Truth About Education

Professional Male Hairstyles for Business

Max Feo JD, MBA, Tax LLM — Wed, 15 Dec 2021 14:20:49 +0000

Hairstyle for Professional Man

There are many hairstyles or types of haircut that professional men or businessmen may wear according to etiquette.

They include:

Side Part.
Slick Back. …
Quiff. …
Buzz Cut. …
Crew Cut. …
Hard Part. …
Comb Over. …
Ivy league
Slicked back
Pompadour
Butch cut
Taper or classic taper
Crew cut

Previously, the main principles were for hairstyle to be conservative, clean, no beard.

Nowadays, standards have relaxed a bit, and modern professional men can allow some freedom in hairstyles, within the main principles listed above.

Examples ofSome Modern Professional Hairstyles

More artsy type of work environment

This could be allowed in may companies snow, especially tech.

Classic haircut allowed in most corporate environments

This stylish hairstyle can fit most modern corporate envidronments

The post Professional Male Hairstyles for Business appeared first on Truth About Education.

18 Best Reasons to Like Accounting Career

Max Feo JD, MBA, Tax LLM — Fri, 15 Oct 2021 11:18:06 +0000

You will love accounting after reading this.

Why do some accountants like and enjoy accounting?

I have met plenty of accountants who were perfectly happy with their chosen profession. I was wondering, why is it so? So, I inquired quite a lot over the years about whether one can love or like being an accountant.

The reasons accountants like accounting include income stability, a good job market for accountants, and resulting relative job security. Other reasons to enjoy accounting may be intellectual and analytical aspects and the ability to learn the business.

There are cons of the accounting profession and reasons why some accountants do not like working in accounting. But in this post, I focus only on reasons to like and enjoy accounting.

The below is an almost complete guide to why you can love, like, and enjoy accounting and being an accountant. Let’s dive in.

Reasons to Like, Love, and Enjoy Accounting:

You may love accounting for a variety of career options

You may like accounting because it can be applied in practically any business environment. Accounting is a fundamental core business area.

See, accountants understand not only how to calculate profit. They understand service or manufacturing business through numbers.

Therefore, sometimes accountants can break into non-accounting careers due to their knowledge and understanding of business processes.

Accountants can easily shift their careers into the financial sector and become financial specialists. For example, accountants can take the CFA exam and become financial experts. But finance graduates must take additional courses to sit for the CPA exam, for example.

Some accountants like, love, and enjoy the fact that they can go into finance, manufacturing, or even logistics. They can work for private, public, or government accounting.

Accountants enjoy such options as financial managers or actuaries, economists, or mortgage specialists.

Other accounting pro-options include becoming independent accountants, or business and management consultants. CPAs can open their firms. Accountants with good interpersonal skills can become financial planners or financial advisors (semi-sales jobs).

Often accountants like to become auditors and perform higher-level auditing work. Accountants can go into compliance (more legal type of work). They can also pass the CPA exam, then go to law school and become very solid tax attorneys.

Finally, I have seen accountants start their non-accounting businesses. Accountants are likely to succeed in business because they can manage finances and accounting for their business. Sometimes accountants start their real estate investment business on the side.

You may enjoy accounting for career growth potential

Accountants can move into senior accounting after gaining multiple years of experience.

Accountants know the business very well. And with decent social skills, they can climb the corporate ladder into management later in their careers.

Companies usually like to have at least one executive with accounting or finance experience.

Business management is also an option.

Accountants in the private accounting sector can grow from regular accountants into such roles as senior accountant or auditor, accounting or financial manager, finance director, controller, treasurer, or chief financial officer (CFO).

I had accountant classmates in my MBA program who became top executives, including company vice-presidents or CEOs.

In the UK about one-fifth of the top 100 company CEOs have an accounting background. In the US about 5% of CEOs came from accounting.

Accountants who also learn technology skills are likely to have more career options in the technology area. That may include becoming executives with responsibilities in accounting, finance, and information technology.

Learning technology is probably a key skill for modern accountants.

You may love accounting for transferrable skills

I already described that accounting skills can often be sought by businesses that love to hire people with an accounting background. The accounting skill can be transferred into manufacturing, production, or service jobs.

Businesses like to employ accountants as middle managers to manage resources.

Accounting skills like understanding business numbers can help accountants move into various business and management consulting jobs.

Why not like accounting for the fact that you can move abroad? Because accounting is pretty much the same everywhere. Especially if you are a member of global ACCA – the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants)

Therefore, accountants often like accounting because they can apply their accounting skills in practically any company. They can work in service, manufacturing, small or large company alike.

Especially accountants love the uniformity of accounting principles, standards and methods. Those remain pretty much the same no matter the industry, company, or even country.

All this make accounting flexible and easily transferrable skill. Another good valid reason to love and enjoy being an accountant.

A portrait of happy young male accountant in stylish shirt outdoors

You may enjoy accounting for honest work

Integrity and honesty are the foundations of accounting work. The ability to perform honest work and building a career is a big advantage and pro of accounting.

Many professions nowadays require employers to do shady stuff. In accounting, it is easy to distinguish between shady and honest work. And easy to choose which type of work you want to do as an accountant.

You may like accounting for an opportunity to perform competent and honest work. Accounting can be a profession of choice for honest people.

You probably will love accounting for its transparency. And you will enjoy accounting for the ability to perform honest work, going home, sleeping well, and be paid alright.

That is why accountants are generally lauded and sought for their integrity and honesty.

Business owners want to see true numbers to understand the business course and make proper judgments.

Investors want to see the true financial situation of the business to make correct investment decisions.

The government wants to see real profit and loss. Everyone wants and helps accountants to be honest.

That is quite rare these days. Something to appreciate in accounting.

You can like accounting for average stress level

Generally, many accountants like accounting because of its relatively low stress level. There is a caveat. You must love doing numbers all day long, year after year.

Many younger accountants nowadays complain about stress at work and in life. But so are people in many other industries. Accounting job is less fun than entertainment on social media.

Most accountants who site suffering from stress at work often are stressed out by the mundane or dull tasks they perform. But it also depends on the company, management, and co-workers.

I think stress in accounting has more to do with a modern way of life and with the work environment. Rapid changes and increasing demands lead to overstressing in accounting.

According to one elder accountant I spoke to performing accounting work is not stressful. He enjoyed it and it calmed him down. It is all the modern work environment that causes stress.

Public accounting is generally more stressful than corporate accounting, especially around tax season. Many accountants enjoy and love corporate or private accounting more than public one because of lower stress.

You may enjoy accounting for learning business

Another reason to like accounting is learning business. Accounting presents an opportunity to learn business in excruciating detail. Accounting is a language of the business and accountants are fluent in understanding it.

They know the business inside and out. Accountants learn how a business operates and they can use business knowledge in their career.

They can also start their own business more easily than people without accounting knowledge. Especially they learn a specific type of business where they work as accountants.

Every businessperson must understand accounting at least on a basic level. This is a major reason why some people like to study accounting.

You may love the analytical aspect of accounting

Once past the initial early career number-crunching stage, accountants perform quite a bit of analysis involving numbers and financial reports.

Accountants enjoy figuring out and digging into accounting data to paint the complete picture, recognize trends, and find solutions.

Many experienced accountants enjoy and like accounting work for its analytical aspect. Elder accountants say that accounting helped them to keep mental alertness even through respectable age.

So, if you like analytical work then you may enjoy at least that perk of an accounting career.

You may enjoy accounting for rewarding work

Some accountants feel like their work is not meaningful. But that is not true. Accounting is essential to keep a business or organization running. People like accountants because they help people or organizations to manage finances.

Experienced accountants are not mere bean counters. Many of them love performing high-level accounting work.

Once financial statements are prepared, tax season is closed, budget and forecasts are prepared, accountants see their finished work-product.

And that should give you or them a certain sense of accomplishment and pride. Even if it is the same year after year. Not everyone can do that.

Therefore, you may like, love, or enjoy the accounting profession

Some accountants like accounting and consider it rewarding for several reasons. I mentioned financial stability, income growth, career potential, transferability of skills, flexibility, and much more.

You can enjoy accounting not only because it pays bills and mortgage, puts food on the table. But it also allows to have a personal life and raise a family.

Some elder accountants love accounting because of professional stability that allows them to enjoy after-work hobbies and leave otherwise interesting and meaningful lives.

Accounting allows building a stable and structured life. There is so much one can do with accounting skills that some other professions can only envy.

Accountants enjoy people’s respect and trust kind of close to that enjoyed by police officers, firefighters, or paramedics. But an accounting job is way safer and less physically demanding than those I mentioned.

True, accounting is more tedious than said professions. But it is an as good profession as any out there. Just choose wisely.

The post 18 Best Reasons to Like Accounting Career appeared first on Truth About Education.

Is Accounting Dead or Remains a Great Career?

Max Feo JD, MBA, Tax LLM — Sun, 03 Oct 2021 12:02:07 +0000

I had to use accountants and CPAs for my work and projects. I had to deal with them extensively. And I do my accounting for very small projects. Accounting is everywhere, where any kind of money or other financial transactions occur.

Accounting is neither dead nor a dying field. Despite the continuous threat of automation accounting remains an important and viable career field. Competent accountants are likely to continue to enjoy stable careers, especially, if they embrace new technologies. But accounting is undergoing a technological transformation.

In this post below I will explain why accounting is not dead as such. But why accounting as it exists now will most likely be dead in just a decade or so.

Is accounting dead or dying? What is the future of accounting?

We have seen a major decline in the accounting field in the last decade or so leading everyone to think that accounting as a field is declining and dead. As a note – we saw a decline in other fields too.

We saw major outsourcing of accounting jobs. We see that CPA firms reduced their hiring of accounting graduates, reducing job opportunities for new inexperienced accountants. We also see that the same CPA firms increased the hiring of non-accountant tech graduates.

We saw the emergence and growth of accounting and tax software technologies such as QuickBooks or PeopleSoft, for example. Those technologies are becoming more sophisticated and keep the need for accountants or bookkeepers performing many tasks.

Now we see the emergence of high-power AI and cloud computing technologies, specifically designed to replace human labor. Cloud computing, the internet of things, and blockchain are already disrupting the financial industry and accounting field.

Blockchain, for example, is replacing the need for the verification of many transactions. Because they will be put on a blockchain and thus easily automatically verifiable.

We see a growth of Big Data, data mining, and data analytics, performed by AI and computers. The financial industry heavily embraced these new human-replacement data technologies. Technologies help to save costs, streamline processes and improve operating efficiencies.

Does it all mean that accounting is pretty much dead, or accounting is declining or dying? My take is that accounting is not dead, and we see the emergence of new cross-functional accounting.

Why accounting is not dying or disappearing any time soon.

Accounting is not a “dying” field by any means. People have been talking since the early 2000s about the accounting profession being dead but accounting still has not disappeared.

Accounting existed probably for thousands of years and just did not die. It kept growing as a profession over thousands of years as the human economy expanded.

Despite all the outsourcing since the 1990s, there are still over 1.28 million accounting and 1.51 million bookkeeping professionals in the USA alone. That roughly translates into one accounting professional per each 300 hundred people.

The number of employed accountants cannot possibly indicate that accounting is a dying field. Maybe there is a decline, which we will talk about it. But accounting is far from being dead as a profession.

At least at this point accounting is not disappearing. The field employees so many clerks accountants and CPAs that it is far from that at this point. Plus, the economy is still running, business deals are still being made and all those transactions need accounting work.

All types of organizations from private to public, from non-profit to government require financial operations. All sole proprietors, partnerships, and corporations must keep financial records either for taxation or for their business purposes.

Think about all the financial transactions by millions of businesses, companies, and solo entrepreneurs in the USA alone. And they all require an accounting. And since the majority of business owners do not want to do their accounting for lack of time, the accounting field is far from being dead.

Accounting can die only along with the economy. Like at the end of our civilization. And even then, someone needs to calculate the cost of damage done.

If there is business, there will be a need for accounting so it will never be a dying field per se. The question may be only in what shape or form accounting will survive future changes.

At this point, I would not worry too much about dying of the accounting profession for few more reasons. We are undergoing a digital or technological revolution. That means that there will be more new types of areas of the economy.

That growth will lead to more business and financial transactions. That will transfer into demand for more accounting. So, no accounting is neither dead nor dying.

Why accounting is a temporarily declining but not dead field

The accounting is kind of declining. But at the same time, it is not. Accounting is rather undergoing transition like many other industries. Accounting is becoming a more high-tech profession.

The Bureau of Labor and Statistics revised its gloomy view of the future of the accounting profession. The BLS predicts the accounting profession’s overall growth at about 4%-7% average growth rate through 2030. That rate of growth is average across all industries.

If you are good at math, then you should understand that even average growth for accounting which employs 1.2+ million people is solid growth. This prediction does not indicate a major decline in the accounting profession. And much less it indicates that the accounting field is dying.

I would say that accounting is rather getting saturated. About 135,000 annual jobs openings in the coming years are expected by BLS. At the same time, about 200,000 accounting students graduate each year. That number may lead to some oversaturation which will be offset by the annual retirement of older accountants.

But accounting is a skill demanded by many employers who may be willing to hire accounting graduates in some other capacity. So, even young accountants are likely to get a job even if it is not specifically an accounting job.

Those statistics and overall setup show that accounting is not necessarily declining. At least, it is not rapidly declining as of now.

The decline in the overall economy and business is the major driver for a potential decline in accounting. But then, many other professions decline along with it. So, it is incorrect to talk about accounting declining without the overall context of economic conditions.

At this point, I would not worry too much about declining the accounting. I would worry about its transformation and staying relevant as an accountant.

Accounting and accountants are not becoming obsolete

The major concern of many accounting students and accounting professionals is whether accounting is becoming obsolete. Many think that accountants will become obsolete in the future due to widespread automation and being taken over by artificial intelligence.

Specialists talk about the necessity of distinguishing between accounting and basic data entry for accounting and bookkeeping. Many bookkeeping professionals are essentially just data entry clerks, entering numbers on a computer.

The consensus is that those basic simple mundane tasks clerks may become obsolete. But pro accountants also read, analyze, and interpret financial statements.

Then they may do some calculations to test certain areas and see results, then they need to make certain decisions based on their subjective interpretation.

And then maybe accountants suggest a course of action to management. That type is real accounting which should not become obsolete in the nearest decades.

Even with all recent advances in technology the data entry-level accounting and bookkeeping clerks still are not obsolete. Despite all the conversations, knowledgeable, experienced accountants with heads on their shoulders should not become obsolete in the coming years.

AI and machines just are not there yet to replace human professionals.

Its traditional accounting roles will become automated. There will be no more data entry day and night. No more manual entry of sales and expenses into journals and T-accounts. Those tasks will be automated, and such basic-level accountant roles will be obsolete.

I see some firms replacing accounting clerks with technology, but they still need skilled accountants to work with data and interpret it. What happens, is that old accounting technology, methods and processes become obsolete.

Female accountant in front of laptop on her work desk

Accountants must learn new tech skills

To avoid becoming obsolete, an accountant must embrace and learn new technologies. Those technologies range from software (Excel, QuickBooks) to data mining, research, and analysis tools (SQL, Python).

Experienced accountants with technology skills will make plenty of money in the future. I have read that CPA firms more actively are employing young graduates with coding skills or good command of various software.

There were several reasons we saw some seeming decline and semi-dying of accounting. First, we saw the elimination of millions of small businesses over the last few decades. It happened due to the monopolization of markets.

Big companies pushed many retail family businesses out of existence. Those millions of businesses used to employ hundreds of thousands of accountants. Now they were gone and so far, there is no replacement. So, the accounting profession declined along with a decline of the small business sector.

As a result, many people got confused, thinking accounting is dying or dead and will become obsolete soon. Guess what, we already see the emergence of new online businesses and new types of products.

Who has heard of so many digital products three decades ago? Sales of all those digital products by many smaller software companies is a business sector requiring accounting and accountants.

Many successful YouTubers, influencers, bloggers, or even tik toc(ers) need to file their taxes too. And if they start making good money they hire bookkeepers, accountants, or CPAs. This is a new type of business that did not exist 30 years ago.

That’s why I am saying that neither accounting nor accountants will be obsolete. They will have to transform and adjust to the brave new tech world.

Accounting is not dead and will not die because at least for the next few decades there will be a need for human judgment in accounting. Decision-making is often more an art rather than a robotic process.

Humans still can do better subjective and abstract analysis than any machine. Accountants still perform plenty of analytical types of work. The supply of that work is not declining. Analytical skills are not even near to being obsolete.

And technology will help. Accountants will need to be retrained to operate technologies. New cross-skilled accounting professions will emerge.

Audits, risk, analysis, and judgment calls will make sure accounting is not dead

There are plenty of tasks that for example, CPAs perform but a machine cannot. Audits will still require human review by an accountant or CPA. Risk mitigation often involves subjective thinking. Risk mitigation accounting is not dead, is not declining, and will not become obsolete in the coming years.

That is why some commentators are saying that those accounting professionals who think creatively will be very valuable in the future. Especially, if they learn how to operate new accounting technologies.

Think about thousands upon thousands of pages of tax code which is changing often. Then think about all the tax-related decisions by courts. If humans are passing laws, those laws will need interpretation by human accountants and CPAs. As a note, I wrote separate blog post explaining why accounting is still better profession than law.

The point is that hiring clerical staff for many mundane accounting tasks will decline. Such professional niche is declining and may eventually become obsolete. This is what they mean when they say that accounting is dead – mundane simple tasks that can easily be automated.

But low-level accounting is dying

I would say that routine mindless accounting is dead or dying niche. Those positions have been declining for decades and eventually are dying. But there is much in higher-level accounting that requires human judgment calls. A human mind needs to look at the data and figure out what to do with it.

I also talked to a few accountants and while they kind of fear automation, many of them do not see a decline in accounting work. Much less they think accounting is dead or dying.

High volumes of data produced in the modern world require more analysis and more judgment calls. Someone must do it.

Increasing the volume of regulations requires more accounting compliance analytical work.

Auditing often requires abstract conceptual thinking, investigative analysis, and making serious assumptions and judgments which only a human accountant is capable of.

AI is simply not that smart yet to replace human thinking. Maybe, because AI has no subconscious mind and has no emotions.

Recent Developments Show Pro Accounting is Not Dying

Do you know what all these worries and conversations did to the profession? They lead to the fact that many young people reject accounting as a professional choice. It may mean less competition in the future.

First, many young people embraced coding, creating apps, and other such career paths over accounting. The startup culture also did it.

Accounting is tedious and often boring. Coding front-end websites and creating apps is probably more fun.

This is a fun-loving generation that does not want to do mundane dull tasks day in and day out. They often think of accounting as a boring dead-end job and dying field. And other bright minds choose to code, data science, or robotics instead of accounting.

Plus, accounting salaries often did not commensurate with the level of responsibility. The previous gradual decade-long decline in the economy leads many people to decide not to pursue professional work, including the accounting profession.

Accounting college programs enrollment fell too. Especially on the master’s level.

I have read a few CPA articles where CPAs sound alarmed about these trends. Young bright minds turn away from accounting and instead go into those emerging tech industries. Many choose computer science over other professions, including accounting.

And maybe that’s a wise choice in a way. This is a growing problem that is about to hit the home and result in shortages of accounting professionals.

CPA exam applications have been declining for a long time. And fewer accountants are taking CPA exams now. So far the industry has seen about a 3%-7% decline in CPA exam takers since 2017.

Plus, even just an advanced accounting degree may open doors in the financial industry. You are allowed to take the CFA exam with an accounting degree. That means accounting still offers plenty of career path options.

Yes, that means more jobs for you in the coming decade, shall you decide to become an accountant. And it means growth in salaries for bright accountants and CPAs. Especially, if you also get tech skills, including Excel, SQL, Python, practical understanding of data analytics and maybe even data science, and so on.

The bright future for accounting (In the future accounting is not dead)

I like science fiction. So let me do some imaginative science fiction writing here. In the future, accounting is going to become more like a science type of work.

I already mentioned the cross-functional nature of the accounting future. Accounting will be more like a deeply analytical technical discipline.

Top-level accounting will require both pieces of knowledge of, well, accounting principles, and the ability to operate technology to perform data mining and analytics. Humans will oversee AI and machines performing most of the mechanical accounting data entry and calculation work.

Accountant technicians (not my term) will operate machines, set rules, principles, logic, and tasks for AI. They will troubleshoot AI problems. And will move in those cases when AI cannot perform some tasks.

Human accountants also will be responsible to make sure that AI obtains correct data. And then that AI produces correct data. Essentially, they will be accounting technicians troubleshooting problems in the accounting process. Those will be more tech people than accountants.

Then there will be accountants or CPAs with advanced accounting knowledge. They will be responsible for forming and designing analysis tasks, processes, methods. They will also be responsible for setting overall operational rules and boundaries.

Then they will analyze the condensed data collected, worked on, and condensed by AI and machines. And such people will make necessary judgments regarding current financial status and operations.

Such CPAs or accountants will act like knowledge consultants. Because humans see certain social and other issues and trends which machines and AI cannot see. I suspect the CPA exam requirement will be more mandatory for accountants in the future.

