[blindlaw] choosing graduate school or law school

James T. Fetter jtfetter at yahoo.com
Mon Jan 7 15:49:42 UTC 2019


Intellectually, law school was much easier than my Ph.D. program. In 
terms of general anxiety, stress, long hours, etc., it was probably a 
bit harder. I had more reading for the Ph.D. program but also a lot more 
autonomy and control over my time. There's nothing more fun than having 
a 3l check up on you every day about a law review editing assignment, 
even as basic accommodations are being denied. But the job market for 
law is just so much more open than it was in my former field.

If you can get a Ph.D. without taking on debt, and you love the field 
you're in, and you know going in that your chances of landing an 
academic or any other high-paying job are limited, and you're a bit of a 
masochist, then go for it. But if (and only if) you know that you want 
to become a lawyer, then go to law school. Or if you want to become a 
legal academic, and your Ph.D. is in something that can be related to 
the law, then do both. Just be prepared for an extremely overcrowded job 
market and be ready to practice for awhile first.


On 1/7/2019 10:41 AM, LaKeria Taylor via BlindLaw wrote:
> James,
>
> What was law school like compared to getting your Ph.D?
>
> Also, I have found joint law degree programs with my interests, but
> things are getting complicated when those law schools are limited.
> Let me also add that I am looking for internships in a variety of
> things because I don't want to just jump into something, hence why I
> am asking here since many of you have your master's/Ph.d. and chose
> law school at some point in your lives. I also understand that more
> experience looks good along with grades, personal essay, and that sort
> of thing.
>
>
> On 1/7/19, James T. Fetter via BlindLaw <blindlaw at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>> Informational interviews with people in a field of interest would be a
>> good start. In my experience, most people are honest, unless you want
>> something (e.g. a job) from them. Then assume that, by default, it will
>> be between somewhat and significantly harder for you as a blind person
>> to find a job than it was for whomever you are interviewing. You still
>> will, if you're at or near the top of your field. But otherwise... let's
>> just say it would help to have connections in the right places.
>>
>>
>> On 1/7/2019 10:18 AM, Maura Kutnyak via BlindLaw wrote:
>>> But lacking experience, how does one set a firm course? Unfortunately our
>>> public school system is not well-designed enough to set people up with an
>>> understanding of their options and what the true experience of a given
>>> path will be.
>>>
>>> Sincerely,
>>>
>>> Maura Kutnyak
>>> 716-563-9882
>>>
>>>> On Jan 7, 2019, at 9:20 AM, Elizabeth Troutman via BlindLaw
>>>> <blindlaw at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>>>>
>>>> You need to figure out what it is you want to do and then design your
>>>> post-undergraduate training around that. Getting a random degree because
>>>> you think you might be interested in something is not likely to be worth
>>>> the blood, sweat, tears, discrimination, and debt you will face. I
>>>> actually did a joint master's in public policy and JD, which did reduce
>>>> the cost by one year (i.e. what you are suggesting would be 5 years of
>>>> school, but if you do a joint program, you can do it in four). But I
>>>> would not recommend that unless you had a relatively clear plan of how
>>>> you could parlay those degrees into a long-term career.
>>>>
>>>> Elizabeth
>>>> Troutman<http://www.brookspierce.com/our-people/attorneys/elizabeth-l-troutman>
>>>>
>>>> [cid:image003.jpg at 01D4A66A.3F430CD0]<http://www.brookspierce.com/>
>>>>
>>>> t: 336.271.3138
>>>> f: 336.232.9138
>>>>
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