Nurse Practitioner vs Attorney (BSN, reputation, cost, schools)

[Anchorless]

Bad time to be going into law. With the job prospects weighed against the ever increasing tuition costs, I'd say wait until some reform comes along (and it will), or the market improves.

Read this: Empirical Legal Studies: Distribution of 2006 Starting Salaries: Best Graphic Chart of the Year

[shuke]

Which one earns more respect? Let me put it this way. How many nurse practitioner jokes have you heard lately?

[Huckleberry3911948]

Originally Posted by goingreene

Hi everyone!

Which profession do you think earns more respect? Anyone have any info on starting salary and working conditions? I'm considering both careers and am not sure which way to go. Any info would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!

door one door one lvn. 42 units at a jr college no debt. lots of money
2 semester crossover program at jr college to rn.biggest bang for the buck i know.

stephen s
san diego ca

[truckingbronco]

Take a mix of science, poli-sci, and business classes during your first year of college. It will help you decide where your interest lie and it will clear up some gen-ed credits. One thing to remember; 80% of lawyers would choose a different profession if given a second chance.

[mm_mary73]

Originally Posted by Bunky39

door one door one lvn. 42 units at a jr college no debt. lots of money
2 semester crossover program at jr college to rn.biggest bang for the buck i know.

stephen s
san diego ca

What?

[sean98125]

I think he's saying that a two year RN degree from a community college is a great investment. A two year nursing degree can translate into a job making $30 an hour as soon as you graduate (depending where you are).

[mm_mary73]

Originally Posted by sean98125

I think he's saying that a two year RN degree from a community college is a great investment. A two year nursing degree can translate into a job making $30 an hour as soon as you graduate (depending where you are).

Ohhhhhhhhhhhh. Thanks. I don't know of any place that pays a new grad $30/hr though.

[wallstreet1986]

Go with nursing, especially if you are a more caring person who values some kind of emotional feedback from their job or not a competitive schmoozing type. I'm a first semester law school student and seriously thinking about nursing instead. I will probably head up back North and go home and get an accelerated RN degree for those who already have a bachelor's degree.

I was an above average student in undergrad receiving a 3.4 gpa and was a Business major. I started out doing pre-engineering but didn't really like that (thankfully I took some hard science and math - Chem I, 2 years of physics, 2 years of math including differentials).

I am currently in my first year of law school and am paying about 25k per semester (50k per year) for both tuition and cost of living. I feel like I go to a decent school (still third tier) in the Southeast but from what it seems like the job market is very competitive and the actual work you're going to be doing is very picky and sometimes quite depraved. The people at the school are very competitive and enjoy living far above their means. Everyone tells me oh you should be fine as long as you're in the top third of the class. The average starting salary from our law school is 60,000 which I would imagine is skewed like the graph shown by jobs in big law. I would like to think I could get a medium sized firm job for 60-70k in tax law (an area I believed there is a shortage in) but I don't know if this is the case.

Law school is enormously stressful and a big investment of both money and time. You may not like a lot of your classmates - I certainly don't. Provided you do well enough to not get a government or low paying small firm job and pass the bar (which most people do from my school in any case), you will be working a lot of hours working on memos and research, where the only ability is to analyze and read documents and write strongly which is not really a hard skillset. Intellectual property and tax law are better to this extent but those jobs are often unfortunately at bigger firms. I was interested in tax law and everyone has told me should consider getting an LLM as well in taxation (an additional fourth year that would increase my future debt burden from 150k to 200,000 )

I am introvert and have even been told by a talk at career services that you need to start building friendships or network with people at the school. A big part of law firm practice is bringing in business and everyone says that the practice of law is fiercely competitive.

If anything could be further from being me is being a competitive person. I believe that God put me on the Earth to help people and did not plan for people to compete and be miserable. I like the outdoors and a good quality of life - the availability of nursing jobs means you can live and work anywhere in the country and in a variety of settings. I also like the idea that I can help other people and that there are so many career options and possibilities. Nursing is hard work and you work a good amount of hours. But nothing could be as hard work as lack of job satisfaction, all the worry and stress, and feeling like you are not really doing anything for people except for saving already wealthy people $$$ on taxes.

I am going to go talk to career services at the school on Monday and get the honest lowdown on being a tax lawyer, salaries, jobs available for those not in the top third of the class. I will also talk to the nursing school at my university and get a feel for what that is like. If I can work for the state of Alabama or something like that as a tax attorney for a liveable (with enormous debt) starting salary of 50 or 60,000 and enjoy focusing on just the law itself rather than billable hours and bringing in clients, then maybe I would stick with that. Since graduating from school the only thing I really need in my life is a good reliable car (I am currently leasing a new Camry and it is great to finally have a satisfying, reliable car), an apartment to share in a decent area,friends, and weekend trips hiking in the great outdoors. I do not care about any of the development house and flashy lifestyle that EVERYBODY at my law school seems to be fighting for. 40 or 50,000 would do it (particularly in a rural area.)