There will be two distinct professions in accounting – accounting expert CPAs and programming expert accounting technicians (not my term).

Such high-level accountants will lead machines and AI in accounting work. And of course, such accountants must know at least the basics of such emerging technologies like data mining, data analysis, and so on. For that, they need to learn principles and practical applications.

Computer languages on a basic level will be very helpful. But operational knowledge of software will be even more critical. Accounting software technicians/ programmers will do actual coding work and AI troubleshooting. But CPAs and accountants per se will need to masterfully operate it. See above.

In short, accounting will become a more advanced job than just data entry.

Sounds like science fiction but this is already happening. Some large firms exploit new AI and they have just a few accountants who operate machines.

Basic future accounting jobs are dead, dying, or declining

We already guessed that many basic data entry accounting jobs will be dead or obsolete in the future. They will be overtaken by AI. That probably means that in the future they need for accounting professionals overall may decline.

But we need to look in the context of global trends. Many accountants will retire, leaving accounting jobs open. AI development will take more than few years to be on the level that would require a drastic reduction of accounting jobs.

It is simply not likely to happen in the next few years. The process of declining accounting jobs due to AI will take decades. Therefore, even junior accountants may still have decades of decent career growth. It is still possible to get into accounting.

Then, we have this decline in interest in accounting among college students. That trend reduces the competition for accounting jobs.

Plus, we have new types of small businesses emerging and they will require accountants. For at least a decade or two, the accounting jobs are mostly safe.

Accountants with modern tech skills and with knowledge of accounting will never be obsolete. And those jobs are not going away any time soon in the coming decades.

Therefore, accounting is probably here to stay for another few thousand years at least. And so are professional accountant jobs for skilled accountants performing higher-level accounting tasks.

The post Is Accounting Dead or Remains a Great Career? appeared first on Truth About Education.

Should You Choose Law vs. Accounting? A Practical Guide

Max Feo JD, MBA, Tax LLM — Thu, 23 Sep 2021 11:09:34 +0000

In this article, I will explain the difference between law and accounting careers. Both careers have major pros and major negatives.

Law and accounting careers are very different. An accounting career is easier to get into, less stressful and accounting offers more job opportunities than law. Accounting is a more versatile skill than law and with a wider range of applicability but can be boring at times.

In this article guide, I will go over the main points of law vs. accounting analysis. I will also point out gaps in official statistics and offer interpretation which many people usually omit and disregard.

Those points are important to consider when deciding whether you should go into a law or accounting career at all.

Lawyer or accountant: What’s the Difference Between Law vs Accounting Profession

Law work is very different from accounting work. The law deals with people and their legal issues while accounting deals with numbers and recording financial transactions.

What Do Lawyers Do in Law Work?

Lawyers, also called counselors or accountants in the US, are professionals licensed by the state who advise the individual or corporate clients on the impact and effect of laws and regulations and represent others in legal affairs.

Lawyers read, analyze, understand, and interpret law daily to ensure that clients act following the law. Lawyers also often must solve legal problems of their clients who accidentally or intentionally break the law.

Law is about advising clients on legal matters. Lawyers also advise on a course of action to take to avoid legal problems. This requires major guesswork by lawyers as the law is often unclear and no situation is identical.

Law requires a heavy amount of hard intellectual legal work. The intellectual aspect of legal work is one of the most cited professional perks by attorneys.

Law requires figuring out solutions to legal problems. The major difference between the law or accounting profession is that lawyers must perform a large amount of essential guesswork when advising clients. They must figure out complicated situations and how the law applies to those.

Law is about the fighting attorney on the opposing side. The attorney who is smarter, more experienced, more competent, and has a better connection often wins.

Preventing legal troubles. Also, the job of an attorney is to ensure that the client does not get into legal trouble in the first place.

What Do Accountants Do in Accounting Work?

Unlike in law, accounting professionals deal mostly with data, numbers, individual or corporate financial situations, and business processes.

Accounting is about recording financial transactions. Accountants note and record in an established special way all financial transactions of individuals or companies.

Accountants prepare financial documents. Then based on recoded transactions prepare such documents as financial and budget reports, forecasts, and financial statements. All those reveal the financial condition of the business or individual for whom reports were prepared.

Accountants read and analyze accounting and financial reports, forecasts, budgets, and financial statements.

There is no adversity in accounting. Unlike in law, accounting does not involve regular fighting with an opposing accountant on behalf of a client. That’s one major difference between law and accounting work.

Accountants research problems. Based on data, accountants must figure out if there is any financial problem with a business.

Accountants give accounting suggestions. They can also suggest a certain course of action to superiors or to managers or owners of the business to improve financial standing.

Accountants may advise their clients on accounting matters. Often accountants who are CPAs go beyond just recording transactions (bookkeeping) and advise their clients on various accounting and financial matters.

CPAs also are often involved in solving financial problems for clients by figuring out necessary steps to improve their financial situation.

A major difference between lawyers and accountants’ work

Therefore, in law vs. accounting difference, attorneys mostly deal with people, their situations, problem-solving, and deciphering the meaning of convoluted legal texts.

Unlike a lawyer, an accountant deals mostly with numbers, calculations, ledgers, and financial reports all day long, as opposing to dealing with people and their problems.

And that is one major difference between law vs. accounting work.

Female accountant in front of laptop on her work desk

Law vs. Accounting: A Comparison of Pros and Cons

NOTE: I suggest everyone seeking career or career change take one of the reputable professional work aptitude tests which reveal the best career paths for YOU. I took those tests, and they are pretty damn accurate. Some of the tests are MAPP, STRONG, and others.

Law vs Accounting Career: Salary and Career comparison

Do lawyers make more than accountants?

Do you think that in law vs accounting lawyers always make more money? Of course, you do. The popular opinion is that all lawyers make more money than accountants. But below I will show why this is not true. Because there are many factors which nobody accounts for when evaluating law vs accounting salaries.

Do accountants or lawyers make more money?

Law vs accounting: attorney salaries

Lawyer salary statistics. Allegedly, according to statistics, lawyers’ median salary is just over $122,000 per year. The lowest 25% are making $80,000 per year, and the highest 25% of lawyers are making $186,000 annually. Source 1.

Law salary statistic is misleading. This would make an impression that lawyers always make more money than accountants. But official salary statistics do not include law school graduates who failed the bar exam, never became attorneys, and got low-paying jobs just to make ends meet.

Finally, official sources usually provide salary levels based on statistics received from large law firms. I suspect these numbers ignore attorney salaries in small firms and public interest organizations. And small firms pay less money and employ the largest number of attorneys in the country.

The tough job market for lawyers. The job market for new lawyers is extremely tough. Many young attorneys simply do not find jobs. They either try to start solo law practice or simply change their profession. Those lawyers are also not included in statistics.

Just by having more job opportunities accountants technically make more money than young attorneys. At least, they are better off with jobs.

Big money in top law firms. Top law firms in the country pay high money to attorneys. But attorneys must graduate from high-ranking law schools and be at the top of their class to get employed by those big law firms. Said that the best paying states for attorneys in big law are California, DC, and New York.

Law requires experience. Another major omission is that statistics do not account for the experience required to make high-income money. Lawyers usually must have at least 5-7 years of work experience to start making over $100,000 annually.

Only a few lawyers make millions. Another major factor influencing statistics is that the top few percent of lawyers are making millions of dollars each year.

Those include partners in major law firms or lawyers with their own successful established law practice. And those high money numbers for a few mathematically inflate salary statistics for the whole profession.

Misconceptions and misleading statistics make law vs accounting career salary comparison pretty much incorrectly favoring lawyers. But if you research attorney salaries you will see that even in California many attorney positions offer a mere $39,000-$69,000 annual salary.

Many lawyers make little money. There are many attorneys in the public sect making $35,00-$55,000 annually. And that often even with work experience. On average, the bottom 10% of attorneys make around $54,000 annually. Source 2.

Frankly, you can make that amount in accounting with much less hustle and stress.

I wrote a whole article about whether attorneys are rich. You can read it on this blog here. I will not even discuss salaries for paralegals or legal assistants because they are simply laughable.

Attorneys can make big money, but they must work tremendously hard to get there and to even survive in the profession.

Accounting vs. Law: accountants’ salaries.

Accounting salary statistics. The same source says that median accountants’ salary is $71,500, and the bottom 25% of accountants are making around $42,000-$44,000 per year. https://money.usnews.com/careers/best-jobs/accountant/salary

Statistics is more accurate for accounting than law. My online search that the low money number for accounting is close to reality. Many accountant positions start with a $40,000-$41,000 annual salary. And the average annual income is $55,000 according to data by Indeed.com. Source 3.

Few accountants make big money. Some highly paid accountants make $80,000-$150,000, according to actual job postings. Granted, they also need good experience to make such good money.

The best paying states for accountants are California, Washington state, New York, and…Alaska. Alaska generally pays accountants the highest in the nation. But with the internet, an accountant can work from anywhere.

Bookkeeper, as a type of accountant, has an average salary of $40,000 annually. Independent bookkeepers can get their clients and make way more than that.

Accounting is a more stable profession than law. And in continuance of law vs accounting debate, accounting does not see as much dropout of profession after graduation like law. And there are more accounting jobs than jobs in law.

As you can see, the more we dig into law vs. accounting salaries and wages, the more nuances we uncover. Tell me now, do accountants or lawyers make more money at large?

A lawyer may potentially make more money than most accountants. Said that successful and top lawyers on average can make more money than successful and top accountants, even CPAs. Partners in law firms may make millions of dollars if they have the astute business ability.

Partners in CPA firms usually make less but still can make seven figures or even literally millions of dollars per year. But these high-paid professionals are rare exceptions in both law and accounting sectors. The highest official pay in Big 4 auditing firms is around 1.1-1.2 million dollars, I believe.

Besides money, there are other very important differences between law and accounting.

Law vs. Accounting Career Money Conclusion:

Accounting income is more stable (with one major caveat I explain at the end of this article). Lawyers’ job security is generally less stable on average and thus potential income and money are a tradeoff. And then, it’s just high-income potential. Not about the rule on average.

Competence required. Lawyers really must be entrepreneurs and constantly seeking work. They must be very competent to have worked continuously coming in. Accountants have it easier and more stable in terms of income and money. It is harder to become a competent attorney than a competent accountant.

Law vs Accounting degree: Cost and Difficulty Comparison

Difference between law school or accounting program

Lawyers Must Study Law. Note, that in the USA, as in many other countries, unlike some accountants like bookkeepers, lawyers must obtain specific legal education in institutions like law school.

Then they should pass the bar exam to obtain an attorney license. The license allows an attorney to practice law (advise and represent clients) in the state where they are licensed.

Law Degree is Harder to Obtain Than Accounting Degree. I will tell right away that law school in the USA is a way more difficult and stressful experience than accounting undergraduate or masters in accounting.

There are many reasons why a law degree is much harder to obtain than an accounting degree. I wrote about it all over on this blog.

The reasons for law vs. accounting degree difficulty. It has to do with the fact that the legal profession is way more saturated than accounting. The law profession makes it intentionally hard to get into law school and obtain a law degree.

The accounting profession does not put such hard obstacles for candidates seeking an accounting degree.

Law school degree is harder to obtain because unprepared law students must read and understand tons and tons of very complicated and convoluted law material.

They have one single exam for each class at the end of the semester and are graded on a curve. That means only roughly 5%-10% o the class can get very good grades, even if 90% of the class are very bright people.

Reading in law school is made intentionally unmanageable. Exam grading is subjective. Law is vague, unclear, and convoluted topic.

An accounting degree is easier because accounting itself is more straightforward. Accounting is about numbers. Numbers do not lie and are not susceptible to any whims of professors like in law school.

Grading in an accounting program is more objective because the numbers and curve grading are uncommon. There are more resources for accounting students than for law students and at a lower cost.

In short, law school is just plain crazy and the accounting program is a reasonable experience. I did not say accounting is easy. I said that an accounting degree is easier to obtain than a law degree. And accounting program is more manageable than law school, even on master’s level.

An accounting degree costs less. The national average for accounting tuition in colleges is about $7,200-$7,500 per year for in-state residents.

But, for example, at California State University Northridge you can study accounting (undergrad) for $5,500-$6,500 per year. CSUN’s Master of Accounting program will cost about $22,000 in total.

Rutgers University MACC (Master of Accounting) Is about $14,000 per year and lasts about two years. That is not much at all compared to potential income.

The majority of accounting programs in colleges charge $10,000-$20,000 annual tuition. Private universities may change $20,00-$35,000 but you do not have to go there to get started in accounting.

Average law school in-state resident tuition is $26,400, and average private law school charges $44,000 annually. Law school is a three-year program, so this comes up to a total of $79,000 for in-state, and $132,000 for private law school tuition, respectively.

Even low-ranking law schools often charge lots of money for law school. You can find low-ranking cheap law schools around the country. But do not expect any job offers after those.

Pre-law undergrad has no practical value and does not help to get into good law school. I would opt for accounting undergrad instead. You can go to law school with an accounting bachelor’s degree without any problem whatsoever.

An accounting degree leads to better employment. You can get an accounting degree at a local state or even community college and get employed. Accounting program in even low-ranking college is likely to land entry-level accounting job.

You can also see on job sites that entry-level accounting positions often require as little as six months of general accounting clerk experience.

A Law school degree is worthless. On the opposite, most graduates from lower-ranking law schools never find employment as attorneys. Even graduates from higher ranking (below top 14) law schools quite often face the same problem.

Then they have a hard time trying to find jobs in other industries and nobody wants to hire them for many reasons.

It is knowing law that helps any person. You should learn it because law governs every aspect of your life. But not necessarily in the law school

You will find on job sites that most attorney positions require at least 2-3 years or more of specific legal niche experience.

An accounting degree still has a better return on investment than a law degree. An accounting degree can be obtained at a lower cost and leads to stable employment as an accountant.

A comprehensive vocational, college, or online course can lead to a bookkeeping career. And you do not need to go through a full accounting program to become a bookkeeper. A good bookkeeping course in a local college or even online is often enough to get you started.

Law vs. accounting: Is law or accounting harder

Law is a harder career for many reasons I laid out above. Law is hard to practice, too competitive, too vague, involves lots of guesswork and uncertainties. Law is an inherently unpredictable and complicated profession compared to accounting.

And there is just a huge number of laws on the books. Too much for anyone to learn everything. Not a single lawyer can be a specialist in more than 2-3 areas of law.

Accounting is generally an easier profession. Because accounting is based on the set of the same single principles all over the world. Principles like T ledgers, debit, and credit entries.

I have seen accountants who were specialists in many areas of accounting. Most accountants perform essentially the same well-established tasks in all industries.

Accounting is based on numbers and is designed to be predictable and understandable. It is easier to do accounting because an accountant’s job is not to confuse the opposing side, not to win over it, but to make things orderly and clear.

I would say the law is harder and accounting is easier because, unlike law, accounting is a more straightforward type of work.

Law is extremely convoluted, vague, and heavily depends on subjective interpretation. But numbers make accounting straightforward and objective, although maybe a boring profession.

Accounting is less stressful. Lack of that stress makes accounting an easier career.

Not much guesswork in accounting. An accountant does not have to do as much guesswork and interpretation of convoluted laws as an attorney. Accountants do straightforward calculations and recording transactions based on presented hard numbers and data.

Sometimes accountants or bookkeepers need to do some guesswork to figure out the missing pieces of data in the financial or accounting process. Both lawyers and accountants make mistakes. But it is much easier to make mistakes for a lawyer than an accountant.

Accounting is neither dead nor dying.

Law vs. accounting: Is accounting or law more boring?

Accounting is often boring. Allegedly, accounting is one of the most boring professions.

I can believe that, especially, for those who went into accounting without liking number-crunching. Yes, the relative easiness and stability of the accounting profession come with the price of boredom.

Said that I have met plenty of accountants totally happy. A stable paycheck cures many issues.

Law is sometimes very boring. On the other hand, the law is often less boring because it is unpredictable. Dealing with people, issues and problems is stressful, and usually, something always happens.

Fires need to be put out. New events, new people, new facts, new problems require continuous self-improvement and coming up with new ways of solving them.

But grueling legal research can be extremely boring sometimes. And paralegal and young attorneys perform it in the law sector. Many attorneys think it is incredibly boring and hate that part.

Working for years with the same types of documents can also be boring. I have met few happy attorneys. Many attorneys enjoy practicing law but are not necessarily happy doing it. Still, some attorneys are happy.

Therefore, accounting may be more boring than law. One advantage and disadvantage of accounting over the law are that accounting tasks will be similar or practically the same, no matter where the accountant works.

Law tasks will be vastly different depending on where the lawyer works. There are very different areas of law and geographical differences can be quite drastic.

Law vs. Accounting: Is law or Accounting Better?

In short, it is easier to become an accountant than a lawyer. Accounting is less stressful than law. Despite some decline, generally, there are more jobs in accounting vs law.

Lawyers often hate being lawyers. Average law profession dropout rate. Law schools have up to a 35% dropout rate. About 30%-70% of lawyers want to leave the profession because it is too stressful and not rewarding.

About 50% of young lawyers want to leave their current employer and about only 18% of young associates in large firms remain there. Being an attorney is incredibly stressful and 1 out of every 5 attorneys has a substance abuse problem.

In law 50–60-hour work-weeks are a common occurrence. Plus, work on weekends often. Law case stakes are high and opposing lawyers make each other’s lives miserable.

Few Other Advantages of Accounting over Law

Accounting is a versatile skill needed by pretty much any company and in any setting. An individual with accounting skills is far likely to find even unrelated job and transfer into another industry than a lawyer. Employers just love employees with accounting skills.

There is no geographical limitation on practice like in law. Lawyers must practice within their states unless they do federal law. Accountants usually can freely move around the country and the world.

Because accounting standards are pretty much the same, unlike laws. Even CPAs licensed in one state can obtain clients from other states.

Law or Accounting: Major Downsides of the Law Profession

As you can see, high stress, bad job market, uncertainty, and vagueness of law practice, all contribute to a very stressful environment for lawyers. Nothing is guaranteed in law and there is no stability.

Plus, you have all the hurdles of becoming a lawyer from getting into law school to going through law school, getting good grades, passing the bar exam, and then limiting yourself to practicing certain areas of law only within certain states or states.

All that is stress. But some lawyers still somehow find their way and are happy with their careers.

The most important disadvantage of the accounting profession is threat of decline and automation.

Replacement by technology. The accounting profession may suffer some level of decline due to technology and automation. According to some studies I have seen, accountants and bookkeepers are a 90%-98% of chance of being replaced by AI in the coming decades.

I have already seen some accounting decline due to technology. Improvements in the software also help to reduce the number of accounting positions. And US Berate of Labor Statistics predicts the accounting sector will decline 3% by 2029-2030 because of outsourcing and automation.

At the same time, the most recent BLS report now states that accounting will grow as average as other industries – about 7%.

Go figure these statistics, right? Well, it is low-level accounting clerks that are more likely to be replaced than competent accountants. The other trend is that CPA firms started hiring many non-accountants with digital skills. Note this.

Accountants are still needed. Despite the said decline, there will be about 170,000 new openings for accountants and bookkeepers EACH YEAR in the coming decades. With about 200,000-210,000 graduates each year.

Despite the declining job outlook for accounting looks better than for law. By the way, billions of dollars are invested into technologies that can replace legal assistants and paralegals, and lawyers too. We will see how that works out.

I still see people needing bookkeepers, especially with the growth of online retails, shops, YouTubers, and blogs. It is hard to predict what will happen but there is such risk of decline in accounting jobs and law jobs too, for that matter.

I wrote large blog post explaining why threat of accounting is not going to die off even with automation.

Study Law or Accounting: Conclusion.

Major points to remember:

Accounting work is more boring but more straightforward. Accounting is easier to get into than law.
But to become a full-range accountant eventually, you may need to take the CPA exam.
The CPA exam is not mandatory.
Accounting sometimes requires only an accounting degree or vocational school or bookkeeping course.
Law requires law school and the mandatory passing bar exam.
Accounting requires less experience for entry-level than law.
There are more accounting positions than law jobs.
There is no huge difference in salary between law and accounting in the early career.
In the long run, lawyers can potentially make more money than accountants, including CPAs.
But a minority of lawyers get to that point.
Accounting skills are more transferable across industries than law skills.
Accountants can more easily travel around the country for jobs than lawyers.
Lawyers are more respected and feared than accountants.
Law is an intellectually more rewarding job than accounting.
Lawyers more deal with people and their issues.
Accountants deal more with numbers and financials
Lawyers do not need much math.
Accountants must know basic math well
Lawyers must be able to read a lot of complex legal materials and write very well.
Accountants do not need to write much and require a normal level of reading skills.
Accountants must understand how to read financial reports, forecasts, statements.
Law practice is much more stressful than accounting work.
Many lawyers want to leave law professions.
Accounting work is generally more boring than law.
But many accountants are comfortable with their work.
An accounting career is more stable than a law career
But accounting may be automated faster than law

Overall, more people can become accountants than lawyers. Accounting is generally easier and more stable career than law, albeit with less income than law in the long run.

