Grand Rapids More Saturated in Professionals Than Other Comparable-in-Size American Cities? (Lansing: lawyers, look for a job)

[BubbaD123]

Howdy everyone!

In a couple of years, I'll be both a JD and CPA. I was looking at settling down in Grand Rapids after graduate school, but am wondering since Cooley/MSU/Michigan probably spit out 1,000+ new lawyers into or near West Michigan each and every year(and all of the schools combined throughout West Michigan probably put another 2,000 or so onto a CPA track every couple of years), have you noticed a saturation of professionals in the area?

Grand Rapids is on the up-and-up and a lot of bright professionals are relocating to the area. But.. the incessant complaining of Michigan's economy worries me. It's not just since 2009, either.. I've found documents describing a depressed Michigan economy and a 'brain drain' for the past few decades. Are the brains draining for warmer weather, or because a talented professional can't reasonably expect to make a decent living here?

All opinions will be welcomed and cherished. Thank you!

[Sillst]

Hey BubbaD123,

I'm probably not the best for this question but I'll give it a shot. Lawyer-wise, I would imagine extremely saturated on the lower end, probably okay on the high end and IP of course. Probably a pretty major shortage of engineers and programmers/software + IT guys. Accounting, I honestly couldn't tell you on that one.

All that being said, West Michigan is still extremely reliant on the auto industry. It has gotten less so over time but if/when there is another crash in autos, it will likely hit the region rather hard. As far as brain drain goes, quite a few people move to and love the area (pretty much one of the few young professional hotspots in Michigan), but the best and brightest tend to move on and sometimes come back to start a family. This is probably more so because there are better opportunities for the brightest in large areas and not hating, a better quality of life.

I do love the area, and I hope that some one can prove me wrong on these points but this is what I have seen. Also if some one knows more about the accounting/finance stuff I would find that very interesting as well! Thanks guys!

[Jandur]

You'll be fine with a JD/CPA. The CPA will probably get you work faster than the JD will. Big Law in west Michigan is hurting. My friend just laid off from one of the largest law firms in west Michigan. He graduated from a top 10 law school and he's been searching for 5-6 months now and looking at taking a significant pay cut. Part of that is because he's lazy.

On the flip side, all my CPA friends have work. One of them drives out to Lansing every day, but there is work it seems.

[BubbaD123]

Thank you, Jandur & Sillst!

I intend to get into the more higher-stakes commercial litigation side of law, so I assume many of the low-rent Cooley Law grads won't really be in direct competition with me. I figured a CPA would be in more demand than an attorney, it's that way in practically every part of the country.

[Jandur]

Originally Posted by BubbaD123

Thank you, Jandur & Sillst!

I intend to get into the more higher-stakes commercial litigation side of law, so I assume many of the low-rent Cooley Law grads won't really be in direct competition with me. I figured a CPA would be in more demand than an attorney, it's that way in practically every part of the country.

Cooley Law grads rarely get jobs actually practicing law in GR.

[intelfan11315]

Michigan's economy is rough, but the people who incessantly complain are the ones who are typically too lazy to really look for a job.

The loudest voices are typically the complainers.. but if you look at Grand Rapids, you find a LOT more people loving the city and saying great things about it than most other cities you come across in the United States. People are happy here for a reason.