Mary, could you tell me more about the positives/downsides as you've seen it of nursing and maybe what it would be like for a man? I want to finish up my semester strong at law school and see how I do but I am also considering this as a strong possibility.

[mm_mary73]

Originally Posted by wallstreet1986

Go with nursing, especially if you are a more caring person who values some kind of emotional feedback from their job or not a competitive schmoozing type. I'm a first semester law school student and seriously thinking about nursing instead. I will probably head up back North and go home and get an accelerated RN degree for those who already have a bachelor's degree.

I was an above average student in undergrad receiving a 3.4 gpa and was a Business major. I started out doing pre-engineering but didn't really like that (thankfully I took some hard science and math - Chem I, 2 years of physics, 2 years of math including differentials).

I am currently in my first year of law school and am paying about 25k per semester (50k per year) for both tuition and cost of living. I feel like I go to a decent school (still third tier) in the Southeast but from what it seems like the job market is very competitive and the actual work you're going to be doing is very picky and sometimes quite depraved. The people at the school are very competitive and enjoy living far above their means. Everyone tells me oh you should be fine as long as you're in the top third of the class. The average starting salary from our law school is 60,000 which I would imagine is skewed like the graph shown by jobs in big law. I would like to think I could get a medium sized firm job for 60-70k in tax law (an area I believed there is a shortage in) but I don't know if this is the case.

Law school is enormously stressful and a big investment of both money and time. You may not like a lot of your classmates - I certainly don't. Provided you do well enough to not get a government or low paying small firm job and pass the bar (which most people do from my school in any case), you will be working a lot of hours working on memos and research, where the only ability is to analyze and read documents and write strongly which is not really a hard skillset. Intellectual property and tax law are better to this extent but those jobs are often unfortunately at bigger firms. I was interested in tax law and everyone has told me should consider getting an LLM as well in taxation (an additional fourth year that would increase my future debt burden from 150k to 200,000 )

I am introvert and have even been told by a talk at career services that you need to start building friendships or network with people at the school. A big part of law firm practice is bringing in business and everyone says that the practice of law is fiercely competitive.

If anything could be further from being me is being a competitive person. I believe that God put me on the Earth to help people and did not plan for people to compete and be miserable. I like the outdoors and a good quality of life - the availability of nursing jobs means you can live and work anywhere in the country and in a variety of settings. I also like the idea that I can help other people and that there are so many career options and possibilities. Nursing is hard work and you work a good amount of hours. But nothing could be as hard work as lack of job satisfaction, all the worry and stress, and feeling like you are not really doing anything for people except for saving already wealthy people $$$ on taxes.

I am going to go talk to career services at the school on Monday and get the honest lowdown on being a tax lawyer, salaries, jobs available for those not in the top third of the class. I will also talk to the nursing school at my university and get a feel for what that is like. If I can work for the state of Alabama or something like that as a tax attorney for a liveable (with enormous debt) starting salary of 50 or 60,000 and enjoy focusing on just the law itself rather than billable hours and bringing in clients, then maybe I would stick with that. Since graduating from school the only thing I really need in my life is a good reliable car (I am currently leasing a new Camry and it is great to finally have a satisfying, reliable car), an apartment to share in a decent area,friends, and weekend trips hiking in the great outdoors. I do not care about any of the development house and flashy lifestyle that EVERYBODY at my law school seems to be fighting for. 40 or 50,000 would do it (particularly in a rural area.)

Mary, could you tell me more about the positives/downsides as you've seen it of nursing and maybe what it would be like for a man? I want to finish up my semester strong at law school and see how I do but I am also considering this as a strong possibility.