I am not talking much about CPAs. The CPA exam is very hard, but unlike law students, accountants take the CPA exam after few years of an accounting career, not before they even start it. Lack of CPA does not preclude accountants from having a decently paying job.

Accounting wins except for the automation aspect. If not for that, I would always recommend accounting instead of and over law at any time.

Take one of the major career aptitude tests. They are VERY helpful in making decisions. Do that before investing huge money into education.

Source 1, Source 2, Source 3, Source 4, Source 5, Source 6, Source 7, Source 8, Source 9, Source 10

The post Should You Choose Law vs. Accounting? A Practical Guide appeared first on Truth About Education.

MBA Vs. Ph.D.: The Differences Explained for Career

Max Feo JD, MBA, Tax LLM — Fri, 27 Aug 2021 09:50:51 +0000

Choosing between MBA vs. Ph.D. is a process that can lead to a significant decision in your life. As an MBA with some Ph.D. friends, I will provide several critical hard truths in this article. I think you should know them before making your final decision.

MBA and Ph.D. degrees are not equal. MBA was designed to train managers, and Ph.D. was created to train researchers and scientists. A Ph.D. generally is regarded as an academically higher accomplishment than MBA, but MBA is a quicker way to practical work and career.

To understand the MBA vs. Ph.D. comparison, we need to do some industry analysis. Then, we will employ some useful MBA and Ph.D. salary statistics and investigate several other vital factors often overlooked by prospective students. Let’s start.

Is MBA equal to a Ph.D.?

MBA stands for master’s in business administration degree, and Ph.D. stands for a doctor in philosophy. While both MBA and Ph.D. in business study business topics, they are very different degrees. In terms of equality in a dispute between MBA vs. Ph.D., Ph.D. is the clear winner.

Whether MBA is equal to a Ph.D. depends on how society and industry view both degrees. MBA vs. Ph.D. is entirely different. MBA is not equal to a Ph.D. (doctorate) in any way, shape, or form. MBA is a graduate professional master’s degree, while a Ph.D. is a post-graduate research academic degree.

Ph.D. is still regarded higher than MBA for many reasons, including deepness of study and research required for Ph.D. students. In addition, Ph.D. is the most advanced degree one can obtain in any field in the USA.

MBA was designed to train managers who can manage the human and material resources of the company. Managers must make business decisions, recognize trends, have a vision, and manage processes, sometimes exploiting gut feeling based on experience.

Ph.D. was designed to train researchers and scientists who research and analyze data to extrapolate trends, recognize problems, and figure out solutions to them based on complex data instead of gut feelings.

Companies and the public generally regard a Ph.D. as significantly more advanced than a master’s degree, including MBA. PhDs are considered subject experts and authorities on the topic of their Ph.D. research.

There are many more MBA than business Ph.D. graduates each year. MBA is a commodity nowadays, while a Ph.D. in a business topic is still a unique qualification.

The caveat is that an elite business school MBA is still more likely to be regarded higher than a Ph.D. from a low-ranking business program.

Is MBA harder than a Ph.D.? The difficulty of MBA vs. PhD

Between Ph.D. and MBA, Ph.D. is more complicated. Ph.D. in business is harder to obtain degree compared to MBA.

MBA is shorter, and students can complete a full-time MBA program in 2 years or less. Ph.D. may take longer than 5-7 years to complete. You should look at those years of studying as an opportunity cost. Meaning, you lose the opportunity to get a job and work on your regular business industry career because you are pursuing MBA or Ph.D. instead.

MBA is a general overview of most common business areas, and MBA students primarily learn about core business concepts in an overview form.

The curriculum for most business MBA subjects has pretty much been established, and thus MBA students have more structured studies with understandable steps, goals, and expectations. As a result, MBA does not involve too much math and is generally straightforward on most occasions.

On the other hand, Ph.D. is a narrow, intense, and deep research focused on a specific aspect of an area of the business subject. Ph.D. research focuses on some unique and new theory or part of the previously not so profoundly researched business topic. Ph.D. in business often involves lots of math.

Essentially, a Ph.D. is a deep immersion into unknown and unresearched theoretical depths of business. And if Ph.D. is in statistical, financial, economics, or some mathematical areas of business, then Ph.D. students must perform a heavy volume of advanced mathematical calculations.

Plus, the Ph.D. program has much higher knowledge and analysis expectations from its students compared to MBA. In a Ph.D. in business, a researcher spends multiple years studying, analyzing, and interpreting various data and extrapolating trends, rules, consistencies, and conclusions.

Ph.D. work must prove a new point or theory by supporting it with heavy volume or research and plenty of arguments. MBA students do not have to do it.

Usually, a Ph.D. must complete two years of coursework, teach for a couple of years, and then write a dissertation within another 1-3 years. So, Ph.D. can take seven years to complete.

Ph.D. requires more heavy volume work than MBA.

Which degree is better, MBA or Ph.D.? Is an MBA or Ph.D. better?

What is better – MBA vs. Ph.D. – is a very tough topic because Ph.D. is narrowly focused on some aspect of business, while MBA simply is an advanced overview of many business topics.

Which degree is better, MBA or Ph.D., depends on personal goals. MBA is better if one wants to obtain a degree and start looking for a job sooner. MBA is more like a sprint. But if someone wants to get into academia and teach or spend many years researching a specific topic and become a super-focused specialist, then Ph.D. is better. Obtaining a Ph.D. is a challenging marathon rather than a sprint.

The MBA vs. Ph.D. outcome also depends on the rank of the business school where MBA or Ph.D. students obtain their degrees. Either MBA or Ph.D. from elite top business schools like Harvard, Stanford, Yale, Wharton, or Columbia will be in demand, and good quality employers will be happy to hire such graduates.

On the other hand, neither MBA nor Ph.D. from low-ranking business schools by themselves will not result in a good job. Except for when such MBA graduate either has previous relevant work experience or can obtain additional skills after MBA to become more marketable.

Ph.D. in quantitative disciplines like finance, economics, or statistics, even from low-ranking business school may find a job as an analyst because of hard quantitative skills. But such a Ph.D. should not expect a high starting salary.

MBA vs. Ph.D. and Employment Decisions

One note about MBA is while it limits employment opportunities, it is still a general degree that can lead to different career paths unless a person chooses some strong MBA specialization or concentration.

Usually, MBAs are considered generalists suitable for entry-level or middle managerial positions, depending on their previous work experience. However, MBAs without work experience may have a hard time finding jobs and may face the necessity to obtain additional skills or even more education to become employable.

On the other hand, MBA is sufficiently enough for those who simply want to jump into a practical application of MBA knowledge by working in the business world. MBA is better for an entrepreneur than Ph.D. because MBA has a more significant focus on practical aspects of managing and running a business.

Ph.D. essentially limits employment opportunities even more than MBA. The limitation of job opportunities is inherent in the narrow-focused nature of Ph.D. research. For example, doing a Ph.D. in finance or economics essentially narrows down employment opportunities to areas of finance or economics.

On the other hand, a Ph.D. is considered an expert researcher in the chosen business topic. Still, most PhDs work in academia or research institutions and not in real-life business positions.

Besides open teaching careers in education, some companies may want to hire such Ph.D. in analytical, consulting, or managerial positions because they understand that they have deep knowledge of business theory and practice.

Ph.D. and MBA salary. Who earns more MBA or Ph.D.?

MBA Salary Statistics

Let’s talk about Ph.D. and MBA salary and who earns more – MBA or Ph.D. I want you to take this statistical information about pay and who makes more with the grain of salt because average numbers must be interpreted only as average among a large pool of MBA’s or Ph.D.’s. Some MBAs or PhDs earn more and change average numbers, but others will make less.

You need to understand that media, academia, and everyone else interprets numbers in their self-serving way.

College associations publish that $80,000-$90,000 is the average starting salary for MBA in 2020-2021. But that MBA salary number does not include those who dropped off the labor force because they could not find the work. And that salary number is affected by graduates from elite business schools who earn high salaries.

A graduate from the Stanford MBA program, for example, may expect up to a $100,000-$225,000 average annual salary per year plus bonuses and benefits. Often that graduate already had prior successful business work experience to land a position in a good company.

Example (hypothetical): 9 PhDs or MBAs get a $30,000 annual salary after graduation. 1 Ph.D. or MBA receives $200,000. What is the average wage among this pool of 10 graduates? That’s right. It is $47,000.

OK, for starters, you would think by looking at the average. But nobody from the pool gets this salary. Most get only 30K per year. So, therefore, all the numbers out there are misleading.

The Problem With MBA Salary Statistics

The majority of statistics focus on graduates from the top 100-150 business schools. But that data is not representative because, in the USA alone, whooping 1190+ MBA programs are producing about 200,000 MBAs each year. Even though about 9% of MBA programs in the US were shut down after 2014 for lack of enrollment, so many MBA programs remain. And only 132 of those business schools provided those earning numbers.

And what about the other 1000 MBA programs which never supplied their statistics? They were not counted, so elite high-salaried MBA programs statistically swayed away average post-graduate salary upwards, and numbers look deceptively better than they are.

Still, some data suggests that the average salary for MBAs graduating from lower-ranking MBA programs is about $52,000 annually. I estimate the post-MBA salary average range to be from $50,000 to $70,000 annually. And that is with several years of previous relevant work experience. Otherwise, MBAs will have to get an entry-level job with low pay and work their way up as professionals.

And when MBAs graduate and cannot find a job, they are simply not included in salary statistics. For example, in 2008, there were about 100,000 MBA degrees awarded annually. Now the number of graduates is closer to 200,000 each year. As a result, competition for jobs among MBAs is stiff.

But do not get discouraged. For those who have previous work experience and or can land a job after graduation, the average increase in salary for MBAs can be up to $20,000 compared to the average graduate with a bachelor’s degree in business (USA). Again, these numbers were affected by the earnings of elite MBA graduates.

While that number does not seem like a huge jump, it adds up over the years. And with potential career growth, MBA salary prospects may be even better if you can find a relevant job after graduation. In addition, fewer MBA enrollments mean less competition between MBAs in the future.

Ph.D. Salary Statistics

Ph.D. statistics probably are more accurate because there are fewer PhDs in business produced each year. For example, there were only about 3630+ PhDs awarded in business areas in 2018-2019.

In comparing Ph.D. and MBA salaries, we should also note that a Ph.D. degree still stands out compared to a commodity MBA with much fewer PhDs awarded.

So, who earns more, MBA vs. Ph.D.? When researching this blog post, I saw many cheerleading fantasy-world salary data in many different articles. Unfortunately, it seems like some prominent media outlets either have no clue about the state of the job market in the real world or simply ignore it or focus only on some exceptional cases. So, I must extrapolate data piece-by-piece again.

Well, Ph.D. was designed to work primarily in academia, and academia is not paying these days very much. First of all, a person pursuing a Ph.D. in academia usually makes around $30,000-$35,000 annual stipend. That is meager pay for 5-7 years of hard work.

Not so many PhDs get into the business world doing practical work. So, for example, there is no need for a company to hire a Ph.D. in marketing when hiring an MBA with previous marketing or analytical work experience.

Let’s define which Ph.D. is beneficial. First, there is no doubt that Ph.D. in STEM majors can lead to a very lucrative salary. For example, browsing through job sites, I saw job postings where employers look for PhDs in robotics, AI, machine learning. Employers are offering hundreds of thousands of dollars annual salaries because those are booming fields.

PhD Salaries After Graduation

PhDs in business do not enjoy such demand. Still, PhDs in various topics, on average, make more than 15%-20% salary upon graduation. Average Ph.D. may get anywhere from $50,000 to $120,000 or more annually, depending on the chosen field. Social sciences pay the least, and math, analytics, or tech PhDs sometimes pay even more than $100,000 on average.

Said that many starting salaries for PhDs on Payscale.com are as low as $44,000-$50,000, without experience. The lower-paying fields are education, human resources, some research institutions.

The higher-paying fields for PhDs are where complex calculation and analysis are required – finance, economics, business analytics, statistics, and so on. Such quant PhDs starting as analysts can land anything from $70,000 to three figures, depending on the level of experience.

Specifically, according to PayScale reports, Ph.D. in statistics or computer science may make over $100,000 annually. On the other hand, ph.D. working as an analyst in operations, marketing, business research, probably realistically will make about $70,000-$90,000 annually upon graduation.

Those PhDs who eventually make it into management generally will see three-figure salaries mid-career after 5-6 years of work.

Conclusion about MBA vs. Ph.D. salaries.

A significant problem with all these data, statistics, and attempting to figure trends is that the business world is now changing so fast that much of this data may be obsolete five years from now. For example, Tech may replace whole industries with robots, and new high-paying industries may appear. So, this blog post intends to see the current situation in MBA vs. Ph.D. debate.

Generally, Ph.D. in business does not yield a much higher salary than an MBA from one of the top 50 business schools unless Ph.D. is from an elite business school. And pursuing a Ph.D. requires many years of demanding work, dedication, and sacrifice while forgoing potential work experience you could obtain by starting to work after an MBA.

Let’s talk about specific examples of different types of MBA vs. PhDs.

MBA vs. Ph.D. in finance (with salary comparison)

MBA vs. Ph.D. in finance is an incorrect comparison because these are two drastically different degrees. As mentioned above, an MBA is a generalist degree even when an MBA student chooses concentration or specialization in finance. In contrast, Ph.D. in finance is a degree issued after research focused on a specific new topic in finance.

Ph.D. in finance involves learning and research in the following areas: finance, financial markets, economics, corporate finance, investments, statistics, advanced math, econometrics, risk management, and other relevant topics.

Ph.D. in finance can take 5-6 years to complete vs. two years for MBA. Most PhDs in finance work in education or research institutions. But deep knowledge of finance may allow a Ph.D. in finance graduate to obtain a research and analysis position within the financial industry.

I think that Ph.D. in finance from a low-ranking institution is likely to yield a research or education job. But a Ph.D. in finance from top-ranking elite business schools is more likely to open doors in the business industry. Consulting firms, banks, hedge funds, securities firms, investment research, and similar entities will likely hire elite Ph.D. graduates with good salaries.

Such industry professions as a financial manager, financial analyst, actuary, finance teacher are often cited as prospective growth careers for those with Ph.D. in finance. But majority of PhDs end up in academia or research institutions.

I also think large financial institutions, such as investment banks or hedge funds may hire elite Ph.D. researchers to research macroeconomic and financial trends. And such institutions probably pay the most. Policy research institutions hire PhDs as well but for a lower salary.

How much can you make with a Ph.D. in finance?

There is little data on Ph.D. in finance as most hirings go in confidence. Colleges will advertise $180,000-$220,000 post-graduation salary for Ph.D. in finance but remember that they promote their Ph.D. programs to prospective students and puff the numbers.

First, a teaching job for Ph.D. in finance will pay around $60,000-$90,000 annually because the education industry generally pays less. The business industry will probably pay on average $80,000-$100,000 to start with, depending on the school rank.

Some firms and companies may pay more, but those are rather exceptions. And Ph.D. must be from one of the top business programs in the country to obtain more than $120,000 starting salary after graduation.

My research on jobs sites revealed that it is not uncommon for Ph.D. in finance to make around $100,000 in a quantitative analytical position in the finance industry. And with career progress and proven success record Ph.D. in finance can make more than $120,000-$150,000 or more by moving into a managerial position.

Why is MBA better than Ph.D. in Finance?

It is tough to get into Ph.D. in finance program because only about 0.3%-2% of applicants are accepted. It is a very long and challenging process until graduation. In addition, ph.D. in finance requires hardcore math skills.

It is tough to get published in top financial research publications. And if you do not get published often, then after Ph.D. in finance, you will not get that tenured teaching job.

Additionally, large financial institutions like to hire PHDs from elite business schools rather than ones from lower-ranking colleges. The finance industry is snobby.

I also have read about Ph.D. in finance who went into marketing analytics instead and excelled there as a marketing analyst.

Conclusion about MBA vs. Ph.D. in finance

Do not go into Ph.D. if you want it for a career or job because a Ph.D. is essentially a teaching and research degree.

Overall, Ph.D. in finance will not yield a much higher salary than MBA from a reputable business school. However, ph.D. in finance may bring substantial career benefits if it is from one of the elite business schools. On the other hand, a ph.D. in finance from a low-ranking business school may not even result in a suitable teaching position.

A ph.D. in finance is worth only if you plan to work in academia and be an academic researcher in the field of finance. Still, there are possibilities for switching to private industry jobs for Ph.D. in finance. But long and tedious Ph.D. process may not be worth the hustle just for getting a career in the finance industry.

MBA with a concentration in finance is easier to obtain in the top 50 MBA program and generally is a significantly faster process. Then in two years, you can start looking for a job.

Financial institutions also like to hire people with MBAs or MS in finance. Because of that, I think MS in finance is a much easier route to break into the financial industry than Ph.D. in finance. Plus, financial institutions like to hire advanced math or statistics majors rather than Ph.D. in finance.

Go for MS in finance or MBA from a top business school. But, frankly, Ph.D. in math or economics may be an even better route to break into the world of finance than Ph.D. in finance.

MBA vs. Ph.D. in economics (with salary comparison)

When deciding on MBA vs. Ph.D. in economics, we must remember that Ph.D. in economics is as much a teaching research degree as any other Ph.D.

I like economics because it studies society and consumer behavior as much as complex numbers. Economics degree is number 2 among people with degrees who got rich (number 1 is engineering).

I guess this success has to do with economists studying and forecasting industry and economic trends. As a result, they develop an astute understanding of where things are heading in the economy.

The accurate average starting salary for Ph.D. in economics is probably also around $70,000-$90,000. However, PhDs from elite universities are yielding higher wages between $100,000 and $200,000.

Ph.D. in economics is a more popular degree than Ph.D. in finance but suffers from the same limitations. Ph.D. in economics is essentially an academic research and teaching degree.

Getting a Ph.D. in economics is as challenging as getting a Ph.D. in finance and maybe even harder, according to Ph.D. graduates. It is a highly rigorous program with all math and calculations and lots of personal sacrifices. Plus, pay is low while you pursue it for 5-6 years. After graduation, you must have published papers, or you will lose the possibility to land a suitable teaching position.

PhD vs MBA For Jobs in Private Industry

Among the advantages of a Ph.D. in economics vs. MBA is that Ph.D. in economics is a heavily quantitative degree and good quants are always in demand in the business industry. Ph.D. in economics studies much deeper theoretical and practical application economics to the real-life business world than MBA. And Ph.D. in economics knows advanced math very well.

A ph.D. in economics may open some private business industry research and analysis positions. Still, the salary level is not likely to be higher than the one obtained by MBA graduates from one of the 50 top-ranking MBA programs in the country.

Therefore, I think MBA from a top 50 business school is a better practical career choice than Ph.D. in economics.

My take Ph.D. in economics is worth it only if you are not just a fan but a fanatic of economics and would love to teach and research it day and night and on Sunday. Otherwise, MBA with a concentration in economics may be a better choice for a quicker career start. Alternatively, you may obtain MS in applied business economics or MS in finance.

I said that Ph.D. in economics is generally a more popular business Ph.D. choice because it looks like such PhDs can find industry jobs more quickly than Ph.D. in finance.

One good news is that PhDs in economics have one of the lowest unemployment rates among all types of PhDs. So, at least, Ph.D. in economics is very likely to obtain a job. However, pay may not be necessarily better than that of MBA or MS in Finance, MS in applied economics, or MS in Math or statistics.

And Ph.D. in math or technology is still the best for a three-figure salary. Keep in mind that all quantitative PhDs often compete for the same quantitative or analytical jobs in the business industry.

Conclusion: Better Ph.D. in business or MBA?

41% of MBAs are underemployed, and almost 90% of MBAs report working in positions not related to their MBA. I also went into the legal field despite having top As in my finance and economics classes.

Other reputable reports suggest that MBAs are employable mostly when they already have 5-6 years of relevant work experience. Thus, MBA serves just as a career booster, not a career starter, unless MBA is from an elite business school.

On the other hand, a Ph.D. takes 3-7 or even ten years to complete while underpaying. And even upon graduation, often PhDs salaries are not much higher than those of MBAs. In fact, on average, no more than 20% higher.

The majority of Ph.D. business jobs are in teaching or consulting. Therefore, a Ph.D. will make you overqualified for most entry-level positions. Even MBA can make you overqualified for many jobs.

Is a Ph.D. worth it? Is it worth spending 5-7 years of hard Ph.D. research work just on getting paid a little more than MBA after two years of master’s degree? You tell me.

It is a bad idea to obtain Ph.D. just for a job and career. But the following are exceptions. First, Ph.D. is great if you love doing research, writing research papers on the super-favorite topics so much that you can consistently keep working on your Ph.D. for so many years without quitting.

And, if the topic of your Ph.D. is in some field with challenging practical applications, like quantitative or Tech, you may even enjoy a great paying career after obtaining a Ph.D.

