Wow is MBA/JD meaningless now or what?

[Ns1]

Holy shit. We got a new hire in our department as an analyst . MF'er has a JD/MBA from Pepperdine! Analyst salary aint gonna pay those JD/MBA loans.

To put things perspective, the analyst role is commonly given to fresh meat holding BA's out of college.

 

[rcpratt]

I'm sure that's not the norm...wonder what's wrong with him.

 

[Kadarin]

Has there been a glut of applicants?

 

[Brigandier]

Degree inflation outpaces real inflation.

 

[sactoking]

Are you in public service or private industry? There's a program of student loan forgiveness for those who work public service and make payments under the income contingent payment plan for 10 years.

If your living expenses are low, the extra money you'd make would just go to taxes and loan payments. It's one way to game the system.

 

[Hugo Drax]

Right now getting a degree is super easy and everyone gets one so its the equivalent of a 4 year degree.

 

[xeemzor]

Has a JD/MBA ever been worth it? I was thinking about getting a JD/MBA at Northwestern because it's a 3 year program but it's still ~$70k/year.

 

[Zenmervolt]

Pepperdine isn't even a top 25 law school (depending on who you ask, it's not even a top 50 school). There are six other law schools in California with better rankings. In short, Pepperdine is, at best, a small to medium sized fish in a very big pond. It's not terribly surprising that the kid's having trouble finding work within the legal field.

It's one thing to go to a lower-ranked school if there aren't any other Tier 1 law schools in the area (e.g. Montana, North Dakota, etc), but it's a risky move somewhere like CA where the market is already saturated and heavily dominated by much more prestigious law schools.

Another question is whether the JD and MBA were separate degrees or part of some form of joint program. In general, there's no compelling reason to bother with a joint JD/MBA program; the degrees have very different foci and their career paths very seldom overlap. So a person seeking a joint JD/MBA program without having a very specific reason for wanting that rather odd combination would indicate a potential habit of poor planning IMO.

ZV

 

[zinfamous]

MBA has always been meaningless.

 

[SheHateMe]

Maybe something is wrong with him and you just don't know it yet.

 

[skim milk]

MBA from pepperdine is worthless. It sounds like the person went directly out of college without any work experience. Sucks for the new analyst, MF'er should have at least used the JD degree and gotten a lawyer job.

 

[Dirigible]

MBA from pepperdine is worthless. It sounds like the person went directly out of college without any work experience. Sucks for the new analyst, MF'er should have at least used the JD degree and gotten a lawyer job.

Not at all easy right now.

 

[IndyColtsFan]

MBA has always been meaningless.

Unfortunately, the real world doesn't see it that way. I don't respect it either, but having one can and often does help secure jobs. With that being said, the market is flooded with them. I've thought about getting a one via a cheaper option myself.

 

[Jeeebus]

MF'er should have at least used the JD degree and gotten a lawyer job.

I'm sure that completely slipped his mind. "oh, if only I had thought about looking for lawyer jobs, I wouldn't be stuck in this shitty job."

 

[RaistlinZ]

If they have no work experience then I'm not surprised they're starting at the entry level spot.

Experience > degree

 

[Capt Caveman]

MBA has always been meaningless.

Sure. Not.

 

[dr150]

The Peppperdine grad would have a very nice job is this was 15 years ago.

Nowadays, a 2nd/3rd tier lawyer would be lucky to get ANY job close to his chosen profession due to the glut and economy. You have lawyers from much more prestigious schools working as temps and paralegals. The MBA is nearly worthless unless it's from a Top 25 program (much better to do it part-time while still gaining traction in one's job)

Education is such a bullshit mess nowadays.

Add to that Pepperdine is really expensive. I shudder to think what his loans look like.

At least he spent his education years in a REALLY nice area!

 

[Ns1]

I'm sure that's not the norm...wonder what's wrong with him.

There was another MBA who started as an analyst. Finally got promoted to Senior after 2 years.

Are you in public service or private industry?

Private.

 

[Train]

Is it just me or do lawyers put way more weight into the ranking of your school versus any other degree program?

 

[Wreckem]

The Peppperdine grad would have a very nice job is this was 15 years ago.

Nowadays, a 2nd/3rd tier lawyer would be lucky to get ANY job close to his chosen profession due to the glut and economy. You have lawyers from much more prestigious schools working as temps and paralegals. The MBA is nearly worthless unless it's from a Top 25 program (much better to do it part-time while still gaining traction in one's job)

Education is such a bullshit mess nowadays.

Add to that Pepperdine is really expensive. I shudder to think what his loans look like.

At least he spent his education years in a REALLY nice area!

Law school is a gamble unless you can be top half of top 16 schools, or top 1/3rd at top 30 schools. Outside that you gotta be top 10% in order to get the market rate($135k-165k). I know people from 3rd tier schools that have jobs lined up making $165k. They are top 10% and law review. But only 10% can be top 10%, its more likely someone is going to be in the bottom 50%, no matter where they go. There are twice the number of graduating law students as there are jobs requiring bar passage, because of that the bottom 50% is a bad place to no matter where you go to law school. Some schools, particularly those in the 4th tier job prospects are almost non existence for those outside of the top 20%.

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

Is it just me or do lawyers put way more weight into the ranking of your school versus any other degree program?

I think it's a direct correlation with the amount of greed in your job. :biggrin:

 

[Wreckem]

Is it just me or do lawyers put way more weight into the ranking of your school versus any other degree program?

Its because Big Law hires more from top programs. A top 33% at a top 16 school is more than likely going to get a Big Law job over a top 10% at a lower tier school. Rank of school matters if you are going to a top 16 school. Outside that, law schools are regional, and class rank matters much more unless you are in an over saturated regional market.

 

[Slew Foot]

Is it just me or do lawyers put way more weight into the ranking of your school versus any other degree program?

In Medicine no one really cares where you went to school, it's about 99% who you know and 1% did you pass the boards. Unless you're looking for a big time academic job, then having a big name helps.

 

[LegendKiller]

MBA has always been meaningless.

This is utterly wrong. Helped me get my job in 03 and every other job since then.

 

[Andrew111]

MBA has always been meaningless.

The MBA is only meaningless for the tons of schools that let you into their MBA program without work experience. You know a business school is worthless if they typically accept people with little to no experience...big difference between the top 25 business schools and the rest. Employers recognize that fact...with many top companies only recruiting from specific business schools. If you can't get into a top MBA program then I do agree....it often becomes a waste of money like so many degrees from mediocre schools.