riverripper wrote:
terp06 wrote:
riverripper wrote:
I think short term you are better off in law if you went to a top law school and work at a big name firm. Your return on investment is going to be much longer than people making 45k and not loaded down with grad school loans already. Your income immediately after school probably wont be much more than what a corporate lawyer will make, if at all since you will be at the bottom vs another few years at your firm. However, in 20 years if you gut it out in IB you may make significantly more than a partner at a top law firm.
This is untrue. 1st year associates at BB IBs make approximately 2x what a 1st year associate at a big law firm makes. The gap continues to widen every year thereafter. You are correct that any other career path after B-School will make around what a big law associate would, but IB is the exception.
What I said is 100% accurate, no clue why you say its untrue. I said short term because if he works instead of school he will be pulling down around 200k a year vs -75k a year. So his cost of attending is going to be over a half a million compared to someone who might only have a 200k or less cost...its going to take him a lot longer to pay it off. A corporate lawyer at a big firm with 4+ years of experience will be pulling down more than almost every 1st year associate. Long term, a managing director will make more than a partner. Much like law though its tough to make it that high up, you have to gut out terrible hours and loads of stress.
Still dont get how anyone can talk like a million a year wouldnt be enough. I guess I am in the minority here.
I'm pretty sure raises at big law firms are tiny compared to IB. I don't believe that most 4th years would make over $300k. Yes, the opportunity cost of forgoing this income is huge, and it probably doesn't make sense short-term, but if you want IB long-term, its worth every penny and the pay off will come soon enough.
It all comes down to what you want and how badly you want it. Opportunity cost should be evaluated if you're a lawyer, but it shouldn't be enough to deter you from attending B-School if you want to enter Finance. It should deter you from entering, and rightfully so, if your proposed career track is middle management/MC/etc.
Lastly, I don't think the timeframe needed to earn a good ROI is 20 years like you mentioned. I would estimate it at 6-8 years tops. You'd be making more in IB once you hit the VP level and your debt will be a long-gone thing of the past.