The Blue Board

...really? Because the market is colluding to force young people to give away their labor for free. For-profit enterprises calling 20+ hours/week of coffee pouring and paper pushing "a learning experience" so they can get away with a ridiculous system of exploitation that would be illegal in any other context.

Not to mention how the unpaid internship system contributes to the plutocratization (is that a word? do i care?) of our society. Kids from less affluent backgrounds who have to work paying jobs to support themselves while in college are shut out from the unpaid internship system because they simply can't afford to participate. In turn, this means those kids have a much harder time finding good jobs right out of college, which dampens their lifetime earning potential...and around and around the vicious circle goes.

Thanks. The only question I do have, is what did you major in and what would be some good majors to get into Law School? Most people have told me that it really doesn’t matter as long as it’s something that you can get good grades in.

I have been thinking about either History or Psychology.

I can't figure out individuals fascination with law school. I have about 4 friends that will be graduating this year, probably with 200K in debt, and there is no way all of them will be able to find a job. The market is inflated.

Just like 10 years ago when everyone under the sun got their real estate license and thought they were going to make hundreds of thousands of dollars. Well the only difference is that law school is way more expensive, and there are not enough jobs to go around.

I guess if you are going to go, make sure you attend a top 15 institution.

Coincidentally, my APR professors at Bama bent over backwards to engineer a way for me to receive academic credit for an unpaid internship as a grad student. I guess it depends on where you're interning, and if there is a chance at creating some sort of relationship/pipeline of talent for your school.

My internship paid off over a year after the fact, but I had to volunteer and work for free within the field to eventually land the job I have.

Yeah, what major you do really doesn't matter for law school admissions. Most law students have some sort of liberal arts undergrad degree and they're all treated the same by admissions offices. Either History or Psychology would be completely fine...If I had to choose, I would probably lean toward History in your shoes because that strikes me as a more reading-intensive field, But yeah, the quality of your numbers (GPA and LSAT score) are about 90% of the game in law school admissions. If you can manage a 3.6 and a 170 then you're in pretty good shape for the bottom half of the top-14 law schools, anything above those two numbers puts additional schools into range and puts scholarship $ on the table from the lower ranked ones.

Law is far from a sure thing right now. Unless you graduate from a good school and at least the top half of your class, your chances of finding a job(unless you want to go on your own way) are slim. I personally work with 4 recent (last 4yrs)graduates of U of Houston law school; 2 are my data entry slaves, 1 is a bottom-rung IT guy, and the other is teaching pre-k. 1 of my roommates graduated near the top of his class from BYU law school(not a top notch school, but decent) and was on the law review, he totally gave up looking for jobs in the field and is now using his undergrad(physics) as an entry-level geophysicist for an oil company. The market is completely oversatturated http://www.lawschoolscam.blogspot.com/

Most lawyers today would tell you to pursue something else.

Aren't a lot of internships required for college credits now?

Also, aren't a lot of people with degrees taking jobs where they are over-qualified?

world needs ditch diggers, too

There's way too much wrong info in this thread... I'm working now, but will be back later to edumacate everyone...

LONG POST AHEAD!

OK, time to drop some knowledge on everyone. I don't consider myself an expert, but I've been running the college recruiting at my firm for the past 5 yrs, so I do have some experience in it.

First up, internships. Ya, some internships aren't paid. Typically, the internships that aren't paid are taken by those majors who aren't in high demand upon graduation. For instance, a poly-sci internship will most likely be unpaid whereas an Architecture/Engineering/Construction major could roll in 15-20/hr. All of that is besides the point. If all you were doing is getting coffee is besides the point. When I have 100 college resumes in front of me, those with internship experience move to the front of the line. We have to narrow it down somehow. Even more than experience, it shows that they were diligent in preparing for life after college.

Second, the good ones always get got. Talk to anyone that recruits and/or hires on college campuses. The best students in terms of GPA, internships, extra-curricular activities, PERSONALITY, etc will always get a job out of school. If you graduated with an Engineering degree with internships and didn't get hired... I'm sorry, but that probably means you didn't present very well during meetings and interviews.

Last, willingness to live or do something different. We have alot of success recruiting kids out of schools like Michigan State and various other midwest schools. Why? 2 reasons: There aren't as many jobs there and kids want to get out of there. So if you're graduating from Univ of Mich and want to stay in MI, then you're options are severely limited. In addition to that, I talk to kids who graduate with Construction Mgt degrees alot. Many of our jobs for entry level kids are for Estimators (we're a Architecture/Engineering/Construction consulting firm). They think, "No, I want to manage a multi-million dollar project some day." Those kids end up as a Field Engineer at some job-site for the first 5 yrs of their career counting door knobs whereas our Estimators immediately take home multi-million dollar healthcare facilities to work on. Slightly different, but they are in higher demand, get paid more, and get to do something where they're making an impact. So the overall point is willingness to GET a job.

In conclusion, the economy has obviously tilted the playing field in favor of the employers. While understanding that, the top notch students (regardless of school pedigree) who are go-getters and have great personalities will likely land somewhere decent. We hired 2 entry level Estimators last year... One out of Michigan State who is now in our Los Angeles office and one out of Arizona State who is now in our San Fran office.... they're both doing really well and love it. They probably weren't "top of their class", but they were a perfect fit for our firm. Its on the students to find that fit and it may take going the extra mile. For what its worth, I love talking to the midwest college students. They have a much better work ethic and are typically in favor of doing whatever it takes to get the job... not to mention the fact that they are NORMAL.

Oh, one more point... I grad'ed from Bama and last year a girl from Auburn applied to a Recruiting Internship we had available... she was an HR major. I told her it wouldn't work out because we needed someone long term in the role (we're paying 15/hr BTW) and it needed to be located in LA. I told her to get back to me when she's closer to graduating. Sure enough, 8 months passed and she shot me an email. If our intern didn't do well enough to be hired full-time upon graduation (which is not the case), I would've hired the AU grad in a second. I tell alot of students to get back in touch with me in a years time to check in. In 5 years, about 3 have done that.

Vegas: We had a man from a very successful PR firm speak to our Ad/PR Masters class this morning. He made a point to tell us that, while we all want to make the big bucks some day, the best idea during the first 5 to maybe even 10 years of your career should be focused on jobs that will help you learn the most about the industry and give you the best skillset, NOT which jobs simply pay the best. He said he actually turned down a job during his first five years working for a firm (also doing recruiting/resume reading) that would've paid better initially. However, by staying, he moved up the ladder in a couple years and ended up with a much better experience in his opinion (the firm he was working for was much more prestigious than the suitor that came calling). Agree or disagree?

Really good info. Thanks.

As a designer/advertiser, I can only dream of making $50K+ right out of school.

International Business is definitely worth a look. I would say take a gander at Public Relations as well.

But some of these guys will probably have much better advice than I do.