People with solid quantitative skills will always find analytical jobs in the business. The salary Ph.D. in the quantitative discipline may initially not be much better than that of a regular MBA. Still, the long-term job security and career growth may be as good because Ph.D. is a specialist with quantitative skills like nobody else in the job market.

Overall, I think that Ph.D. is not better than MBA in Ph.D. vs. MBA debate. Instead, I believe MBA is better than Ph.D. because it takes less time and effort to complete. In addition, MBA is a significantly better choice if you can practice GMAT and get into MBA at one of the higher-ranking business schools.

But PhDs in Tech or quantitative disciplines may be well worth the long marathon for those who genuinely enjoy doing that type of work.

This article’s information and opinions represent only my opinion based on some data, some research, and work experience. In no way is this education or career advice. Said that, hopefully, you now have a little more information to work with when deciding about MBA vs. Ph.D. paths, their flaws, and benefits.

Source 1, Source 2, Source 3, Source 4, Source 5, Source 6, Source 7, Source 8, Source 9

The post MBA Vs. Ph.D.: The Differences Explained for Career appeared first on Truth About Education.

Just How Hard is the Bar Exam? Everything You Need to Know

Max Feo JD, MBA, Tax LLM — Sat, 21 Aug 2021 15:07:54 +0000

Without a doubt, the bar exam is hard, but just how hard is the bar exam? In my time, I took New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and California bar exams. I must tell that the degree of difficulty significantly varied among the three.

The bar exam is one of the hardest exams in the United States. The bar exam is hard because bar takers must understand factual patterns, recall, interpret, and apply a large volume of law to presented facts. The difficulty of the bar exam varies from state to state.

In this blog post, I go over how hard is bar exam is, why and when it is so hard, which states have the hardest and easiest bar exams. Shall we?

How hard is taking the bar exam?

Since I took several bars exams, I can confidently say that the first bar exam is the hardest. Subsequent bar exams are easier because you are familiar with the process and approach.

Factors contributing to the hardness of taking the bar exam include the ones listed below.

Bar Exam Is Long and Complicated

The bar exam is usually a two-day brutal test-taking marathon. The first day includes 200 multiple choice questions covering many nuances across all major areas of law.

And note that some of the questions have several correct answers instead of one. Therefore, the test-taker’s task is to select the best answer among a couple of correct answers.

That is quite a subjective thing, in my opinion? That subjectivity makes multiple-choice even more difficult.

The next day consists of writing six 30-minute essays, answering the sometimes complicated legal, factual situation. Bar takers must read the question and facts, analyze and decipher them, and then interpret and correctly apply the legal concepts.

And each question almost always touches on many different principles of law within that area of law. Plus, each factual situation almost always presents multiple vague nuances so that there is no easy answer.

Each bar exam taker must recall and correctly apply as many legal principles as possible quickly. For each correct application of each legal principle, they receive points.

And you rack up points one by one while going through each multiple-choice question or essay—all that within a minimal time.

The length and format of the bar exam may vary from state to state. For example, the California bar exam is a three-day marathon instead of two.

Vast Amount of Law to Memorize Makes Bar Exam Difficult

Law is a vast area. Bar exam takers must memorize an enormous range of legal norms and concepts in many areas of law. And then each rule of law has exceptions.

Then each exception may have exceptions to those exceptions. Then there are myriad nuances that were never covered in law school at all.

You have codified law; you have court cases; you have legal doctrines to worry about, and so on.

And some states like California also have the third day of the exam. Some states test only federal general concepts of law.

Other states test both federal and state law, making bar exams more complicated because now bar taker has to figure out the application and interaction of federal and state law.

Quick analysis and interpretation are necessary on bar exam.

A significant element of difficulty of the bar exam is that usually, there is no easy yes or no answer to the poised question or fact pattern.

Test-takers are often presented with a short legal, factual situation, and within the minimal time, they must read and understand the factual underpinnings of the poised problem.

Then bar takers must dip into their memory to recall the subjects they studied in the first year of law school. And like computer processors, find and retrieve sound applicable principles of law and correctly apply them to facts presented.

This process requires plenty of subjective interpretation versus objective calculations.

This subjectivity and ambiguity of law is the primary element that makes the bar exam especially difficult, challenging, and mind-boggling. As I have said, there are almost no easy “yes” or “no” answers on the bar.

Essentially, bar takers often simply guess on the exam and mention as many possible theories on essays, for example. The wrongly applied legal rule is not counted towards the overall candidate’s score.

Bar Exam Is a Tedious Process

During the bar exam, takers are presented with literally more than 200 different factual patterns. And they must tediously and diligently but quickly work through each and single one of them, one by one, without losing their steam.

Each of the questions could be equally important and must be addressed equally well by the bar exam taker.

So, moving from factual to another factual pattern requires quickly switching the brain from one question to another.

That is not easy as the mind keeps wandering during bar exams about whether you adequately answered previous questions.

This constant change of fact patterns and applicable law requires incredible discipline, emotional and mental strength from bar test takers. To put it in short – the bar exam is quite a mentally stressful thing to experience.

Uncertainty of bar exam result

Most first-time bar examination takers have only a vague idea of what to expect. Sure, bar exam prep training helps, and training companies go over mock bar exams. But taking mock tests is not the same as experiencing real ones.

Each bar exam may contain some new types of questions, new legal niches, additional experimental questions, for which the bar taker simply is not prepared.

For the reasons above, mock bar exams do not offer utterly correct feedback on whether the bar taker will pass the bar or not.

Passing the bar exam is never guaranteed and always remains uncertain except for those few who simply ace all mock tests in training.

Especially it is hard to take a bar exam and estimate your results in states where the bar exam is traditionally difficult. So below, I will list the states with the most difficult bar exams.

Pressure, Stress, and Anxiety

For the reasons below, many candidates come to the bar exam stressed and anxious.

Think about it: they have spent three years in law school, then 6-12 months preparing for exam, hundred thousand dollars or more in student debt, and now their potential career as an attorney is hanging on just one 2-3 day bar exam.

The stress in law school with the stress of bar preparation on top of it is a heavy burden.

And, unfortunately, all bar exam takers carry that burden of stress and exhaustion with them into the test room.

Stress and anxiety make the process of taking a bar exam even harder.

Therefore, bar takers must relax and calm down before the exam to make things easier.

But the second or third bar exam taking can be as stressful and challenging because of the pressure of the previous failure.

Do not worry; many people fail the bar exam. Just focus on your preparation, eat, and sleep well before the exam.

Then, focus and do your best during the exam. Finally, entirely concentrate on answering questions and writing essays during the bar exam.

There may be additional anxiety resulting from the fact that you sometimes have 100-200 other test-takers in the bar exam room.

This may make you subconsciously start thinking they are all your competition. Relax, they are not.

You only need to score enough points to pass it. Then, once the exam starts, ignore hundred other test takers around you, ignore they’re fast clicking or typing on their laptops, and focus on your laptop screen only.

If other bar exam takers are typing something fast, it does not mean they are typing something clever or correct. OK?

Law Schools Do Not Prepare for Bar Exam

Another reason why the bar exam is hard is because law schools do not specifically prepare students for the bar exam.

Law school exams are kind of like what students must do on the bar exam. But law exams are not nearly as long and complicated.

In law school, students often take electives that will not be on the bar exam. And bar covers many sub-topics and nuances which law students never learned in law school for lack of classroom time.

As a result, in preparation for the bar exam, students must spend considerable time and money.

And during preparation for the bar exam, law school graduates are often surprised to realize that they did not cover even half of the stuff tested.

Thus, law students and graduates genuinely know the meaning of the word “unfairness.”

In my opinion, the law school must cater to training students for bar exams instead of pushing the Socratic method.

Because as of right now, preparation for the bar exam is so different from law school studies that it can be counted as a separate law training program on top of law school.

I firmly believe that at least the third year of law school must be solely dedicated to bar exam training.

Is the bar exam the hardest exam?

Bar exam justifiably has the reputation and notoriety for being a hard exam. But the bar exam is not the hardest one.

Some other professional exams which can be more challenging than the bar exam include the medical doctor (MD) licensing exam (USMLE), certified public accountant (CPA) exam, and chartered financial analyst (CFA) exam.

For example, the CPA exam has five parts, and the average CPA exam passage rate is 52% nationwide.

Interestingly, the sommelier (wine specialist) exam is one of the toughest in the world.

I will also mention other tough exams such as the NASA astronaut exam, military special forces exams (like the exam to become NAVY seal where only one recruit in 40 passes it), and so on.

Exam to be a fighter pilot also should be tough.

Therefore, the bar exam is not the hardest in the world unless it is the California bar exam. This is a semi-joke.

How common is it to fail the bar exam? Is the bar exam difficult to pass?

The simple answer is that the bar exam is difficult to pass. But the answer depends on multiple factors. The better you prepare, the higher is the probability of you passing.

American Bar Association’s data reveals that the USA’s national first-time bar exam passing rate USA is about 79%. That means that four out of 5 candidates pass the bar.

But, at the same time, it also means that about 20% of bar takers fail the bar exam on the first try.

This number is an aggregate average of bar passing rates across all U.S. states. Thus, some states have a higher bar passage rate, while others have a lower rate (see details by hardest and easiest bar states below).

Therefore, thousands of people fail the bar every single year. Often, they retake the bar and pass it on the second or third try.

I will not say that the bar exam was easy for me. Therefore, it is not uncommon and not shameful to fail to pass the bar exam on the first or even on the second try.

I know attorneys who took it 2-8(!) times, eventually passing it after multiple attempts. Talking about dedication, right?

Bar Exam is Designed to Screen Out Candidates

There are too many lawyers in the profession and few job openings. As a result, law schools produce too many J.D.s. Therefore, each state created a bar exam to screen out the “weakest” candidates. Then more capable bar takers pass the bar exam and become attorneys.

This way state is keeping a cap on how many attorneys are admitted to practice in the state. And legal profession overall protects its profits by restricting access to law practice by employing screening candidates using bar exam.

Which States Have the Hardest Bar Exams?

Statistically, some of the states having the hardest bar exams are D.C., California, Delaware, Arkansas, Washington, Nevada, Louisiana, Oregon, Virginia, Maryland, Florida, West Virginia, New York, and Alaska.

Therefore, if you plan to take a bar exam in those states, you need to seriously pump up your bar preparation efforts.

California, Delaware, Washington, Louisiana, Nevada, and Alaska bar exams are probably the hardest to pass from this list. For example, Alaska adopted Uniform Bar Exam (UBE) format and required the highest passing score of 280 among all states which adopted UBE.

Florida raised its passing score requirements in 2003. In addition, Florida does not allow reciprocity for experienced attorneys from another state.

Meaning, even experienced out-of-state attorneys must sit for the Florida bar exam if they want to practice in Florida. California is another challenging bar exam to take because of high score requirements (recently lowered).

How Hard is the Bar Exam in California?

California, at one point, had a 39% bar passage rate in 2020-2021 and 40% in 2018. This is the lowest in the country.

In addition, the California bar exam is very hard and includes a third extra day with its Performance Test. Many other states do not have this extra day of the exam.

I found the performance test to be most challenging because law school did not train us on that. As a result, the performance test is essentially a mock case to work on under time pressure.

Note that California’s low bar passing rate is also attributable to the fact that California allows candidates to sit for bar exams without going to law school.

And those unschooled bar takers contribute to a large percentage of bar failure, spoiling the whole statistics.

About 80% of bar takers who did not go to ABA-accredited law school do not pass the bar exam on the first try.

Note that in 2020 California lowered its bar exam requirement by 3.5% from 1440 to 1390. That has lead to about a 15% increase in bar passage rate for 2020. But this trend may or may not continue.

Other States With Challenging Bar Examinations

Louisiana bar exam is not in UBE format. Bar takers must know both common and civil law, some law codes of France and Europe. Only Louisiana law schools teach that law.

Delaware is hard because candidates must do plenty of work just to be allowed to sit for the D.E. bar exam even before the bar exam. Plus, Delaware has high score passing requirements.

Arkansas bar is also hard, according to statistics. Nevada bar exam is difficult, and at one point, only about 50% of takers passed it.

The Washington state bar exam is probably difficult because many bar candidates flock to the state due to the previously booming economy.

In addition, Washington makes it tough to pass the bar with hard grading and a 270 minimum UBE score threshold.

Finally, the Oregon bar exam is trailing Washington’s one with about 5th in difficulty in the country.

Arizona, Mississippi, North Carolina, Maryland, and Florida also have relatively low pass rates in the 60s%, and they are considered difficult exams too.

For example, Arizona’s minimum cut-off UBE score is 273, and Colorado’s 276 – the second-highest after Alaska.

How to Pass Bar Exam?

You will pass the bar if you put sufficient time and energy into bar preparation. I suggest taking reputable bar preparation courses because they train you specifically to pass the bar. Lots of practice is the crucial element of passing the bar exam.

It means that you can pass the bar exam because it is not the hardest. Even if you fail the bar exam on the first or second attempt, you may go to a state with an easier bar exam and pass it there.

Note that once you pass the bar exam in a particular state, you usually can obtain an attorney license and practice law only in that state.

But their federal law areas technically allowing practicing lawyers to serve clients all around the country. Immigration law is one example.

And now, with UBE, some bar scores are transferrable between states, depending on the existence of reciprocity agreements between them.

Also, once you keep your license and remain in good standing in the state, you may later waive into several other states as an attorney without retaking the bar exam.

How hard is studying for the bar

Passing the bar exam requires good preparation and plenty of work. Therefore, studying for the bar is as hard as studying for any other challenging exam.

There are two most essential components for bar preparation:

Learning and memorizing the black letter law and
practicing taking bar exam sections.

I prepared for the bar exam myself, using only bar prep textbooks. I did not take any bar preparation courses and do not recommend it. Preparing myself was a huge disadvantage in comparison to those who took bar preparation courses.

And after you graduate, you should take a bar review course just to make your life much easier. By taking a bar prep course, you reduce the chances of failing on bar exam.

Studying for the bar exam requires quite a bit of reading and reviewing black letter law across many different areas of law which will be tested. But, most importantly, everyone must put plenty of practice before even attempting to sit for a bar exam.

Because bar exam practice is a second necessary component of preparation after reading and learning black letter law. Taking a bar exam is a different skill, and only practice makes it perfect.

Additionally, if you practice and time yourself, you will be mentally and psychologically prepared for the real thing. Then you can hit the ground running as soon as proctors announce the beginning of the bar exam.

I suggest you start studying for the bar exam in your 2L or maximum in a 3L year. Because at that point, your law school grades are pretty much settled. And now you need to pass the bar exam to justify three years of law school.

And do not forget that you need to obtain your return on $100,000+ of additional student debt incurred as a law student.

The sooner you start preparing, the easier it will be to pass the bar exam. I again suggest taking a good bar review course after you graduate with a J.D. Bar review course allows covering all necessary ins and outs of taking the bar exam.

Bar exam covers so much law that you by yourself will have no time and discipline to prepare while you are in law school.

Which states have the easiest bar exams?

Many law school graduates investigate states with the easiest bar exams to find, well, easy way to pass.

Without any further due, states with the easy bar exams generally include Kansas, Montana, Utah, Iowa, South Dakota, North Dakota, Nebraska, Minnesota, Missouri, Oklahoma, Alabama, New Mexico.

Based on the minimum UBE passing score, the state’s bar passage rate, and other statistics, the following states may have the easiest bar exams in the USA: Minnesota, New Mexico, Missouri, Kansas, and possibly Montana.

Note that many states adopted UBE (Uniform Bar Examination) bar exam. Thus, UBE is identical between those states.

It is not the hardness of the bar exam that matters, but the required minimum score to pass UBE in a particular state (cut score). The UBE cut score requirement ranges between 260 and 280 among different states.

The good news is that even if your UBE bar exam score is less than the minimum required in your target state, you can transfer your UBE score to some other states where that score is accepted. And then you can get licensed as an attorney in that state.

Here is the list of states with the easiest bar exams in the USA. I excluded results for the February bar exams because those are the most difficult ones. In addition, states often include experimental questions in the February bar exam.

State	UBE Passing Score	Bar Passage Rate 2020 (Exclude February)	State Law on Bar	Other considerations
Alabama	260	71%	Yes
Minnesota	260	67%-90%	No
Missouri	260	84%	Yes
New Mexico	260	89%	Yes
North Dakota	260	76%	No
*Oklahoma*	264	80% (2020 non-UBE)	No	Unknown Weighting
*Indiana*	264	74%-78% Non -UBE; UBE in 2021	Yes	Unknown weighting
Wisconsin	No Bar Required	–	–	–
Kansas	266	July 2019 – 85%	No
Montana	266	80%	Yes
South Dakota	Non-UBE but UBE tested	70%	Yes. One extra essay on Indian law
*New York*	266	84%	No	But must pass separate New York Law Exam prior to MPRE and MBE
*Iowa*	266	80%

The easiest bar exams by state according to statistics (subjective opinion). Bar examination data is taken for 2018-2020.

Note that the passage rate and hardness of exams may change from year to year between states.

Alabama, Minnesota, New Mexico, Missouri, North Dakota have the lowest UBE score requirement of 260.

That could mean that these states administer the easiest bar exams in the country, but this data requires more analysis. For example, Oklahoma is trailing with its 264 UBE requirement, but it has problems with the bar exam.

Specifics of Bar Exam By Easy States

Oklahoma – UBE will be first administered in July of 2021. Therefore there is no data yet. Plus, there is no exact data as to how the test will be weighted.

Previously Oklahoma had a specific Oklahoma type of bar exam and weighted UBE differently than other UBE states.

Kansas did not publish its 2020 UBE data yet. South Dakota is a non-UBE test but tests UBE plus has one essay on state Indian law subject. Indiana is switching to UBE starting 2021, so there is no data yet about the pass rate.

Iowa has a slightly higher UBE passing score requirement of 266, and its high pass rate is about 80%-85%. But I have heard that Iowa exam grading is not as easy as the other bunch above.

This information could be wrong. The UBE score requirement removes Iowa state from my shortlist of states with the easiest bar exams.

New York bar is not easiest as candidates must pass state-specific law exam before even sitting for UBE.

I think a higher passage rate is due to many qualified, competent candidates from good law schools taking the N.Y. bar exam. From all, I have heard N.Y. bar exam is not that easy. Therefore, NY also would not be on my easy list.

Easiest Bar Exams Analysis – Hardness of Grading Matters

Let us do some analysis to figure out which bar exam is the easiest. Generally, I would take the one administered in the summer to have a better chance of passing. February one often includes weird experimental questions.

Alabama and South Dakota have lower bar exam pass rates than other easy bar states, so they are out of my shortlist.

Why is the pass rate significant? Because individual bar graders grade all bar exams, and thus some subjectivity is involved. Therefore, different graders in different states may grade bar exams harder or easier.

That factor is hard to predict. But high state bar passage rate with a similar UBE score requirement and absence of state law component may indicate that bar exams are graded easier in those states.

For example, New Mexico has quite a high 89% bar passage rate despite testing some state law on the exam.

This may mean that their grading is somewhat easier than one in Alabama or South Dakota. New Mexico would be on my shortlist for that reason.

But it also means that the pool of bar takers may be stronger in New Mexico vs. Alabama for 2020. You know, sunny weather and cheap housing attract newcomers to New Mexico.

At the same time, I have heard that New Mexico suffers from a shortage of attorneys in rural areas and is possibly willing to grade bar exams easier to cover that shortage.

They even formally allowed paralegals to fully practice law in limited areas to cover that shortage.

Kansas and Montana, for example, do not have state law requirements and have decently high bar passage rates, depending on the date taken.

Montana has a 90% pass rate for the fall bar exam of 2020 despite having a slightly higher 266 minimum UBE score requirement. But it had a 67% pass rate for the earlier exam. Must be careful here and look at the big picture.

Which are The Easiest Bar Exams Then?

It is hard to calculate which of the state has THE easiest bar exam. But at the end of this section, I will list several states which I consider to have the easiest bar exams in the country based on overall statistics.

Another factor is the absence of state law testing on the bar exam. For example, Missouri tests only UBE and does not test any state-specific law on the bar exam. With a relatively high pass score, it would be on my shortlist also.

Kansas has a higher UBE requirement but tests no state law and has a relatively high bar passing rate of 85%. So let’s include it too.

You should notice that states with the easiest bar exams with lower score requirements often have the lowest population. I also should note that these states have fewer bar takers because of limited opportunities and strict local bar admission rules.

Inferior legal job markets result in fewer bar applicants. That is why they may have set lower bar requirements.

Of the shortlist above, Kansas is probably the winner for lack of state law requirement, high bar passage rate, and relatively low UBE score requirement.

My second pick would be New Mexico for the high pass rate and Missouri for the low UBE cut-off rate and high bar passage rate. And here is my ranking of the states with the easiest bar exams in the USA:

Kansas
New Mexico
Missouri
Montana
Minnesota

I note that some other authors consider Montana, Kansas, and Missouri to have the easiest bar exams in the country. Note that Kansas has limited bar reciprocity with many other states.

When choosing a state with an easy bar exam, please inquire about recipropcity if you plan to transfer your UBE scores later to another state.

