get a job
-shorter time in school
-exciting field
-OSU is a top-tier school (around #35 I think)
-OSU is a very cheap top-tier school

Cons:
-very expensive :willynilly:
-not a ton of scholarship op's
-apparently not a very fun experience, esp first year
-have to study all that civil law crap that I hate
-hard to get in to
-must go full time
-hard to find a job
-will be relatively stuck in the law field (for quite a while, at least)

Input? Cautions? Experiences? Anything?

[ryoder]

Psychology requires a PhD to do anything meaningful.
Lawyers are having a hard time finding jobs as everyone seems to flock to this profession right now.

Find out where you can get into a PhD program and make sure your masters will transfer ok. Pick up the phone and call the dean. The colleges like to talk to people because they need new students to get federal money or need your payments if private.

[OE800_85]

I think the whole "lawyers are having a hard time finding a job" news/articles are a little misleading. The fact is, many lawyers choose to do different careers. The fact is that you can become a business leader quite easily as a lawyer. If you look at executives in many companies (legal firms or not) a lot of them have law degrees, in some respects it carries equal if not greater weight than an MBA in a lot of situations. Also, the school you want to attend is really highly ranked, that counts for a lot.

Personally I think if you can make it through law school, and a good one at that, it'll demonstrate your abilities quite well to potential employers.
I know a lot of people with masters in arts and social sciences, and it's not such a career oriented field.

[Storyteller]

PonyGirl93,
A law degree can take you more places than the courthouse. My friend Pam graduated from WVU Law. While she was working on her degree, she also took classes on Civil Government administration. At the same time, she signed up with WVU's ROTC unit, got some of her schooling paid for and interned with the JA's office during the summer. She got lots of experience helping folks prepare their wills before they were deployed.
By the time she graduated, she was qualified for many jobs beyond her law degree - Knowing her, she is probably running some big city somewhere in PA.

[slimcustomer]

I think the whole "lawyers are having a hard time finding a job" news/articles are a little misleading. The fact is, many lawyers choose to do different careers. The fact is that you can become a business leader quite easily as a lawyer. If you look at executives in many companies (legal firms or not) a lot of them have law degrees, in some respects it carries equal if not greater weight than an MBA in a lot of situations. Also, the school you want to attend is really highly ranked, that counts for a lot.

Personally I think if you can make it through law school, and a good one at that, it'll demonstrate your abilities quite well to potential employers.
I know a lot of people with masters in arts and social sciences, and it's not such a career oriented field.

I dissent.

Many lawyers have chosen to pursue other careers because for years, more students have graduated from law school than there are jobs in the field. In the field, a lot of those jobs pay so little that over half of law students are expected to have negative lifetime economic outcomes. 15 years ago I had a friend graduate in the top 10 at a Tier 1 law school and his best offer was less than he would have made if he worked the same amount of hours at Burger King and got overtime. Imagine all those who paid top dollar at lesser schools and don't have the right connections to get a job. The lesser schools accept anyone with a pulse and the ability to borrow large sums of money so I wouldn't be impressed as a potential employer with someone who graduated from one and dished out $100,000 plus and three years of their life to be trained for something that they can't make a living at.

[ryoder]

There is a commercial in our local market showing a bunch of lawyers sitting in an open area answering phones for free. These are probably the entry level jobs that law students get after college. I doubt they are paid well. I think I read in a local magazine that starting salaries are around 40K for a recent grad. Compare that to 36k for a teacher with only a bachelors who doesn't have to work more than 9 months out of the year and starting salaries for lawyers in my area is low.
Yes they will probably make more money than a teacher over time due to salaries not being dictated by the government and paid for by taxpayers but the first 5-10 years are probably really rough.

[PonyGirl93]

I'm not really interested in law for the money, I just want to be able to find a job and pay off my loans The only thing that I am concerned about is finding a job as a prosecutor. That is the only law interest that I have and I would probably shoot myself at one of the corporate law jobs even if I was making 6 figures :p I have looked up the prosecutor's salaries for the counties around where I live and they are certainly doable, if I could get a job there.

I hate business stuff, I don't want to become an exec with a law degree. If I get a law degree, I want to be a prosecutor. If that isn't feasible then I won't get a law degree :p

@ryoder, if I got into OSU's psych program that would be for a PhD. They don't accept students who only plan to get a masters.

[dcan]

Have you thought about taking one or more of the lower-level assistants in the DA's office to lunch? Might cost you a penny to treat them someplace nice, but if you pick the right one you could get a gold mine of info on the field in your area. I'd consider this for each county you look at.

*EDIT* This would have the additional benefit of building a network of contacts in each office.

[PonyGirl93]

Have you thought about taking one or more of the lower-level assistants in the DA's office to lunch? Might cost you a penny to treat them someplace nice, but if you pick the right one you could get a gold mine of info on the field in your area. I'd consider this for each county you look at.

*EDIT* This would have the additional benefit of building a network of contacts in each office.

That is a fantastic idea! I have a professor who is also a prosecutor for one of the counties, so that's a great place to start