Which professional education track has more job possibilities in Chicago - Certified Public Accountant vs. Attorney (how much, lawyer)

[sourapples]

Hi all,

I am soon entering my tenth year of teaching in a few months and after many years of teaching a couple of different populations and in different parts of the country, I have decided that it is time to make a departure. I have been seeing a career counselor and we, along with reliable students, coworkers and supervisors, have concluded that I have a high aptitude for details, efficiency, a high preference for working alone and a wide vocabulary range.
I am looking for a full time administrative support job in the financial or legal field, but my search will be influenced heavily by the direction I plan to take with schooling.
Here is what I need from you: 1) I would like some feedback from others on this forum about which position is more fulfilling for detail oriented people who prefer hanging out with books and computers and has a better job market in Chicago. I have the ability and the drive to work many hours (as long as I can get my morning work out and coffee in and my Sundays off, I'm good to go).
2) I would especially like to hear from tax and intellectual property attorneys about their work and the ups and downs of practicing law.

Thanks a bunch!

Sourapples

[celim]

Hey. First off, clear up your language. This isn't a job application, you need to be more concise about your goals. Give us more details about your current situation.

Originally Posted by sourapples

Hi all,

I have been seeing a career counselor and we, along with reliable students, coworkers and supervisors, have concluded that I have a high aptitude for details, efficiency, a high preference for working alone and a wide vocabulary range.

just a heads up, both of these fields are ones that require more than just a skillset. It sounds like you're making this decision because others are telling you its the right choice, don't do that. Especially for law school, you have to be 100% committed and never question that this is what you want to do. Simple passage from law school and the bar is not a guarantee of the life you're probably looking for.

Originally Posted by sourapples

I would like some feedback from others on this forum about which position is more fulfilling for detail oriented people who prefer hanging out with books and computers and has a better job market in Chicago.

Again, be more specific. Fulfilling means different things to different people. Do you want to make money? Public service? Open your own office?

I'm not familiar with the CPA route, but your law career opportunities in chicago are going to be greatly greatly impacted by both the school you attend and your performance. Get into the best regional school you can, and do the best you can. Focus on a concentration useful in this city. We have the futures market and a large advertising market, but again, most people need to find something that they are truly and deeply passionate about to handle the stress of the first few years.

And don't believe any of the school's brochures about average graduate salaries topping $90k or such, the statistics are based on self reportage. Take a look at this

NALP Gives More Information on Expected Lawyer Salary « Above the Law: A Legal Tabloid - News, Gossip, and Colorful Commentary on Law Firms and the Legal Profession

But if law is really what you want to do, then I can't stop you, and even encourage you. The law market is pretty bad right now, but if you are a very good student there will always be opportunities, and the law market could look very different three years from now.

But my biggest advice is don't get into law because you have nothing better to do, or because people tell you its a sure path to success. It's an investment, and like any investment it is risky, but if you're driven enough, you can stack the cards in your favor.

[jlawrence01]

Originally Posted by sourapples

I am soon entering my tenth year of teaching in a few months and after many years of teaching a couple of different populations and in different parts of the country, I have decided that it is time to make a departure. I have been seeing a career counselor and we, along with reliable students, coworkers and supervisors, have concluded that I have a high aptitude for details, efficiency, a high preference for working alone and a wide vocabulary range.

As for the CPA route, you have a need to be able to work well with a lot of other people at all levels within the organization.

Your opportunities at your age will be somewhat limited. In general, the large accounting firms are looking for young folks right out of school. I am not saying that there are not opportunities out there, just that they are less than if you were say, 24.

I agree with the prior poster - your writing is very difficult to read.

[chicagojlo]

My understanding of your post is that you intend to stop teaching, and take an administrative position to support yourself while you attend either law school, or business school, with the intention of becoming either an attorney or a CPA.

First of all, you are going to struggle to find any administrative position without any relevant experience or qualifications in the current market, and it certainly won't pay much.

Secondly, you mention intellectual property law, but didn't mention which area of public accounting you are interested in. Both fields would have some opportunities to work alone, but you'd probably need to start up your own shop if you intended to do that right away.

In either area you are going to struggle as a newly qualified graduate who doesn't have much/any related job experience, especially given your age. You will most likely have to be prepared to accept the salary a typical new graduate would expect too.

I have to wonder why you are so set on this big career change, since you don't seem to feel drawn enough to either field to be able to pick one decisively by yourself.

[linicx]

Part of your decision will be based on the number of years you will be in school. At least 3, I think, for the Masters and Juris Doctor. If you like case law and Moot Court you'd probably be a shoe-in.

http://www.jmls.edu/

But, if you prefer Numb3rs, you might well like the Actuarial life. This is one of the top rated Actuarial programs in North America:

Actuarial Program - Department of Mathematics at Illinois State University

[chet everett]

I think the OP needs to do a lot more investigation of other options. It would be good to start with the batteries that are available from Johnson O'Connor to get amoretti complete and frankly unique perspective on where your talents lie in contrast to your interests.

It would be very difficult to plunge into either law or public accounting after 10 years of teaching.

Other fields have a much more diverse group of "newbies", especially paths that do rely on a combination of skills. While I hesitate to offer it as specific path formthe OP without knowing where their true apptitudes lie, I do think an example of something that requires a broader background is "medical informatics". Northwestern has some offerings in this area. Similarly UofC has a special program for career changes that grants an unusual Masters in CS that is quite different in content and style than those offered elsewhere in the city.

The recommendations of actuarial studies is somewhat better that CPA, as it tends to require "higher powered" math and a fair number of people that have those aptitudes miss out on their talent in most BA programs, but I would think that teaching for 10 years or so one would sorta figure out that they might have some previously undiscovered mathematical aptitudes if that were true...

I think it is somewhat curious that the OP specifically mention "vocabulary" but seems unaware that CPA's have a pretty limited opportunity to be expressive. Similarly, though there are attorneys with betteer than average vocabulary, the reality is most attorneys operate with a fairly technical and somewhat restrained ability to communicate. It might be wise to focus on some of the areas, though highly specialized, that do value an unusual broad vocabulary. One of those areas includes HIGHER education, as well academic style libraries to name just two. Granted salaries are not as high as the highest of attorneys, but demand remains good, salaries are above average, work satisfaction is very high...

[legaleagle2010]

The legal job market in Chicago has been devastated. Not only have there been massive layoffs of attorneys, but also of paralegals and support staff such as secretaries, as well.

This is probably the worst time in history to pursue a legal career of any kind. No kidding.

http://www.jdunderground.com

[Frank the Tank]

I'm a corporate attorney that has also worked for a Big Four accounting firm, so I could be in a position to give you some advice, but you're going to need to provide some more details about where you want to end up (i.e. target salary, how much time and money you're willing to spend on schooling, preference for private or public sector, etc.).

A couple of things that initially jumped out at me:

(1) As others have said, both law and public accounting firms are VERY heavily skewed toward hiring young people that are just out of school. Add on top of the fact that the economy is still moribound with legions of young grads in law and accounting/finance looking for work and you'll see that these are two of the most difficult professions out there to break into at an older age.

(2) If you truly have a "high preference for working alone", then neither of these professions will work for you. I know that the stereotype of accountants is that they are solitary bean counters in the backroom with a calculator, but CPAs are very different than bookeepers and actually must have a ton of engagement with clients. Frankly, the Big Four firm that I worked at had the most gregarious set of people I've ever worked with - the atmosphere is almost like an extension of college.

[MassVt]

Drover should weigh in here about this; he may have a few cautionary tales about law school..

[coldwine]

*sigh*