Other Bar Exam State Considerations

Wisconsin allows diploma privilege for graduates to get admitted to Wisconsin bar straight from the law school without taking the bar at all.

Surprisingly, among densely populated states, New York, New Jersey, District of Columbia, Maryland, Illinois, Connecticut all require UBE scores of about 266 to pass the bar.

The UBE 266 cut-off score is below the average nationwide requirement of 260-280.

But bar examiners possibly may grade harder in such saturated legal markets and thus have lower pass rates. Plus, the state law component may spoil the picture.

New York, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, North Carolina, and Utah talk about potentially lowering cut-off scores even further.

In addition, some states are floating the possibility of diploma privilege, like in Wisconsin. That means that graduates from in-state law schools will not need to take the bar exam at all.

Big cities and more densely populated states have a more robust economy, better job markets, and potentially higher income. That is why they attract more lawyers, and that it is why local bar associations set higher bar requirements to protect local attorneys from the competition.

If you pass the UBE bar exam in one of the easier states, you can later move to another state with a higher UBE exam cut-off score if your UBE is high enough for that second state.

Most of these states do not allow non-ABA accredited law graduates to take the bar exam, as California does. And these states do not allow people to sit for bar examination unless they went through ABA-accredited law school.

Therefore, most people who did not go to law school but want to take the bar examination go to California. And often, these people are less competent than law school graduates. So, take the easiest or hardest bar exam statistics with some grain of salt.

Conclusion.

The bar examination is difficult, but it is not the hardest one. And the difficulty varies between the states. If you prepare well, you have a high chance to pass the bar exam in most states unless it is the California bar exam.

Who wants to live in California, anyway? Just kidding.

Source 1, Source 2, Source 3, Source 4, Source 5, Source 6, Source 7, Source 8, Source 9

The post Just How Hard is the Bar Exam? Everything You Need to Know appeared first on Truth About Education.

How to Choose the Right MBA Specialization (Complete Guide)

Max Feo JD, MBA, Tax LLM — Tue, 17 Aug 2021 10:47:40 +0000

Choosing the wrong MBA specialization (also called concentration or focus) may narrow down a student’s career options. Choosing the right MBA specialization may help to build a career post-MBA. As a former MBA student, let me weigh in on how to choose the right MBA concentration.

As a rule, students should choose an MBA specialization or concentration by considering their personal preferences, natural abilities, experience, and existing skills. Other essential factors to consider are business schools’ rank, reputation among employers, and demand in the job market.

I chose management concentration when I was an MBA student. Management was the primary choice for many of my MBA classmates.

But modern MBA programs offer more specialization options for students. Below I will explain what those options are and how to choose the right one for you. Of course, everything below is my opinion. I am not your academic, financial, or career advisor, and you should make your informed education and career decisions.

What is the difference between MBA specialization and concentration? MBA concentrations explained

First, let’s once and for all distinguish terms “specialization” and “concentration” in the MBA context. Many publications, for some reason, incorrectly use these two terms interchangeably.

Generally, concentration means exposure – taking an MBA elective course within a specific narrow focus like finance, marketing, management, strategy, leadership, or others.

Specialization in MBA would mean deep immersion into above or other areas of study by taking many electives. In addition, specialization would mean deep knowledge.

Most of what MBA programs offer are concentrations rather than specializations. MBA students can choose 3-6 electives in a specific business area and thus get a good exposure. But the MBA program is usually too short for students to take 6-10 focused courses to acquire particular skills and specialize in that area.

For example, accounting is a concentration where students take several accounting electives classes, of which one class could be forensic accounting.

Forensic accounting is a specialization because it is a narrow sub-field of accounting when a student takes 3-6 classes, all related only to forensic accounting and no other types of accounting. Taking 8-10 classes only in forensic accounting would make an MBA student a specialist.

General management is a concentration. Human resources management would be more like specialization. Unfortunately, most MBA programs do not offer specializations.

Hint: After completing MBA, a graduate can take additional focused classes to become a true entry-level specialist in a chosen focus area.

Thus, in the context of MBA, we talk about concentration. The above is true unless an MBA student takes on dual specialization with deep immersion.

What is an MBA dual specialization?

Generally, MBA dual specialization is also a misleading term. Most of the time, it simply means two different concentrations for MBA students. For example, the dual concentration could include economics and finance, finance and management, finance, and accounting.

For the most part, dual specialization in MBA means taking elective classes in two selected focused areas rather than one. Business schools claim that selecting dual MBA specialization or concentration gives graduates more career options. Maybe, but it depends on many factors.

Other times, however, MBA dual specialization or concentration essentially means getting a dual degree. Examples of dual MBA degrees include MBA/JD (Juris Doctor), MBA/MD (medical doctor).

Wharton school of business offers some dual specializations or concentrations like MBA/Healthcare management, MBA/MSE (Engineering), MBA/MSN (nursing), MBA/VMD (veterinary medicine).

MBA applicants should carefully choose dual specialization or concentration. Because now they will essentially be studying two degrees instead of one. MD by itself is quite a difficult degree to obtain. MBA may hinder the ability to focus on MD studies. Dual specialization makes sense in few instances.

MD graduates sometimes go straight into administrative positions without working a single day as a medical doctor outside residency. MBA may become a handy tool in this rare and specific instance. The half-million-dollar question is, can you go for an MD degree without even bothering with such extra burden as simultaneously pursuing MBA?

You can also go for engineering or Juris doctor degrees without any MBA whatsoever. Frankly, I am still to comprehend the value of dual MBA degree concentrations or specializations for masses. I think that is more marketing stunt than anything else.

For example, MBA by itself may not be very marketable if not from an elite business school. For example, an MBA alone or MBA/MA in International Studies from Wharton are equally worth it.

That is because Wharton graduates are more likely to be hired fresh from school in government, big companies, or firms dealing with international business issues. So MA degree, in that respect, is a leveraging plus additional degree.

But the same MBA/MA from the top 350 (irony) MBA program will probably not make a student much more marketable. So focus on one, as they say.

But, say, MBA combined with engineering may give such student-specific knowledge and skills in engineering, which is in demand in the job market. It is easier to find a job as an engineer than for an MBA graduate.

The same goes for other dual specializations like MBA and JD, MBA, and MD. Thus, MBA programs smartly sell their MBAs by combining them with more marketable different degrees.

Stop falling for intelligent phrases like “fast track your career” or “flexible career options” “better job security” – all of that is just marketing buzz to sell you a degree.

The point is that you should not fall for a trap when low-ranking business schools are telling you that obtaining a joint MBA/Nurse or health management degree will immediately propel you into a hospital administration and management position.

See, there are thousands of non-MBA people in that field with decades of work experience who know every little aspect of hospital or healthcare operation. They are the ones who will get those positions. You will be lucky to get even an entry-level clerk or secretary position.

You have more chances to get your nurse degree and work as a nurse and then, after 4-5 years, obtain an MBA and move into a nursing management position.

The MBA dual specialization or concentration degrees should complement each other. For example, Rutgers School of Business offers dual degrees of MBA and Bachelor of Science in business topics like accounting, finance, marketing, or management.

That combination makes more sense, in my opinion. Likewise, combining dual master’s degrees such as MBA/MS Finance, MBA/ MS Economics, or even MBA/MS Computer Science or MS applied mathematics makes sense.

There is a caveat with MBA dual specialization degrees. For example, being a dual MBA/JD in Rutgers is more manageable than being a full-time JD. Here is why. In Dual MBA/JD degree, students study core law courses in their first year (1L), and in the second year, they take business courses.

General MBA is easier than a JD degree. Essentially, such a dual degree is a loophole, allowing students to obtain a law degree quicker than full-time law students. Mind the fact that you must apply and be admitted to both JD and MBA programs separately. Such graduates can sit for a bar exam after graduation.

The negative in this respect is that when such a graduate is looking for a job, then law firms may be puzzled by why this student did not do JD full time as they did themselves a long time ago. Will it make you less of a lawyer or a doctor if you simultaneously pursue an MBA degree while studying for JD or MD? Who knows, but I think it is not the best idea to get distracted.

In the end, I would agree that some dual degrees do provide a second career option if one fails. Whether you go for a full-time MBA or an MBA dual degree with something else, it is your choice.

Do I need a concentration for MBA?

Say you, like most students, have decided to forgo exotic dual degree opportunities and choose an MBA concentration. The next question is whether you need to select an MBA concentration?

My frank opinion is that MBA concentrations better work for students at top elite MBA programs in the country, where employers come to campus with reasonable job offers. However, for Most MBA students who go to regular non-elite business schools’ concentration may not play a huge role in a future job search.

MBA by itself is a terminal generalist degree, and general specializations or concentration mislead students into thinking that 3-4 classes in certain areas will make them more marketable. It could be the case but on an individual basis. The necessity of concentration or specialization depends on your future goals and the market demand for specialists.

MBA students and graduates always must keep in mind the economics concept of specialization of labor. Employers are usually looking to hire true specialists who have skills or experience in a specific narrowly focused business area. An employer must fulfill specific staffing needs of their companies and thus usually are not looking for generalists.

NOTE: I wrote other articles on this blog about how MAB students and graduates can make themselves more marketable by pursuing additional skills or courses after graduation.

Therefore, an MBA concentration in accounting, for example, from a low-ranking MBA program is unlikely to result in an immediate accounting job for graduates without any previous accounting experience. Likewise, taking just a few elective classes in finance during MBA does not make the student a finance specialist.

That is why some MBA graduates then go and get a second master’s in finance degree because MS in Finance does indicate to an employer that the holder of that degree is an entry-level specialist in finance.

But, if you worked in a particular field before getting your MBA and intend to continue working in that field, then MBA specialization or concentration in that field makes sense. Because now that concentration can leverage and complement your existing skills.

For MBA students who want to shift to a different career field choosing concentration or specialization can make some sense. You can show potential employers your interest in a specific new area.

At the same time, you can show that you succeeded in your previous field in your resume package. Based on a history of proven success, an employer is more likely to think that you can learn a new career and succeed there. But you will have some explaining in that regard as to why you do not want to return to your original career area.

To have a better chance of working in your chosen field of MBA concentration or specialization, you may want to consider taking extra college-level classes in that concentration area selected.

What is the most popular MBA concentration?

The following are the most popular MBA concentrations or specializations.

General Management

General management is traditionally the most common MBA concentration or specialization, covering a broad range of topics from management and marketing to economics and finance.

I would say most MBAs choose this specialization because they want to get into management after graduation.

This concentration also allows flexibility in class choices to the point that this general management is not a concentration or specialization. Instead, I would call this a traditional MBA program where students learn many management aspects, from HR and personnel management to negotiations or overseeing finance or accounting.

An MBA in strategic management may land a graduate of a reputable MBA program a management consulting career.

Finance

Such concentration or specialization as MBA in finance focuses on how to manage finances in the organization. Thus, students immerse a little bit more deeply in understanding financial statements, financial ratios, cash flow management.

You will learn many things, including corporate budgeting. Students thinking of breaking into any financial or investment position should consider this specialization. In addition, there is math involved in this MBA concentration.

Operations and supply chain management

MBA with a focus on operations is an option for those interested in supply chain or production management. Students learn about quality assurance, logistics, and other relevant concepts.

Essentially, you will learn about operations processes applied in any industry, from manufacturing to a service industry. For manufacturing, students learn about materials and sourcing, product development and design, optimization of the process. For the service industry, they will learn human resources and streamlining serving consumers, clients, or counteragents.

This particular concentration is suitable for engineers, according to several sources.

Entrepreneurship

As many people want to break into the startup industry and own a business, MBA interest in entrepreneurship has been relatively high. Specialization in MBA in entrepreneurship allows students to learn how to start, manage and grow business projects or startups.

You will learn how to obtain financing and how to attract investors. In addition, you will learn about how to attract venture capital and develop business.

It is also supposed to teach students how to cope with everyday problems new growing businesses encounter. Of course, you can learn all that online, but MBA gives you knowledge in condensed form.

Students can work in the startup industry or launch their startups.

Marketing

MBA students who chose marketing specialization or concentration will study all fundamental aspects of marketing, from researching and launching a product to selling to customers while retaining and managing customers.

There is some analytics involved in marketing. I am giving a heads up. Students can go and work in sales and marketing roles in different business organizations. Or, they can launch their own business and exploit this marketing knowledge.

Information Technology

Information technology management is another hot MBA concentration or specialization. Students will learn how to manage and grow tech projects and an overview of types of technology. In addition, they will understand the central concept of data management, data mining, and other concepts related to managing information technology at the organization. Again, this is an MBA degree focusing on technology, not a technology degree, though.

Real Estate

Real Estate concentration or specialization in MBA focuses students on all aspects of managing real estate business. This specialization or concentration is going to be an overview of the real estate industry. Property development, management, purchase, and resale are topics covered in this concentration. Some real estate analytics are also involved.

Graduates can go and work for real estate companies or real estate management organizations, including such things as REITs (Real Estate Investment Trust).

Business analytics.

Business analytics is a growing field, and MBAs also can get into this field. Thus, some business schools now offer MBA with concentration or specialization in business analytics.

Business analytics essentially involves using knowledge of maths and statistics to extract company or industry trends from available historical data.

These include preparing various forecasts, budgets, and other planning to make company operations smoother and less costly. Essentially, the job of a business analyst is to improve company operations and performance.

Other popular concentrations are corporate strategy, leadership, or innovation.

There are many other concentrations like human resources, accounting, consulting, strategy (for CEOs and top management), small business, healthcare, project management, and so on.

Which is the best specialization in MBA?

Now we came to a question about what the best specialization in MBA is. As usual, this is an open-ended question as the best specialization in MBA depends on many factors and your criteria.

I will tell you that the best specialization or concentration in MBA is when you have a degree from Harvard, Stanford, Wharton, Yale, Columbia, or any of the top 10-15 MBAs in the country. This is semi-joke, of course.

Any MBA specialization or concentration can be best because you’ve got a brand-name degree allowing you to switch areas if necessary.

For the rest of us, mere mortals, we need to think about this question through the prism of many factors, including our goals, natural abilities, previous work experience and skills, market demand, and pay rate. Do not forget about the quality of life too.

Therefore, let me go through the mock best MBA specialization or concentration selection process below.

Which MBA specialization is in demand?

I want to know which MBA specialization or concentration is in demand because job openings are market-driven – driven by market demand for MBA graduates with specific knowledge and skills.

According to a few sources, MBA specializations or concentrations in demand include MBA in health management, MBA in information technology, and MBA in finance. Other MBAs popular in the market are MBA in real estate and MAB in Entrepreneurship.

If you want to find a job sooner after graduation, then MBA with quantitative concentration or specialization will yield an early or entry-level position sooner. The two most cited quantitative MBA specializations or concentrations are MBA in technology and MBA in finance.

I also personally think that MBA in accounting with additional training can also land an accounting job relatively soon.

What MBA concentration pays the most? Which MBA specialization is best paid?

It is not a secret that graduates from top MBA programs can get into management consulting and earn large salaries. But what are other MBA concentrations that pay plenty of money?

According to few sources, technology management or information technology MBA yields the most lucrative salary of $78,000-$80,000 shortly after graduation. Next follows an MBA in finance with a slightly lesser annual wage of $76,000-$78,000, followed by an MBA in operations management with an average of $75,000 salary for an early career.

But it would help if you also thought about the long-term career potential of MBA specialization or concentration. The long-term career in more verbal MBA concentrations or specializations currently yields higher salaries of average $110,000-$120,000 plus after ten years of working in the field.

Those include concentrations like strategy, innovation, entrepreneurship, and such quantitative things concentration like economics. And the most significant gain over a long-term career is attributable to concentration in innovation.

Such timing discrepancy is likely since it takes longer to develop skills and a managerial career in big companies. But the reward is that such people may move up to key positions like senior managers, CEO, Vice-Presidents, or open their businesses.

By the way, for some reason, concentration in marketing, operations management statistically does not yield such significant long-term career salary gains. I suggest focusing on social media and digital platforms if you want to succeed in marketing.

The top salary spots of $130,000-$140,000 often go to MBA graduates who chose finance concentration or specialization. MBAs in finance potentially can go into banking, investment management, investment banking, financial services, or other financial sector and earn excellent salaries.

MBAs also enjoy the other two types of high salaried careers focused on information technology or real estate (real estate may suffer severe ups and downs in coming years).

Plus, the long-term benefit of working in financial sales means that best performers start earning hefty bonuses on top of base salaries.

That can happen in any area, from banking to the financial services sector. And corporate finance professionals moving up the management ranks also rack up hefty salaries, benefits, and bonuses.

Which MBA specialization is best in the future?

The MBA specialization that is best for the future depends on your goals because most MBA concentrations or specializations are likely to survive within our lifetime. Predicting future trends is a very ungrateful task. Let’s try, though.

I would say that in the future technology sector will continue to grow and take over every aspect of our lives. That means the demand for MBA’s understanding technology should continue to grow as well.

The technology sector is one of the fastest and strongest growing sectors of the economy, and I think this is only the beginning. Think about all the data, AI, robotics, space exploration, drones, self-driven cars, robots replacing humans. Therefore, I would say that MBA in technology is probably the most exciting MBA concentration or specialization with tremendous growth potential.

The finance sector is also not going anywhere. I think the financial industry will continue to dominate many rankings because financial behemoths essentially already run all aspects of our lives. So I would say that these two concentrations or specializations are still solid, viable choices for the future. But frankly, any of the ones I mentioned in this article are good.

Note that some industries or sectors will be overtaken by automation within the next decade or two. Those areas are accounting and operations according to predictions by various institutions. It does not mean they are bad areas to go into. However, verbal areas are less likely to get automated. Automation of jobs is whole another topic worthy of a separate blog.

Overall, for long-term future career and salary growth, statistically, the best jobs seem to be after MBA in information technology, finance, entrepreneurship, or real estate (the same caveat – see above). Note that I am guessing here based on past statistics. Things may change.

What MBA concentration should I do? How do I choose an MBA specialization?

There is no better or worse MBA concentration or specialization. Your career starts after MBA depends on the rank of business school. Also, it depends on your MBA program’s reputation and strength.

Some MBA programs are known for specific concentrations or specializations, and employers specifically go to those business schools to hire graduates. Therefore, for a more informed decision, you should research each business school before you apply for MBA.

I suggest you choose an MBA specialization or concentration focusing on something that complements your nature and your skills. Don’t jump around and focus on a single career path by becoming a true valuable specialist in one or two areas.

NOTE: It looks like MBAs with heavy quantitative specializations or concentrations are more likely to find a job after graduation and find it sooner.

Here is a note for those MBAs who have no or little previous work experience:

Specialization or concentration on intangible areas of leadership, corporate strategy, general management, or innovation probably makes sense for MBA students in top elite business schools because students from top schools are more likely to get hired by a top or large companies where they can build a career in the non-quant field.
But students in low-ranking MBA programs probably should choose more tangible quantitative specialization because quant is a more specific skill required by many smaller companies. Business analytics, finance, economics come to mind.
Consider your MBA program’s most potent concentrations and reputation among employers.

Here is food for thought: two professional areas which yield the most millionaires or billionaires are engineering and economics.

Both enjoy such success because engineers understand technology and innovation, and economists can figure out global economy trends and make informed predictive decisions.

Which MBA concentration is right for me? How to select MBA specialization?

When choosing MBA specialization or concentration, I suggest choosing by this criteria:

You have passion for it.
At which you are pretty knowledgeable, comfortable, or naturally good at,
Which complements your pre-MBA work experience and skills, if any,
Which aligns with your core moral and ethical values.

Due to difficulties finding a job for MBA graduates, you need to complement your experience and skills and build a portfolio with a specific focus to attract the employer’s attention.

Even if you don’t know which specialization you will like, try to take few main courses first and see which material you can understand the best. Then chose that specialization or concentration. But beware that some knowledgeable professors cannot teach well, and you must rely on yourself to comprehend all the MAB knowledge.

I haven’t mentioned MBA in human resources, which is another exciting concentration, especially if you have previous work experience as a recruiter or in HR.

Conclusion: How do I choose an MBA Focus?

I am a firm believer in complementing our pre-designed natural abilities. Therefore, I think you should choose your MBA focus based on your natural capabilities.

Quantitative people can learn verbal communication, but they will succeed sooner and more effectively if they stay within the quantitative path—verbal people who are excellent communicators but maybe not so good at performing complex financial or statistical analysis.

Both can learn how to perform work on the opposite side of the spectrum, but why fight nature and expend 10-15 times more energy than necessary? You will eventually learn how to count and communicate. The key to succeeding in the job market is to become a naturally good specialist.

Mother nature gave us everything we need. We need only to explore ourselves and find something we are good at that society needs and is ready to pay for that knowledge.

See which classes you like and in which you perform well. That could be your specialization. And do not worry if you choose the wrong one. Once you eventually figure out what focus you want to select, you will have the opportunity to take few other courses or extension classes with certificates.

Sources:

The post How to Choose the Right MBA Specialization (Complete Guide) appeared first on Truth About Education.

