I have always planned on going to college. For my parents and I, that has always been a given. The problem, however, is what I am going to major in. I think I want to go into the field of law when I grow up and I hope to attend law school, so that means that there are many different majors that I could choose. The traditional path would be to major in a humanity like political science or psychology. My parents say it would be smarter to instead do some sort of technical major like biology. That way if law school does not happen for some reason, I would have a strong degree to fall back on. Here are three jobs that I could do if I went down either one of these paths.
1. Civil and/or Criminal Litigator
-Average Salary: $113,000
-Best States: California, the Northeast, Texas
-Education: BS in almost anything and then Law School
-Skills: Communication, critical reading and writing, negotiation
2. Patent Attorney
-Average Salary: $175,000
-Best States: Couldn't find this one....
-Education: BS in a scientific or technical field and law school
-Skills: Research, writing, speaking, analytical and interpersonal skills
3. Biochemist
-Average Salary: $84,000
-Best States (Pay and Employment): California, Massachusetts, New Jersey
-Education: BS in Bio or Chem.
-Skills: Ability to design and run studies, lots of communication skills.
Well, there it is.
So, I want to major in archaeology which is very different than the professions you seem to be seeking, however, I think becoming a patent attorney sounds super interesting. I had no idea that was an actual job title. (Did you mean "patient" lawyer or "parent" lawyer?) You have opened my eyes to a new world of lawyering.
ReplyDeleteall very interesting major ideas! it's great that your parents can help you figure out a backup plan if law school doesn't work out
ReplyDeleteHoly cow, the patent attorney pays a ton! If you're on track and there's an opening, you definitely should shoot for that one! Great thinking about the biology degree, too. The sciences seem to be very solid degrees to have.
ReplyDeleteI agree that it its smarter to major in something you are actually interested in case law school doesn't work out. You can always find another job if your major isn't too specific, and the requirements for law school aren't as intense as say the requirements for medical school. My dad's a civil litigator (I think...) and he has to negotiate a lot to get his way, so that is definitely an important attribute to have. I like how you looked at another option besides an attorney. It's always good to look at other options.
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