I have just finished my BS in Human Development and an internship as a policy intern at a non-profit mental health organization (NAMI). My high school experience was very mismanaged by poor counseling and school psych staff. I love school and graduated with a 3.4 GPA. Not great but had a rough first year. I have taken practice LSAT tests for fun and although I never recorded my exact score, I know I did fairly well. Many people have told me I should be a lawyer as I am very passionate about advocating for people who aren't able to do it themselves, for whatever reason. Basically, I want to make sure children with special needs (IEP, day treatment, etc) due mental illness are not mistreated in the public school system. Do you think an MPP/JD would be a good route for me in grad school, or do you recommend something else? I'm not sure if I'd really enjoy public policy as I'm learning at my internship it is long, monotonous work most of the time. My understanding of this may be wrong, though, too. Is there some sort of Education Law that may cater to helping the families of students with mental illness who have been mistreated in the public school system? Or maybe making sure it never happens in the first place?? I am very confused as to my options and looking for guidance. Master of public policy? Master of clinical psych? Master of Education/edu admin? JD? Time and finances are not of any concern, simply looking to get the best education I can and to help the most people possible in the future. Help! :) Thank you!
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Please be aware of what you are proposing on getting yourself into. Please do more research first. Reminder: We are in a World-wide Recession. Consider career paths that have available jobs.<<<<<< Warning> Jobs in the field of Law are drying up fast!! This is just not a good field to invest time and/or money into. This is a SHRINKING, crumbling, and dying vocational field. Many reasons. Many people today (mistakenly) think they can do their own legal work, thanks to the Internet. Also, we simply already have way too many Legal Professionals - we have an absolute glut!! ("Legal Professionals" includes, but is not limited to: Attorneys/Lawyers, Paralegals, Legal Assistants, Legal Secretaries, Bailiffs, Court Reporters, etc, etc) There are no jobs in this vocational field. My family, coworkers, friends, acqaintances, etc. are being laid off left and right in this vocational field. Employers (usually law firms) in the field of Law today want employees with degrees from traditional colleges/universities. Those "certificates" you see advertised aren't worth the paper they are printed on - they are generally scams. (I found this out the hard way.) Cost of law school to be lawyer, approx $150,000+. Be prepared to take on a lot of debt.<<<<<<<<<< Even if you finish law school, you won't be able to find a job when you are done. Since this vocational field is shrinking, many new attorneys/lawyers are, themselves, having to work "down" as Paralegals, Legal Assistants, Legal Secretaries, Bailiffs, Court Reporters, etc, etc, to simply try to keep some of their bills paid <<this would be your competition. And the competition is fierce!! Now... the law schools know this, but they won't tell you the truth >that the job market/economy is just saturated with way too many Legal Professionals. Instead the schools will feed you a fairytale and will lie to you. The root of the problem is we have too many law schools. We are in a recession, and the schools are fighting for their own survival - they will tell students anything to get to the students' money. (Which is why they won't tell you the truth about the job market for the field of Law.) And these schools continue to recruit and churn out even more graduates.............Remember: law schools are BUSINESSES - their top concern is making money for themselves. If you don't believe me, then just do a search here on Yahoo Answers to see what other posters are saying about the current status of the field of Law. Call some local law firms - ask to speak to the Manager of Human Resources - ask them if they are hiring; ask them what they think about job availability in the field of Law.................. In the book "So You Want to be a Lawyer?" by Marianne Calabrese and Susanne Calabrese (ISBN 0-88391-136-1): "The United States has more lawyers than any other country in the world. About 38,000 students graduate >each year< from the 200+ law schools in the United States. The competition is very keen for jobs and clients." - Even Associate Justice Antonin Scalia (who served on the U.s. Supreme Court for more than 20 years) says there are too many lawyers. (9/14/2008) Check out these websites: http://informeddecisionmaking.blogspot.com http://calicocat.com/2004/08/law-school-big-lie.html http://abajournal.com/news/triplt_bad_news_for_law_students_three_firms_aX_summer_associate_programs/ http://abajournal.com/news/as_rio_tinto_saves_millions_other_corps_will_outsource_too_counsel_says/ http://blog.penelopetrunk.com/2009/02/03/dont-try-to-dodge-the-recession-with-grad-school/ (A link to a website does not constitute endorsement.) If you want a job when you are done with your studies, consider and look into the fields of >>>Healthcare or Information Technology! I spoke to a career counselor from Jobs and Family Services, and HE told me that these areas are where the jobs are, and future job availability! and scholarships! Good luck. (This is based on my current knowledge, information, belief, and life experiences. This was intended as personal opinion, and not intended to be used as legal advice. Please be careful and do your research.)
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