How to Get a Job After Your MBA (12 Tips)

Max Feo JD, MBA, Tax LLM — Sun, 15 Aug 2021 10:29:14 +0000

The question about how to get a job after MBA is probably the most asked by MBA students. Here I will explain what I have learned from my own post-MBA job searching experience and from the experience of my fellow MBA classmates who graduated with me.

As a rule, MBA graduates from non-top MBA programs face difficulties in getting a job after MBA. But by acquiring new skills, interning, exploring alumnae network of connections, graduates even from non-top MBA programs may get a job and develop a rewarding career.

I will not sugar-coat this topic in this article or on this blog. I am trying to tell the truth like it is. This article will discuss strategies and tactics MBA graduates can use to find a job and maybe a career.

Are there Job opportunities after MBA?

MBA is not as prestigious as it used to be 30 years ago. MBA graduates face stiff competition in the job market as job opportunities after completing MBA are scarce. Employers nowadays are looking for practical experience and skills, not education.

Most of the job opportunities after an MBA depend on whether a graduate can capitalize on a personal portfolio consisting of skills, experience, and ability to promote oneself.

It is relatively easy to find a job for those who graduated from the top 5-10 MBA programs. Elite business schools have a vast alumnae network who often hire MBA graduates from their alma mater – from the same business school.

Plus, top MBA programs usually have good job search counseling available for their students. Finally, top corporate recruiters swarm elite MBA programs to snatch such fresh graduates for a large company.

As a result, top MBA graduates usually are sought by employers and have a few job offers when they graduate. At least, they will get a job.

But for graduates of MBA programs below the top 10-15, finding a job after graduation is more complicated. I knew people with full 22-25 MBA degrees who could not find a job after graduation and went to work for their relatives in small businesses.

At the same time, I knew USC or Pepperdine MBA grads who found management consulting jobs quickly. Because it depends on the factors, I explain below.

How can an MBA grad counter this to find a job? What I explain below may still be helpful even for MBA graduates from elite business schools.

What jobs can an MBA get you?

Still, even a lower-ranked MBA can get you jobs. Sales jobs are abundant, and businesses are always looking for salespeople and business development specialists. Sales is an important skill. I know this is not why you went for your MBA. But many good salespeople make three figures easily, especially in the B2B market.

Other post-MBA jobs could be related to analytics. For example, business analysts, marketing analysts, operations analysts, financial analysts, and other similar jobs need an MBA. You would need to either have some experience, skills, or certificate to get one. Below I will explain how to obtain that.

The sales & marketing or analyst jobs are two different major types of jobs offered to MBA graduates. Think about it – how can you be a manager if you do not know the underlying job well? That is why managerial jobs are mainly offered for MBAs with experience in that or related area.

Do not expect you to jump into a limo back seat just because you have an MBA degree.

For this article, I searched a couple of large job sites to see what jobs are available for MBA graduates. I was surprised to see at least 74,000 jobs mentioning MBA degrees. And some of those are suitable as entry-level positions for MBA.

With the advance of social media and online opportunities, there are new types of jobs opening for MBA grads. They could be dealing with anything from writing to analysis to review and editing.

It may not be the glamour you are hoping for. But at least that is a job in a new digital environment that can lead to something more significant in the future.

How Can I get a good job after MBA? Bad and Good News for MBA grads

Your question is, how can I get a GOOD job after MBA? We should analyze the overall market trends to understand where all the good MBA jobs are gone.

MBAs who are looking for a job face a very tough market for a few reasons. First, many MBA programs still teach outdated theoretical, conceptual material which has no immediate practical application on the job.

Essentially, an MBA graduate usually comes out of MBA with general business knowledge but without any practical skills that could be used on the job from day one. Employers know that they often disregard resumes with MBA but without experience.

Companies are not training on the job anymore. They are not willing to hire inexperienced MBAs and train them while paying salaries. Instead, companies stubbornly keep seeking people with work experience and practical skills.

On the other hand, HR people, recruiters sometimes are unprofessional or plain lazy and play it safe by looking only for people with clear, applicable experience. And often, recruiters or HR people are clueless and cannot evaluate people and their potential.

In all my work experience, I had met only a handful of recruiters who had natural acumen for selecting and evaluating talent. As a result, I did a much better job than recruiters or HRs when I had to find and train people for my projects.

So, lack of practical skills plus industry unwillingness to be flexible creates a considerable gap between MBA graduates and businesses. That gap is tough to overcome for unskilled MBA graduates. And then companies complain that they cannot find good, qualified candidates.

What is the main task for MBA graduates who do not have previous work experience or skills? Get that work experience or skills.

Generally, looking for a job after MBA can be challenging for some graduates but not for others. I will explain the difference. Finding a job for graduates from MBAs below the top 50-100 is a monumental task. But not all hope is lost, and there are many hooks MBA graduates can use to find employment.

So, how to find a job after MBA? First, you should investigate several major areas when trying to get a job after graduating with an MBA degree. And there are few primary considerations for your post-MBA job search. And there also are a few tricks and strategies you can successfully employ to find a job after MAB.

Can I get a job after MBA without experience?

You could get a job after MBA without experience even if you went to a low-tiered MBA program. But most likely, that will be a sales job. It is relatively easy to find after MBA a commission-based sales job with or without base pay.

Sales jobs are everywhere, and many sales jobs are open for MBA graduates without experience. It could be a door to door sales, which I do not recommend. On the other hand, it could be a local business-to-business sales job which I do recommend.

I did a job like that just after my MBA for a local business. I was going business to business, offering partnering with us. Most of the time, I got rejected, but I scored pretty good partnerships few times, even with local branches of big businesses.

I was proudly called “marketing manager” for authority purposes and had a fancy business card. I had the authority to hire and fire my small team (the best perk, frankly). But I was paid very little and killed my used car while driving around. But I learned some guerilla marketing techniques.

Still, that experience helped me to lose some of my shame and natural shyness. Fear of people got diminished after just 3-4 months of working there. I helped to grow business by about 60% that year. Much of that was the result of my effort. Then I left for lack of growth opportunities.

Keep in mind that if you do an excellent job in a crappy place for low money, they will be happy to keep you at that job forever. So get skilled and move on.

Sometimes these sales and marketing jobs are called more fancy names like business development.

Or you could try getting into a more complex sales job like a financial advisor or financial planner. For those jobs, you will need to have a company that will sponsor your preparation for series seven and other financial exams while you work your bottom off for them.

Otherwise, many entry-level low-paid jobs will be closed for MBAs without experience because MBA is an overqualified candidate. Still, you can beg your way into the entry-level accounting or marketing analyst job and see if you can grow in it.

You need now experience and or at least a tangible skill allowing you to perform some even simple work in the business on day one.

Below, I describe several steps an MBA can take to obtain practical skills that will help find a job even without work experience.

What to do after MBA to Get a Job? 12 specific things you can do.

Scout Local Job Market.

Unless you graduated from nationally recognized top 10-25 MBA, you should search for a job in the local market. The local market is familiar with graduates from local colleges, including MBA programs.

Such familiarity makes local businesses and local branches of national companies more comfortable recruiting or hiring those who obtained MBA locally.

Ironically, certain MBA degrees may have better appeal on the other coast. For example, some employers on West Coast still think that Rutgers is an Ivy League university, which is not the case. But these little things may play a booster role when an MBA graduate applies for a job.

Still, the local market is the first place to find a job for any MBA student. The same rule applies to international MBA students who move to another country to obtain their Master of Business Administration. If they can get a work visa, it makes more sense for them to look for a post-MBA job locally.

Use business school’s Alumnae Network.

The business school’s alumnae network is where MBA students should tap into when looking for a job. Even lower-ranked MBA programs have alumnae who hire graduates from those programs.

Older established universities have a more extensive alumnae network just because they have been around for longer. So, for example, a USC or Pepperdine MBA graduate probably has a better chance of finding a job in Los Angeles or San Francisco than in New York.

And if such a graduate has previous work experience or skills which can be valuable to many employers in the country.

Capitalize on your past work experience

Have you worked before enrolling in MBA? Do you have some work experience with applicable skills or knowledge of a specific area of business? Then you can either return to your previous employer in a managerial capacity or look for a job in the same industry where a similar type of work is required.

The easiest route is if you already have specific job skills and work experience valuable for those employers. You are more marketable with MBA now because, in any case, you can hit the ground running on the new job from day one.

Plus, you are MBA and can take over project management responsibilities. If you feel confident, you can now apply for higher managerial positions than you used to have before getting into the MBA program.

Remember, MBA is leverage for your exiting skills. Or the other way around, your existing work experience and skills leverage for your MBA degree when you are looking for a job. They complement each other.

Make sure to highlight anything from previous work that now complements your MBA knowledge. Presenting yourself in the best light is the right thing to do when looking for a job as an MBA. Just make sure not to lie because lies can be quickly exposed.

Use Other skills that you have learned before your MBA.

You can get a job after MBA by exploiting skills that you had learned before going to business school.

Do you know to code? Do you have accounting skills? Did you do direct sales and marketing? Have you done digital marketing? Did you work as an analyst of some sort? Did you trade stock or options or cryptocurrencies? Are you a math champion?

The existing skills that you acquired either through jobs or on your own may be helpful to find a job after MBA. Look for an employer and job where your skills can be applicable to get your foot in the door. In the resume and cover letter, make sure to explain how your skills and MBA complement and leverage each other.

Suppose you know to program, then you may be welcome in either financial institutions or the tech industry. For example, if you know math well, you may look for an analyst position in a financial institution or hedge fund. If you know sales or digital marketing skills, you may go into the marketing department of the larger company now that you have an MBA.

Remember, unless MBA is from a top elite business school, you will need something else to make the employer interested. And your MBA then will kick in as an authority booster now. You can say that you also have some big-picture business knowledge, learned how to perform teamwork, and understand business concepts and managerial duties. Whatever you learned, know, skills you developed or learned before MBA can serve as a hook for getting a job and make you look more valuable for them.

What can I do with an MBA and no experience? Steps for Unexperienced MBAs

If you are without much experience and with low -ranked MBA degree, then looking for small business jobs is an option. Smaller businesses often offer small wages and but hire people with fewer formalities. While working there in any capacity, you can get additional skills and certificates for further career development.

Learn new skills After MBA

You can learn specific skills, like accounting, coding, business analytics, or enterprise management software, to help you land an analytical or consulting position.

You can take short-term courses with certificates that can make you more marketable as an MBA graduate. Those courses can be anything from coding to accounting or finance.

I will not describe those here in detail because I wrote a separate article on specific skills that you can earn after MBA to find a job sooner. You can read it on this blog here.

You can even go for another degree after MBA, but I do not recommend wasting any more time on education unless the degree has practical application. For example, see that blog post of mine.

Use your MBA network to find a job.

Your MBA classmates may become your network of connections and may help you land a job in the future. So please keep your options open and pay attention. Some of your MBA classmates may notify you about a job opening and may even act as your reference people.

For example, one of my MBA classmates became a recruiter and pushed me to a different position after we graduated. I found a job through some other route, though. But she did send me to a few interviews.

Another classmate offered to teach me how to learn and operate a specific business in which he became successful. I did not go for it and regretted later that I passed on it – that could be an exciting backup option. Do not immediately refuse opportunities when they come to you.

Start Job Search Early

Started looking for a job early while you are still an MBA student may reveal many essential avenues for you. Start preparing a resume, send it to employers, maybe get some calls and go for a few interviews.

Some employers may be willing to do a preliminary interview with you if they want to hire you later after you graduate. You should now get familiar with the job search process as an MBA graduate.

You will learn employers’ requirements, expectations, what they look for in an MBA graduate. In addition, you may discover during interviews which additional skills or courses may make you more valuable on the job market. You also will learn more about going salaries.

Finally, keep your options open. Even if you are an analyst by nature but are offered a sales job – go and interview for them. For example, I went to interview for a financial advisor job. That was a sales job, but with lots of hoops in the forms of securities exams, I would have to take.

The recruiter gave candidates a lecture before the interview, where I learned what the profession entails. I would go for it if I had different circumstances. Sales is a beneficial skill that can help you to get out of your introverted nature.

Get your resume professionally done.

A resume is the first document that a potential employer will see. And it will get tossed if not done professionally. Therefore, I suggest using professional, reputable resume writers and designers to make your MBA resume look attractive from first sight.

Doing the above will increase the chances of a recruiter or HR person looking over your resume, reading it, and maybe calling you for an interview. I have read that a professionally prepared resume increases the chances of getting an interview by 30%.

Cut your expectations

If you are a recent MBA graduate looking for a job without previous work experience and graduated from an MBA other than the top 50, you should cut your salary expectations.

Do not walk around thinking you are of any importance. Employers are looking for value, not for importance. And MBA marketing materials are all just that – marketing and sales materials.

Take a job that pays and take it quickly. And if you find it in the area you like, then work hard to learn as much as possible for you have passion and career.

Cut your position expectations, too, because MBA is nothing but a fancy credential without practical application.

Take any position which can give you some money, learning opportunity, and or growth potential.

Unless you are a grad from the top 10-15 MBAs or have pre-MBA work experience, then you should eliminate your expectations and take any job that even slightly fits the definition of a “professional job” in business.

Perform internships while in MBA or after graduation

MBA students or graduates can benefit from a good internship under two circumstances. Either you do anything for a big-name company or your intern and learn some specific skills for a lesser-known company, precisely in that order.

Most MBA students will get internships only in local smaller companies. Do not reject those. You can learn plenty from just being in that business environment, even if those will not lead to jobs. Plus, interning as an MBA student can open your eyes to real situations in the industry.

And as an MBA intern, you can get motivated to study harder once you spent some quality real-work time in a friendly office. In addition, an internship allows MBA students to obtain more real-life work and communication skills that can later be applicable at a real job.

I am not even mentioning that the internship looks good on the MBA graduate’s resume and my LinkedIn profile.

Note that some unscrupulous people may exploit students’ desire for real-life work experience and simply make you do a crap job. Beware of that.

Again, do not refuse a sales internship as sales is still a helpful skill.

But it will be even better if an MBA student could find an internship where they can be trained on hard skills like coding, using computer software, databases, doing excel spreadsheets, or something else.

Apply for internships or jobs even without skills

MBA graduates should apply for jobs even if they do not precisely match all skills. You may even be called for an interview, during which you may inquire about what steps you should take to get such a job.

If the company does not hire you, you can ask for an internship. The point is to get your foot in the door and learn something.

For sales and marketing-oriented MBA students or graduates, there are plenty of sales and marketing openings to apply or try to intern for the same companies.

For more analytical MBAs, I suggest trying to learn analyst skills of some sort. For example, marketing analysis, management analysis, operations research, equity research – any skills like that is worth pursuing.

You can learn on the job or as an intern. However, even learning basic accounting may lead to a future career in the accounting or finance sectors.

So, apply anyway. Suppose a position mismatches your skills or requires plenty of experience. In that case, you can use and mention in the resume and cover letter that you are open to internship opportunities in exchange for learning how to perform that job.

I suggest looking on the job sites to which post-MBA or post-business degree positions are most posted. That means there is market demand for those professionals. And then, you can apply for them, offering an internship in exchange for learning.

Learning during internship is important

Learn, and you can later apply and get hired as MBA with specific analysis skills. And during an internship, you realize that you do not learn anything, then ask to be transferred to a position where you can learn something. If not, then find another internship.

NOTE: I do not recommend internships unless you can genuinely learn some specific business skills. Because otherwise, unscrupulous employers will simply be taking advantage of MBA and other graduates.

At the same time, even door-to-door sales could be a communication skill to learn. But you can do it without MBA. So instead, an MBA student should learn something complicated that many other people do not bother to learn.

RULE: Your task is to get a job first. Get any job, work, self-improve, and keep looking for other positions with more future potential. Very few people make six figures after graduation. Get a job that has career potential or where you can learn practical skills. Work for low wages but grow your value as a professional. Then you will make a bank.

The “growth potential” and “practical skills or knowledge” are the two critical criteria for MBA graduates to find a job and a career. Learning and experience will eventually help you work at better companies or better-paid positions. For example, work in a company or internship for 6-18 months, learn something and then move on to another company.

Do not be afraid to start your career anew.

Do not be afraid to start a completely new career in a new industry with a bottom with low pay because your MBA may kick in later in your career and give it a boost. That is what happened to me. My MBA gave me a boost when I was hired to manage a couple of good projects ten years after I graduated as MBA.

Conclusion: I have an MBA and can’t find a job

If you are MBA and cannot find a job, then you are not alone. Every year many MBAs are fruitlessly looking for a job.

The education industry is about making money – it is a business industry. So they sold you an MBA degree. Now it is up to you what you can do with it. Reread this article, talk to other MBAs, read other articles to develop a strategy for your steps to finding a job and career.

I know it is unfair. But then, what can we do about it? Just make the best of what you have. I enjoyed my MBA. I use MBA knowledge now in my work quite often.

To find a job, lower your expectations, get some practical work experience, and learn practical skills hook your entry-level position.

You will figure out what to do. Do what your guts are telling you to do.

Source 1.

The post How to Get a Job After Your MBA (12 Tips) appeared first on Truth About Education.

How to Get into an MBA Program with a Low GPA (6 Steps)

Max Feo JD, MBA, Tax LLM — Fri, 13 Aug 2021 10:05:12 +0000

I obtained MBA for knowledge. I had a good GPA but not stellar GMAT. If you are the opposite – a low GPA, you are even in a better position than I was when I applied for MBA. I did heavy research for this article. Let me explain.

As a rule, GPA is the second most crucial factor for MBA admissions after GMAT. But GMAT carries greater weight in MBA admissions. Good GMAT coupled with a good MBA resume, stellar application essays, and influential letters of recommendation can get applicants into a good MBA program even with a low GPA.

NOTE: GPA level of 3.0 or less and GMAT of less than 700 will probably preclude your chances of being admitted into any of the top 25 MBA programs. But do not worry – there are many lower-ranked, but AACSB accredited MBA programs that will accept you even with GPA less than 3.0 and GMAT less than 600.

Below is a summary of steps you should take to get into an MBA despite your low GPA. Read below for a more detailed explanation of this topic.

Ramp up your GMAT or GRE preparation studies (depending on what MBA test target school accepts.)
Try to get as high a GMAT or GRE score as possible.
Find MBA programs that generally accept applications with your GPA and GMAT ranges. Your GAT score should be at least 30 points higher than average for that program.
At the same time, research and find some higher-ranked MBA programs which occasionally accept low GPA applicants. Call MBA admissions, if necessary, to make sure you would not waste the application fee.
Prepare powerful applications to several MBA programs within both groups mentioned above. Prepare good letters of recommendation and MBA essays.
In Applications, explain your low GPA using reasonable excuses. Highlight your other accomplishments, such as career or business accomplishments, if any.
Follow up on your MBA applications, asking if there is anything else they need you to provide.

Here is a detailed explanation.

Do Grades Matter for MBA? Does MBA Care About GPA?

It should not be the news that undergraduate grades and GPA matter for MBA admissions, and business schools care about those in their application review process.

On the other hand, grades and GPA comprise only a portion of factors for MBA admissions. Business schools also put a lot of weight on other factors for MBA admissions, such as GMAT or GRE score and proven professional, business, or leadership experience.

Another trick is that MBA admissions probably care more about GPA and grades you received in business classes because those are a better predictor of your potential success or failure as an MBA student.

Business schools for MBA are more likely to consider grades for business-related classes, such as accounting, economics, finance or management, math, statistics. And MBA admission officer likely cares little less about the grades for your drama or art studies class.

Note that the GPA of admitted MBA candidates (applicants) also affects business school’s national ranking, which is always a concern for business schools.

Can I Get into a Good MBA Program with a Low GPA?

It is hard for an applicant to get into a good MBA program with a low GPA, but it is not impossible. Below I describe instances evidencing that even low GPA applicants sometimes can get into good or top MBA programs. But good MBA admission success with a low GPA is rare and requires a hefty amount of work by the applicant.

As a rule, to get into good MBA programs, such as top 5-7 MBA programs, you should have at least a 3.5 GPA for MBA. That said, there were exceptions where low GPA applicants were admitted into top MBA schools. For example, in 2018-2019, some applicants whose GPAs were as low as 3.0 were accepted into Columbia or Wharton.

The GPA range of admitted applicants in top business schools was 3.0-4.0, with 3.5-3.7 being the average.

But I guarantee that those MBA applicants admitted into top MBA programs with low 3.0-3.5 GPA had some other exciting background, accomplishments, excellent letters of recommendation. They also wrote great essays and provided other essential application elements that you usually can create if you pay a reputable MBA admissions consulting firm.

Top 25 (top 5-25) MBAs are also good, and applicants can get into those MBA programs with at least a 3.0-3.3 GPA.

Finally, to get into the top 26-50 MBA programs, you may want to have at least a 2.8-3.0 or higher GPA on your MBA application. Said that, in exceptional cases, those MBA programs too might accept lower GPA if all other parts of MBA application are exemplary.

In this article, I will attempt to focus on how to get into the GOOD MBA program with a low GPA.