I graduated from a diploma school in NYC in 1976 am now an advanced practice nurse. If ever there was a time to go into nursing, it is now, ESPECIALLY as a young (I assume) male. There is money available because you will be considered a minority (and you are!) and we want to get more men into the profession. Rather than an accelerated degree, I'd suggest an associate degree; it will get you through in about the same amount of time, more clinical experience, and you'll be able to consider your options as you work. You'll probably need to become a nursing assistant first - our school requires that - as it serves to get one's basic skills accomplished (bathing, feeding, and other personal care) and also helps you decide whether or not the profession is what you really want. Cons: nursing shortage, ignorant people (and MDs, but I don't think as much now) ) who can't imagine that a man would want to be a nurse, long, non-banker's hours, a litigious () public, administrators who have no concept of actual patient care, etc. Pros: nursing shortage, and you answered this:I also like the idea that I can help other people and that there are so many career options and possibilities. Nursing is hard work and you work a good amount of hours. But nothing could be as hard work as ..... feeling like you are not really doing anything for people except for saving already wealthy people $$$ on taxes.
There are days that I hate the job and the stress and the frustration of patients, coworkers, and/or administration. But I've found a correctable heart condition, I've helped a patient give her first insulin injection, given post-mortem care after an unsuccessful code. I still prefer patient care to education, and I am fortunate to be in a position to be able to do both. I am having network troubles - PM me if you want Pittnurse70 is a guy I think, maybe he'll see this and weigh in. Good luck whatever you decide

[Anchorless]

Originally Posted by wallstreet1986

Go with nursing, especially if you are a more caring person who values some kind of emotional feedback from their job or not a competitive schmoozing type. I'm a first semester law school student and seriously thinking about nursing instead. I will probably head up back North and go home and get an accelerated RN degree for those who already have a bachelor's degree.

I was an above average student in undergrad receiving a 3.4 gpa and was a Business major. I started out doing pre-engineering but didn't really like that (thankfully I took some hard science and math - Chem I, 2 years of physics, 2 years of math including differentials).

I am currently in my first year of law school and am paying about 25k per semester (50k per year) for both tuition and cost of living. I feel like I go to a decent school (still third tier) in the Southeast but from what it seems like the job market is very competitive and the actual work you're going to be doing is very picky and sometimes quite depraved. The people at the school are very competitive and enjoy living far above their means. Everyone tells me oh you should be fine as long as you're in the top third of the class. The average starting salary from our law school is 60,000 which I would imagine is skewed like the graph shown by jobs in big law. I would like to think I could get a medium sized firm job for 60-70k in tax law (an area I believed there is a shortage in) but I don't know if this is the case.

Law school is enormously stressful and a big investment of both money and time. You may not like a lot of your classmates - I certainly don't. Provided you do well enough to not get a government or low paying small firm job and pass the bar (which most people do from my school in any case), you will be working a lot of hours working on memos and research, where the only ability is to analyze and read documents and write strongly which is not really a hard skillset. Intellectual property and tax law are better to this extent but those jobs are often unfortunately at bigger firms. I was interested in tax law and everyone has told me should consider getting an LLM as well in taxation (an additional fourth year that would increase my future debt burden from 150k to 200,000 )

I am introvert and have even been told by a talk at career services that you need to start building friendships or network with people at the school. A big part of law firm practice is bringing in business and everyone says that the practice of law is fiercely competitive.

If anything could be further from being me is being a competitive person. I believe that God put me on the Earth to help people and did not plan for people to compete and be miserable. I like the outdoors and a good quality of life - the availability of nursing jobs means you can live and work anywhere in the country and in a variety of settings. I also like the idea that I can help other people and that there are so many career options and possibilities. Nursing is hard work and you work a good amount of hours. But nothing could be as hard work as lack of job satisfaction, all the worry and stress, and feeling like you are not really doing anything for people except for saving already wealthy people $$$ on taxes.

I am going to go talk to career services at the school on Monday and get the honest lowdown on being a tax lawyer, salaries, jobs available for those not in the top third of the class. I will also talk to the nursing school at my university and get a feel for what that is like. If I can work for the state of Alabama or something like that as a tax attorney for a liveable (with enormous debt) starting salary of 50 or 60,000 and enjoy focusing on just the law itself rather than billable hours and bringing in clients, then maybe I would stick with that. Since graduating from school the only thing I really need in my life is a good reliable car (I am currently leasing a new Camry and it is great to finally have a satisfying, reliable car), an apartment to share in a decent area,friends, and weekend trips hiking in the great outdoors. I do not care about any of the development house and flashy lifestyle that EVERYBODY at my law school seems to be fighting for. 40 or 50,000 would do it (particularly in a rural area.)

Mary, could you tell me more about the positives/downsides as you've seen it of nursing and maybe what it would be like for a man? I want to finish up my semester strong at law school and see how I do but I am also considering this as a strong possibility.

There are still a lot of options out there for you, duder.

The hiring prospects suck, especially coming from (Samford, I assume?), but you need to spend all of your efforts being creative, and finding a niche. Public interest, perhaps. Start your own business. There a million things to do, and if you need help with some resources to help you out, let me know.

But yeah, its certainly a bleak, bleak time to be entering the legal field.