Сan I Get Into the MBA Program With Low GPA?

You can get into an MBA program even with a low GPA. This is because MBA admissions are based more on overall accomplishments than pure GMAT and GPA numbers. ThisThis is different from medical or law school admissions, where GPA and standardized test results play pretty much the only role in admissions.

The good news is that there are hundreds if not thousands of MBA programs in the USA, North America, and worldwide. That means that you can get into those MBA programs with pretty much any GPA and with the average GMAT. Those MBA programs often are not as reputable but provide good knowledge.

But to have a better chance of being admitted into the MBA program, you should still choose target business schools carefully, weighing your options based on your GPA and GMAT credentials.

Therefore, if you have a low GPA, applying for a low-ranking MBA program will yield a higher chance of getting into the MBA program. Still, you should send at least a couple of applications to business schools that have MBA programs with credential requirements higher than you can offer.

Then focus on your other accomplishments besides your GPA and GMAT. If you prepared a good MBA application package, it might catch the eye of the admissions representative.

Yet, there are several specific things you can do to cure a low GPA.

Specific Steps for getting into MBA Program with low GPA

Step 1. Take additional business quantitative coursework

You can take different business-related classes in a local college or the same college you went to for your undergrad. Take business classes there and get good grades by focusing on better studying. Taking only a couple of courses will allow you to focus on each and obtain better grades towards your GPA.

Business classes include economics, statistics, finance, accounting, management, marketing. In addition, good grades in quantitative (math) classes like economics, finance or statistics, or advanced math are significant.

Quantitative (math) class grades will show MBA admissions that you can excel as an MBA student. And if you do not do well in those business undergraduate classes, that could indicate that maybe MBA is not the right choice for you.

Business schools understand that obtaining a 3.0 GPA in engineering or science programs is almost the same or higher than getting a 4.0 in liberal arts studies.

Step 2. Prepare well and get a high score on GMAT.

You can study and practice to excel in your GMAT preparation well until reaching higher GMAT (or GRE) score. Higher GMAT or GRE scores are likely to increase your chances of getting into an MBA program despite a low GPA.

And getting the highest scores on GMAT may practically cure your low GPA, except for top MBA programs, which still will scrutinize your application very carefully.

Low GPA and high GMAT situations happen more often than we think. After graduating with a low GPA, which is not enough to apply for a decent MBA or other graduate program, people often go and work for a few years.

After that, they mature, get their things together, and take work and education more seriously. Usually, such people purchase a membership in one of the online GMAT courses and train for GMAT tests till blue on their faces.

With high GMAT scores even low GPAs, students could get even into MBA programs at top business schools.

Step 3. Try to get a business job and excel there

Nothing shows your abilities better to business school than progressive career success or professional accomplishments. MBA admissions will be thrilled to see that you were able to succeed in a business environment.

If you can do good sales work, or you can manage a group of people with proven solid results, then this is something you should show on MBA applications.

Succeeding in the business environment may help you get into an MBA program even with a low GPA, as MBA admissions will see your potential. Starting a successful business counts too. MBA admissions are looking for signs of business success in their MBA applicants. Proven past success is the best indicator of future success.

Showing an excellent professional work record in business plays a positive role. If you gained practical skills and experience in your line of work, which will allow you to move into a management position after an MBA, you should explain that an MBA application.

MBA rankings are also based on the ability of their graduates to find a business job after graduation. Showing such ability makes the job easier for MBA admissions, and they will be more inclined to admit you as an MBA student.

Step 4. Explain your low GPA in MBA application

Even if you excel in extra business courses and obtained good GMAT or GRE score, you still need to address your low GPA in MBA application and explain why you think it is so low. Again, write compelling explanations without making things up.

If you got sick and this lowered your GPA, then say so. If you partied a lot and lost focus on studying, try to explain it with a more compelling reason. MBA admissions representatives want to see serious applicants.

In explanation, focus on new accomplishments such as better grades in business courses or higher GMAT scores. Say that this is evidence that you can succeed as an MBA student despite a low undergraduate GPA.

Step 5. Show other accomplishments

If you have other accomplishments, you should show them on an MBA application to counter low GPA. For example, the military officer leading men in combat situations and the captain of a sports team competing abroad are exemplary accomplishments.

Becoming a successful trainer of people on the job of leader and organizer at volunteer work, leading groups of people doing volunteer work is good. Getting into MBA will be easier if you can show leadership and managerial ability. Even individual accomplishments like volunteering for a peace corp may help.

All is good, even if you are an excellent artist or competing and winning chess or poker player.

6. Work very hard on your MBA application

Working long and hard on your essays, letters of recommendation are crucial. Essays and recommendation letters play a vital role for low GPA applicants. A high GMAT score alone may not be enough as many high GMAT score applicants are getting rejected by top schools simply because they are clones of each other.

Being different is vital. Find something to distinguish yourself from the crowd. Emphasize something that can show that you have integrity, devotion, ethics, and desire to achieve something in business. MBA schools want leaders and achievers, not just clone salary-getters.

Note that both MBA and law schools like applicants with STEM degrees. Therefore, a degree in the STEM area, with work experience in one of the growth areas like AI, robotics, machine learning, data mining, etc., is more likely to get you admitted despite a low GPA.

Higher-ranked MBA programs may be more lenient and open MBA doors for STEM applicants. Because business schools care about two things:

– Whether you can succeed as an MBA student and beyond,

– Whether you can find a good job in business after graduation, improving their rankings.

– And they care about making money, of course.

On the other note, if you know at least one programing language – make sure you put that on your MBA application. Admissions may take that as a plus factor.

MAJOR TIP: MBA part-time programs at higher ranked business schools often have lower admissions requirements than full-time programs. Research part-time MBA programs like that and you may have a shot at getting into a better business school.

What GPA is too low for MBA? The GPA Cutoff Line for MBA

Surprisingly, most MBA programs do not have a bottom cutoff line for the GPA of applicants. That means that high GMAT or GRE plus otherwise interesting application may lead to MBA admission despite a very low GPA.

Said that you must understand that absence of a formally stated GPA cutoff does not mean that a business school accepts applicants with a very low GPA. MBA admissions simply leave their options open if they encounter an otherwise attractive candidate.

For example, the range of GPAs of admitted MBA applicants at Harvard or Wharton was 3.0-4.0. That means that for low-ranking MBA programs GPA range of 2.0-3.0 can be quite applicable. However, do not forget that MBA admissions review GPA holistically in conjunction with the undergraduate major.

For example, a 2.0 GPA for a science major could be equivalent to a 3.0 GPA for liberal arts major. And there is probably no too low GPA for an applicant who scored over 720-800 on the GMAT because such a score shows that the applicant is capable of learning complex business material despite a low GPA.

However, I would not try to apply to a decent MBA program with a GPA of less than 2.5 unless you have at least a 620-700 GMAT score.

Said that San Jose State University expressly set 2.5 as cutoff GPA for Applicants.

Focus hard on your GMAT and other parts of MBA application if you have a low undergraduate GPA.

Low undergrad GPA for MBA: Specific Scenarios

What GMAT Score Do You Need for a Good MBA Program Despite Low GPA?

My research shows that applicants with a low GPA need to obtain a GMAT score of at least 720-750 to have a chance of being admitted into top MBA programs. Therefore, GMAT scores lower than 720-750 will probably not help low GPA applicants to get into top elite business schools.

But lower GMAT score is sufficient to get into lower-ranking MBA programs. To a certain bottom level, of course. GMAT of 550 and lower is probably an indicator that MBA application to top 100 MBA business schools is fruitless. But lower-ranked accredited MBA programs may still accept you into their MBA program.

NOTE: With a lower GPA, you should strive to achieve a GMAT score of at least 20-30 points higher than the average GMAT score accepted by the target MBA program.

Individual Low GPA Scenarios For MBA Admissions

Now, let’s review several individual GPA level scenarios and how they affect the chances of admission into an MBA.

Note, if you have a low GPA but want to get into as high-ranking MBA as possible, I suggest hiring good MBA admissions consulting firm. Such a move will be well worth money spent as higher-ranking business schools offer more marketable MBA degrees and a better network of future business connections.

Top MBA Program With 3.3-3.4 GPA? 3.3 GPA for top MBA

Can you get into the top MBA program with just a 3.4 GPA? GPA of 3.4 is being on the lower side of the top MBA applicant pool. But 3.4 GPA is still within the range of GPAs accepted by some elite MBA programs.

Therefore, if you can add to that a GMAT score of 720 or higher, plus a well-prepared GMAT application package, then you may apply for top MBA programs and possibly even get admitted into one.

Remember that top MBA programs use GPA and GMAT metrics to screen out applications before even reviewing them. So you need at least one good thing to get your application past the trash can.

Some commentators suggest that Harvard Business school is just too selective. With a 3.4 GPA and 720 GMAT credentials, you can apply for MBA at Wharton or Columbia Business School.

Others also note that applicants with undergraduate degrees from the top 10-15 colleges will have greater chances of getting admitted into an MBA. But, again, the above is true even for STEM degrees.

Said that there were instances when applicants with GPA lower than 3.3 were admitted at Wharton or Columbia. They had a proven track record of excellence and progression in their careers.

Can I get into an MBA program with a 3.2 GPA? 3.2 GPA for top MBA

At this point, we figured out few critical facts about whether you can get into an MBA program with a 3.2 GPA

– You can still get into an MBA program with a 3.2 GPA;

– With the good well-prepared MBA application package GPA of 3.2 may even get you accepted into the top 50 to 10 MBA program.

– Good GMAT score will allow you to apply for the higher-ranked MBA program.

However, you should note that the top 5-7 MBA programs are a close call as they more rarely accept applicants with a 3.0-3.4 undergraduate GPA. To counter that, an applicant should have a high GMAT and some interesting background or career accomplishments.

It also helps if your 3.2-3.3 GPA is from one of the country’s top engineering or STEM programs. Because admissions understand the rigor of engineering and stem education, you can apply even for a top 5-7 MBA program.

And if you also have had a progressive career at some top company or consulting firm, that significantly helps.

In this case, I suggest hiring an MBA admission consultant to help you get the best application package possible and increase your chances of getting into a good MBA program with a 3.2 GPA.

Can I get an MBA with a 3.0 GPA? Into MBA with 3.0 GPA

With a 3.0 GPA, you can still get into MBA without a problem. However, you have the best chance to be admitted to the MBA programs below the top 25. Again, if your 3.0 GPA is for a STEM degree at a reputable undergraduate college, that can raise the bar for selecting target business schools for MBA applications.

I would say that a 3.0 GPA is a cutoff GPA for top business schools like Columbia or Wharton. Harvard or Stanford is probably out of reach entirely unless you have a GMAT of 700-750 or higher and some other accomplishments to show.

But there are still many decent MBA programs, including in the top 50, which will accept 3.0-3.1 GPA. I will provide a list of few MBA programs later in this article. (or, if you sign up to my newsletter)

But as an example, NYU MBA is within reach, and you may apply as their average applicant GPA bottom range is about as low as 2.7.

Some top business commentators suggest that with a 3.0 GPA, you might want to explore marketing and analytical career options before you apply for a top MBA. If you can find such career options, I would add.

Work for a couple of years and decide if you still want to pursue MBA. Also, see if you can show now any real-life work experience in the business.

Also, spend some time doing volunteer work experience, work very hard on your essays, and so on. Finally, hire an MBA admission consultant. I am not kidding you. Take this process seriously.

Can I get an MBA with a 2.7 or 2.9 GPA?

GPA of 2.7-2.9 is relatively low, and top 5-7 MBA programs are probably entirely out of reach even with top GMAT scores.

But, even with this GPA, you can still have a chance at a good business school with an MBA program in the top 10-50. For example, the University of Chicago Booth and Kellogg MBAs accept applicants with GPAs of 2.5-2.8.

I think 2.8 is the lowest for Both MBA and 2.5 is the lowest for Kellogg. NYU MBA is still within reach too.

Make sure your GMAT score is at least 720-750 or higher for these top schools. And your chances of getting into an MBA with this GPA are significantly increasing if you are willing to apply to lower-ranking MBA programs (and you should do so as a backup).

Can you get into an MBA program with a 2.5 GPA? MBA with 2.5 GPA

You can get into an MBA program with a 2.5 GPA. Even better, I had heard about a few of those rare occasions when an applicant with a 2.5 GPA was admitted to top 7 MBA programs. Naturally, they had perfect or near-perfect GMAT scores and a good list of career or other accomplishments.

I would say that a 2.4-2.5 GPA is pretty much a cutoff GPA for a good MBA program. Less than that will not get you anywhere unless you obtain a perfect or near-perfect GMAT score.

Some commentators say that 2.5 GPA and 760 GMAT may allow you to target Stern NYU MBA level programs or even top 10-15 business schools.

But more realistically, with a 2.5 GPA, good GMAT, and good application package score, applicants can still get into the 100 MBA programs.

Low GPA high GMAT Still Gets You Into Decent MBA Program!

More specific Scenarios of low GPA high GMAT:

800 GMAT low GPA

You have not only a chance of being admitted into an MBA program but also a good MBA program. But, of course, that depends on o your overall success and application credentials.

760 GMAT 3.2 GPA

I already explained above that this combination could, in some circumstances, land admittance into high ranking MBA program. However, I said that anything lower than the top 25 MBA looks like an easier choice.

3.2 GPA 750 GMAT

This scenario is pretty much the same as the one just above with 760 GMAT. You still have a shot at top 25 MBA programs, but applying to any MBA below the top 25 will make it easier to get into their MBA program.

780 GMAT 3.0 GPA

This combination is a severe split, and you will need to explain the difference between GMAT and GPA. But the GMAT score is high. Couple that with some excellent credentials and an application package, and you could apply to the top 10 MBA programs.

Any MBA program beyond the top 10 will be an easier choice for you to get admitted.

3.0 GPA 760 GMAT

There is no considerable difference between the GMAT of 780 and 760. Therefore, the above scenario applies here as well.

3.0 GPA 750 GMAT

With this scenario, you are still in the range for even top law school. You must work on your MBA application emphasizing non-academic accomplishments. That includes good career progression or other actions showing leadership of business acumen.

3.0 GPA 700 GMAT

Under this scenario, the top 5 MBA programs are probably out of reach unless you have something else to show for it. Hire an MBA admissions consultant – this may save your career.

Any MBA below the top 7-15 can still be a target for you.

3.0 and GMAT less than 700

I would say that you have no shot at the top 15 MBAs. Top 15-100 may be an option.

Can I get into an MBA program with a 2.2 GPA?

I do not know why you would apply for MBA with such a low GPA of 2.2 unless you had a good reason for such a low GPA. Did you get sick? Got into an accident? Got caught up in the armed conflict or war? Had you been in witness protection against the mafia?

If you do not have a heavy-duty reason for such a low GPA, then I think chances of getting admitted into any GOOD and reputable MBA programs are minimal, if any at all.

Still, a few low-ranking MBA programs will accept you without any problem just because they make money out of applicants like you.

Said that, read the low GPA MBA success story below of an engineer who got into Columbia MBA with just 2.1 undergraduate GPA.

Do MBA programs accept a 2.0 GPA?

The same scenario as above but even worse. Are you sure you want MBA? Are you sure you can complete the MBA business curriculum?

Well, then find a money-making low ranking MBA program, and you can get your MBA there.

But, with a low 2.2 GPA and GMAT of at least 525-650, applicants can still get admitted into AACSB accredited MBA program. But top 25 or top 50 MBAs are probably not an option with a low GPA and average GMAT combination.

Low GPA MBA Success Stories

There is a story online of an ex-NASA engineer who had a 2.1 undergraduate GPA in engineering. Then he has done some excellent work for NASA in the next five years.

Then he spent many months drilling GMAT prep, aced the GMAT test. And wrote and re-wrote his essays many times to highlight his professional accomplishments at NASA.

He applied to several top MBA programs and was accepted at the University of Michigan MBA and NYU MBA. Waitlisted at Columbia. Promptly sent them everything they requested. He begged them to accept him promising to be a great asset to their MAB program and so on. And he went to the Columbia MBA program in the end.

Another story in person with a 2.2 GPA and 710 GMAT went into the top 25 MBA after liberal arts studies. Has done some volunteering and had five years of progressive, successful work experience as a digital marketing account manager. He also did extra accounting and statistics courses and got As in them before applying for MBA!

Then 2.3 GPA, 720 GMAT, military officer significant leadership experience of 5 years, admitted at top 15 and top 10 MBA programs in the country. He took GMAT several times and spent much effort on GMAT prep.

At the same time, someone with a 2.9 GPA and 680 GMAT plus work experience could not get even in USC.

Three low GPA high GMAT success stories illustrate my point. Do you see the pattern? They all had high GMAT AND some significant leadership or professional experience that made them stand out from the crowd. Plus, they kept pushing it into admissions offices.

In conclusion: Low GPA and Low GMAT scenario for MBA

If you have less than a 3.0 GPA and less than 600 GMAT, you can still get into AACSB accredited MBA program. Most likely, that program is likely to be outside of the top 100 MBAs in the country. There are hundreds of MBAs in the USA alone. I am not even mentioning online ones.

Will a low GPA and low GMAT, you are still an eligible candidate for lower-ranking business schools if you want to obtain MBA.

You may not enjoy such an excellent professional network as in top business schools, but even a local MBA can boost your existing career to a managerial level. And if you want MBA for knowledge, then just go for as cheap an MBA as possible.

The post How to Get into an MBA Program with a Low GPA (6 Steps) appeared first on Truth About Education.

Is it Worth Being a Paralegal? Paralegal Pros and Cons.

Max Feo JD, MBA, Tax LLM — Tue, 10 Aug 2021 09:24:30 +0000

I have spent 6 or 7 years working as a legal assistant and then paralegal plus another 4-5 as a law clerk. I have friends who are career paralegals. Since I know few things on this topic, I can confidently express my opinion about whether it is worth being a paralegal. I can also expertly weigh in on the paralegal profession’s pros and cons.

A paralegal is a legal professional supporting the work of attorneys in law firms. Paralegals usually cannot work independently and perform legal tasks under close supervision by an attorney. However, experienced paralegals sometimes perform intellectually challenging legal work on par with attorneys.

I already wrote on this blog a few extensive articles about whether it is worth being a paralegal. However, there are significant pros and cons of being a paralegal, which I discuss below.

I have read quite a few standard paralegal cheerleading articles written by unscrupulous persons with a financial benefit in people becoming paralegals. Unfortunately, much of that advice in those articles is plain garbage.

But here I am going to lay out the cold, harsh truth about the paralegal profession. So first, I will tell you the real deal about the pros and cons of being a paralegal. Then you decide for yourself whether it is worth being a paralegal or choosing some other profession.

Is Being a Paralegal Good? Is Paralegal a Good Job?

Some people think that being a paralegal is a very good prestigious thing and a paralegal is a good job. My take is that it may not be the case unless you like working for lawyers performing legal work in a secondary position.

Being a paralegal is a good thing if the paralegal works either for a close relative or has established a good working relationship with supervising attorney.

A paralegal can be a good job once a paralegal becomes proficient in a specific area of legal work. Then paralegal can find a law firm or in-house legal department which will treat paralegals with respect.

As a rule, I can rate being a paralegal as slightly below average good in job satisfaction. But quality paralegals may find it a good job because they are valuable to the law firm.

Being a paralegal is not an easy job. Paralegals must multitask, specialize in certain areas of law, perfect their knowledge and skill and try to become the best paralegal specialist they can be. Well-skilled paralegals are treated better by attorneys.

Still, there is often a lack of recognition of paralegal’s efforts by attorneys. Often it is because attorneys are simply too busy and overstressed. Being a paralegal could be good if you can handle playing a secondary role supporting a law firm’s work effort.

Law is a profession for sharks. Thus, many paralegals do not think they have a good job because stress is very high. In addition, many attorneys are not friendly, and paralegals must have thick skin, like anyone working in the law.

But I think that paralegals who do not feel being a paralegal is good do not like three main things:

Purely legal job technicalities like deadlines, filings, complex documents to prepare, dealing with court or government agency filing procedures.
A sometimes toxic and stressful work environment in the office.
Average salaries, compared to some other professions.

From my experience, it is not that paralegals hate just being a paralegal. Instead, they are overwhelmed with one or more of the negative paralegal job aspects below. Solve that, and the paralegal job is as good as many other jobs out there.

Attorneys are often self-reliant and will expect their paralegals to think independently and be problem solvers. It is hard somewhat because paralegals did not go through law school experience. But experienced paralegals can handle pressure well and enjoy their paralegal job.

Thus, becoming knowledgeable, skilled, and indispensable can turn the position of paralegal into a good stable job.

A paralegal may be a good job for those who can manage intellectually challenging work. Being a paralegal is good if you want to shadow a lawyer in their work and do not have managerial or bossy ambitions and expectations from your career.

Although, some paralegals manage to boss around their lawyers and thus feel pretty good being paralegals.

A paralegal job is good if you like the legal field and want to work in it. Being a paralegal is not about making lots of money but about loving difficult legal work.

Are Paralegals Happy? Be a Happy Paralegal.

You may be surprised to find out that studies showed that many paralegals were not happy with their work. I think it has to do with the disproportion between complex work and not-so-super pay.

Plus, being bossed around by attorneys eventually gets old, and paralegals quit the profession for good. It is hard to find a senior career paralegal nowadays because paralegals have become unhappy with careers.

Like in any profession, some paralegals hate being a paralegal. Such hating being a paralegal has roots in the difficulty of the paralegal profession. First, because being a paralegal is a demanding and challenging job. Below I discuss more the pros and cons of being a paralegal.

The pressure for paralegals is real as paralegals must meet the same deadlines as an attorney. A law firm is a joint work, and unhappy lawyers pressure paralegals to catch up with deadlines and adhere to high work quality standards. Therefore, being happy often must come from within for paralegal.

Being a paralegal is a game of chance, not happiness. Nevertheless, some lucky paralegals end up in the hands of reasonable attorneys with caring and professional attitudes to their staff.

Such happy paralegals have good perks, understandable quality standards, a manageable workload, vacations, time off, and decent money. Usually, they work solid law firms or in-house corporate legal departments.

Other paralegals end up in small, medium, or large law firms with a-hole lawyers who are never happy themselves, who treat their staff like trash, with the toxic office environment and few perks.

Workloads are unmanageable; salaries are low, and such paralegals become unhappy, hate their work, and eventually quit their jobs or professions. These are the cons of being a paralegal, which I describe below in this article.

Overall, job satisfaction and level of happiness for paralegals are statistically relatively low. This may make many paralegals feel unhappy as paralegal.

Tips to Feel Happier as a Paralegal:

Check paralegal turnover in a law firm. Low paralegal turnover may mean they are treated better at a law firm, and paralegals stay for years if not decades.
Litigation law firms have the most stressful work environments, but litigation paralegals have the higher job mobility options.
Do not argue with your lawyer but just do work well and improve your knowledge and skills. Remember that paralegal’s job is to support work attorneys doing work, not the other way around.
Treat paralegal job as a skilled professional job. Improving your skills is a must.
Forget about work when you head home.

Note: I hated being a paralegal. But I have met paralegals who loved it. It all depends.

Is Paralegal a Stressful Job?

A paralegal is an undeniably stressful job. Most jobs in law are stressful due to uncertainty of the outcome of the legal matter. Sudden deadlines, large volumes of work, unhappy attorneys, and clients – all that makes paralegal job stressful.

But there are both pros and cons of being a paralegal.

Most Important Truth About Paralegal Job

Here it is. A paralegal is essentially a person who wants to do practically all the work that that lawyer should have done themselves.

In other words, the main con and disadvantage of being a paralegal are that attorneys often want paralegals to do all the work for them. Essentially, paralegals are doing the lawyer’s job but for less pay.

Meanwhile, attorneys are grabbing more business and more clients and throwing even more workload on their paralegals.

The above is the essence of being a paralegal. Paralegals will be treated better if they can reduce the attorney’s work burden to the maximum, even at the expense of personal life and personal time.

What Are the Pros and Cons of Being a Paralegal?

Being a paralegal has its pros and cons. Let me list the pros and cons of being a paralegal below for your convenience.

What Are the Advantages of Being a Paralegal? (Paralegal Pros)

Why is it Good To Be A Paralegal

Despite being hard, there are advantages to being a paralegal.

The advantage of being a paralegal involves performing intellectually challenging work. Working in a law firm is an excellent intellectual exercise.

Another advantage of working as a paralegal is finding a good attorney boss. Paralegals who work for a good attorney manager must feel lucky. Unfortunately, not every paralegal is so fortunate.

Most paralegals end up working in small firms, and in smaller firms, paralegals have the advantage of having a closer relationship with their supervising attorney or attorneys.

The advantage of the paralegal position of that close relationship is access to an attorney for potential advice for free. Personal access to attorney advice is definitely among the pros of being a paralegal.

Another pro of being a paralegal is that all responsibility for the paralegal’s work is ultimately attributed to supervising attorney. Thus, a paralegal is somewhat shielded from malpractice when working for an attorney or law firm.

Another potential pro of paralegal job is that lawyers usually supervise paralegals and provide some training. If supervising attorney boss is good and established a good working relationship with a paralegal, then that attorney will be guarding its paralegal against troubles or mistakes in work.

Paralegal profession pros for some is that being a paralegal can be a step before going to law school and becoming a lawyer. Working in law for a few years may give paralegal an understanding of harsh reality so that paralegal makes an informed decision before committing to law school and becoming an attorney.

The danger is that being paralegal may suck you in, and you start forgetting that there are other viable career options in life. Likewise, the law may suck you in, and you may go to law school not because you want it but because you think you don’t know anything else. That would not be a good reason to become an attorney.

But what if you are terrific as a paralegal and feel that you can do that work on an attorney’s level? Then going to law school may be a natural step for you as a paralegal.

Beware that law schools do not necessarily consider paralegals better candidates than anyone else. Law schools want diversity in education and career experiences among their students. Except, law schools are always happy to see anyone with a STEM degree and work experience.

Among other cons of the paralegal profession is that paralegal may focus and become proficient in one or a few areas of law. Then such a paralegal may command more respect, slightly better pay, and has more options to change law firm or law department moving to a better paralegal job.

Among other pros of being a paralegal is a significant advantage of the lack of a degree to become a paralegal in most states. Therefore, paralegals incur less debt to become a paralegal. Having no debt is a considerable advantage of paralegal over many other professions.

What Are the Perks of Being a Paralegal?

Working as a paralegal may include some specific nice perks. For example, I already mentioned access to attorneys.

Working as a paralegal sometimes involves many different roles, from drafting pleadings to interviewing clients and talking about their cases. That happens more often in smaller law firms, and such work develops many soft skills like multitasking, critical reasoning, and others.

The other perk of the paralegal profession is the occasional possibility to talk to interesting clients. In large law firms, paralegals rarely contact clients, but in smaller ones, they communicate with clients more often. That develops communication skills like n other.

For example, in one of the laws firms I worked for, all paralegals had a chance to speak to millionaires and even a couple of billionaires occasionally. While that did not transform into higher salaries, that was a pleasant and worthy experience.

Speaking to very accomplished people who otherwise would never have found time to talk to me was kind of self-satisfying. That little perk for paralegals made work a little bit more interesting.

Of course, paralegals may enjoy perks in the form of regular benefits. For example, well-established law firms pay benefits like medical insurance, 401K, transportation and offer other perks for their paralegals.

In-house company law departments almost always have extra perks for paralegals, just like for any other employee. Those perks include benefits, discounts on the company’s products or services, corporate parties, and other things.

When I officially became certified as a paralegal, my law firm created a party for that occasion. First, we went to a nice restaurant, then to a nightclub on the Santa Monica beach, and to a couple of other fun places.

I came back home in the morning with a bottle of some expensive bottle of wine. An extra few hundred dollars in cash in my pocket presented to me was a perfectly legal gift. I will omit few other extraordinary adventures that night.

Little perks like pizza, food, and drinks were quite a regular occasion, especially when we did overtime.

I also briefly worked for a law office where the attorney smoked weed or sniffed something in his office behind closed doors. He would not mind sharing it, but it was not the kind of perk I wanted. So, I left.

Another little perk of being a paralegal is that work can be pretty interesting. Sometimes it is a pleasure to work on exciting cases with interesting facts.

Sometimes as a paralegal, you work on cases with fascinating personalities and events. As a result, you may learn a lot about the law and human psychology, life, personal finances, and other valuable topics.

Disadvantages of Being a Paralegal (Paralegal Cons)

Why it Sucks Being a Paralegal

Unfortunately, in addition to advantages and perks, there are many disadvantages of being a paralegal.

The paralegal is always in a secondary support role. A paralegal is a second-class employee at a law firm and is bossed around by attorneys and office managers. The inequality of positions puts paralegals at a perpetual disadvantage.

A paralegal will always be in a position to be an attorney, even if the paralegal has 25 years of experience and the attorney is 25-year-old. So I count that situation a significant con of being a paralegal.

Another major disadvantage of being a paralegal is the lack of upward mobility of career growth and a salary cap for paralegals. More about paralegal salary read in section below.

Other major cons include a lack defined career path for paralegals like for many other professions. A paralegal is only a professional, clerical job.

Another major con of being a paralegal is a lousy attorney boss who is also an awful manager. Such attorney bosses can make paralegal’s life and work miserable. Therefore, it is a significant disadvantage of being a paralegal with a-hole attorney boss.

And if that attorney is also not a good lawyer and the law firm has problems regular with clients and money, I suggest running as fast as possible.

The major con of being a paralegal is that attorneys expect paralegals to relieve them from many mundane tasks. Lawyers expect paralegals to perform those tasks on par with attorneys but for much less money.

Paralegals sometimes must wear many hats to be valuable for the firm and work different roles like legal secretaries, file or copy clerks. That happens most often in small law firms that do not have extra staff resources like separate legal secretaries or file clerks.

Such a multi-role situation can be an advantage or disadvantage of being a paralegal depending on the firm and on how you see it.

Because of all the above reasons, the most significant disadvantage and con of being a paralegal is high job stress which can lead to professional burnout.

The workload is usually quite heavy; law firms often save costs on staff, and paralegals are expected to perform a heavy load of work.

My con of being a paralegal was that the work was sometimes relatively mundane, dull, tedious, and just not meaningful. Being a paralegal can be very dull at times.

Law work environment often requires long hours, and that’s a con if you prefer to be at home at night.

Another biggest con and disadvantage of being a paralegal is a total restriction on the independent practice of law.

Paralegals are not allowed to independently practice law, with certain exceptions in few states like California, Oregon, Washington, Arizona, and New Mexico. Therefore, a paralegal will always work for a salary at the mercy of lawyers.

A notable con of the paralegal profession is that lawyers sometimes can be pretty unhappy assholes themselves. Working with overstressed, unhappy lawyers trickles down that stress onto paralegals they supervise.

Another often cited major paralegal job con is that lawyers usually do not appreciate the work of their paralegals. As a result, overall paralegal pay has plenty of room for improvement.

Attorneys often have inflated egos and obnoxious personalities. If you can handle that, you will be fine. I coped with that by keeping my mouth shut, eyes open, and work done.

Paralegal job is not 9 to 5, and overtime is often involved, especially in law firms or departments focusing on litigation. And that’s a con too.

No career growth options present another major disadvantage of a paralegal career because there is essentially no career to build.

A paralegal’s work is always hard. I rarely met a paralegal who had it easy.

Relatively low pay is yet another major disadvantage of working as a paralegal. In addition, low pay may result in a lack of motivation. See my other article and see more details below.

Another con of legal work generally is frequent toxic environment law firms. A toxic law firm environment results from locking multiple people with inflated personal ambitions and a self-deceiving impression of high self-worth in one office.

As a result, they treat each other as opponents and enemies, not like friends.

I experienced such an environment with gossiping, backstabbing. My suggestion is to stay away from office politics if you cannot play it. Do your job well, keep your mouth shut, and do not take sides whatsoever. The only side you should ever take is the attorney who pays you your salary. Note that man law firms do have a good and professional working environment.

My pet peeve and con of being a paralegal was the lack of clear expectations or standards. Lawyers are generally not good at communicating clear standards of work. They just want everything perfect and avoid spending an extra minute editing because hours and even minutes are billable to a client.

Lawyers are usually not too supportive, with some exceptions. They expect paralegals to figure out things on their own and do an almost perfect job. That is a disadvantage for paralegals who never went to law school and lacked foundational theoretical legal knowledge.

The major disadvantage of working as a paralegal is that lawyers unjustifiably rely on paralegals to make decisions and acts that attorneys must have made or taken themselves. That high level of responsibility imposed on paralegal does not always correspond to pay and may even violate ethics rules.

But understand that attorney is that boss, and paralegals cannot argue with attorneys even if the attorney is wrong. Moreover, attorneys fire paralegals at will, and that’s another disadvantage of paralegal comparatively to lawyers.

One extra job con is that paralegals sometimes have to support several attorneys and figure out how to prioritize whose work they will do first. Hurting lawyers’ ego is quite possible when juggling several bosses.

The attorney profession has a high rate of substance or alcohol abuse. That may make the office environment disgusting.

A significant disadvantage about the legal profession is that most clients call lawyers when they are already screwed up and facing a significant problem. Thus, solving those problems can be a drain and is a con of the legal profession as a whole.

Often as a paralegal, you will witness the ugly sides of human behavior. People are screwing each other as you would never have believed otherwise. Just like a lawyer, a paralegal often deals with human ugliness but for much less money.

Paralegal as a secondary support professional is at a disadvantage because lawyers and clients may yell at the paralegal. But paralegal cannot yell back.

I remember how one of my attorney bosses simply transferred the call of the unhappy client to me. I spent about an hour of my time calming her down and reassuring her that we are on it. I convinced her that we monitor the situation and work as much as we can to speed up the resolution of her case. No bonus for that because it was part of the job. A con of being a paralegal.

Finally, paralegals do not have many transferrable skills which can help to move into another profession. Therefore, paralegals may need to take courses or get into college to change careers. The exception could be writing or real estate paralegals who later become writers or go to become real estate agents. Maybe, there are few other exceptions.

Can Paralegals Make Good Money? Paralegal Salaries.

Whether paralegals can make good money depends on what you consider is good money. Paralegals do not always make good money. Salaries often do not commensurate with the complexity of the work assigned. But experienced and skilled paralegals can make good money.

Allegedly, the average paralegal salary in the USA is $58,000 (See a list of sources after the article). I will tell you that 58K-60K for a paralegal is on the above-average side.

I have a paralegal friend who did a $50 an hour paralegal job, but then global pandemic made law firm lay off a large chunk of support staff, he included.

Most lawyers remained on the job, which is another example of the disadvantage of being a paralegal.

I would say that the range of $20 – $27 an hour is a more typical salary for a paralegal with few years of experience. $12-$18 is the most cited starting paralegal salary. As you can see, paralegals cannot make as much money as coders, for example. Well, it is harder to become a programmer than a paralegal.

One of the main reasons for widespread paralegal job dissatisfaction is that salary level often does not correspond to paralegal work’s hardness and stress when working in the law. In short, work is hard but making good money is also tricky for paralegals.

Those paralegals who survived working in legal shark tanks and obtained plenty of experience and skills in one or few legal specializations can make relatively good money.

For example, experienced litigation, transactional or corporate paralegals can make decent salaries at law firms.

Experienced paralegals can even independently work from home, supporting attorneys. Thus, they may hire an assistant to help them with the workload. Then they do more billable hours for attorneys and law firms and make good money this way. But remote work in law is a kind of rare benefit for paralegals.

Another type of paralegal that potentially can make good money is an independent paralegal in those several states which allow independent paralegals to practice law (see another article). Then they essentially run their businesses.

But most paralegals work at small or medium law firms, and they are not making large amounts of money.

Local cost of living is also important when discussing how much money a paralegal can make. Paralegal in Iowa or South Dakota supporting New York attorneys from home will make better money than paralegal living in New York. Because economically, their salaries are adjusted to the local cost of living.

The wage of $25 an hour in New York is nothing, but in rural Mid-West is decent money.

Can Paralegals Make Six Figures?

Very rarely can paralegals make six figures income. The six-figure for paralegals usually happens in two cases.

One is when a paralegal works for a large law firm and gains sufficient experience. A big law firm may allow a paralegal to make six-figure salaries. However, small and medium law firms usually do not pay paralegals six figures.

Another way to make six figures for a paralegal is to open own shop and work independently for law firms treating work as a business. But it is harder to find work this way as law firms usually want their paralegals to work on site.

Paralegals could easily make six figures if they could open their own offices and offer legal services directly to the public. But current ABA and state bars’ rules do not enable paralegals to provide legal services independently as that is the unauthorized practice of law. So paralegals would be eating attorneys’ lunch, and they won’t allow it.

But things may change, and in recent years, paralegals were allowed to practice law in several states (see my other article about this). Under such a scenario, paralegals independently practicing law and running their shops like businesses may make six figures in revenue or income.

On the regular paralegal path note, moving to an in-house company legal department may transform into a better salary. Companies tend to pay support staff better than most law firms. As a result, some in-house legal departments may eventually pay six-figure salaries to their very experienced paralegals.

Do Paralegals Write a Lot?

Paralegals often write a lot because attorneys outsource to paralegals drafting documents, pleadings, and briefs for litigation court cases. I can tell confidently that litigation paralegals write a lot. Such paralegals must have a good command of the language and excellent writing skills to earn a good salary.

On the other hand, paralegals in transactional work, like real estate or tax law, may not write as much. This is because such paralegals deal with many forms to fill out, agencies to require and file information, etc. Therefore, transactional type of work usually does not require much writing.

And corporate paralegals may or may not have to write a lot, depending on the niche of their work. For example, paralegals drafting contracts may draft a lot of contracts.

Note that often-drafting means taking previously written documents and simply re-writing them and reusing whole paragraphs. That makes work more manageable and efficient.

On the other hand, new research and new cases may result in paralegals writing a lot in their work.

Why Is It so Hard to Find a Paralegal Job?

Another among the cons of paralegal work is that it is hard to find a paralegal job for the following reasons.

First, since no education or degree is required to become a paralegal, pretty much anyone can become one. There is an oversupply of young inexperienced paralegals, making it hard to find a paralegal job.

The second reason is specialization. See, each paralegal can physically specialize only in one or a few areas of law. That specialization closes opportunities in other areas of law. Thus, the necessity to specialize reduces job opportunities and mobility for paralegals, making it hard to find a paralegal job sometimes.

And suppose a paralegal is a specialist in California state litigation. In that case, they may find it harder to move to Texas and find the same state litigation job because the procedure is different.

It can be hard to find a job for new inexperienced paralegals. But experienced and skilled paralegals usually can find a job much more manageable.

Conclusion

Is it worth being a paralegal? I think it may be worth being a paralegal if you want to get into law school later. There are many pros but even more cons of being a paralegal.

The barrier to entry into the profession is easy, and that is an advantage. But the path has no career growth. Decide for yourself what you want to do with your life.

The post Is it Worth Being a Paralegal? Paralegal Pros and Cons. appeared first on Truth About Education.

Truth About Education

Professional Male Hairstyles for Business

Hairstyle for Professional Man

Examples ofSome Modern Professional Hairstyles

18 Best Reasons to Like Accounting Career

Why do some accountants like and enjoy accounting?

Reasons to Like, Love, and Enjoy Accounting:

You may like accounting for respect

You may like accounting for income stability

You may like accounting for job security and stability

You may love accounting for a variety of career options

You may enjoy accounting for career growth potential

You may like accounting for structured approach

You may like accounting for defined scope of work

You may like accounting for the easy math requirement

You may love accounting for transferrable skills

You may enjoy accounting for honest work

You may like accounting for plenty of work

You can like accounting for average stress level

You may like accounting for collaborative work

You may like accounting for work hours

You may enjoy accounting for learning business

You may like accounting for financial literacy

You may love the analytical aspect of accounting

You may enjoy accounting for rewarding work

You may like accounting as an easy career to start

Therefore, you may like, love, or enjoy the accounting profession

Is Accounting Dead or Remains a Great Career?

Is accounting dead or dying? What is the future of accounting?

Why accounting is not dying or disappearing any time soon.

Why accounting is a temporarily declining but not dead field

Accounting and accountants are not becoming obsolete

Accountants must learn new tech skills

Audits, risk, analysis, and judgment calls will make sure accounting is not dead

But low-level accounting is dying

Recent Developments Show Pro Accounting is Not Dying

The bright future for accounting (In the future accounting is not dead)

Basic future accounting jobs are dead, dying, or declining

Should You Choose Law vs. Accounting? A Practical Guide

Lawyer or accountant: What’s the Difference Between Law vs Accounting Profession

What Do Lawyers Do in Law Work?

What Do Accountants Do in Accounting Work?

Law vs. Accounting: A Comparison of Pros and Cons

Law vs Accounting Career: Salary and Career comparison

Do lawyers make more than accountants?

Do accountants or lawyers make more money?

Law vs accounting: attorney salaries

Accounting vs. Law: accountants’ salaries.

Law vs. Accounting Career Money Conclusion:

Law vs Accounting degree: Cost and Difficulty Comparison

Difference between law school or accounting program

Law vs. accounting: Is law or accounting harder

Law vs. accounting: Is accounting or law more boring?

Law vs. Accounting: Is law or Accounting Better?

Few Other Advantages of Accounting over Law

Law or Accounting: Major Downsides of the Law Profession

The most important disadvantage of the accounting profession is threat of decline and automation.

Study Law or Accounting: Conclusion.

MBA Vs. Ph.D.: The Differences Explained for Career

Is MBA equal to a Ph.D.?

Is MBA harder than a Ph.D.? The difficulty of MBA vs. PhD

Which degree is better, MBA or Ph.D.? Is an MBA or Ph.D. better?

MBA vs. Ph.D. and Employment Decisions

Ph.D. and MBA salary. Who earns more MBA or Ph.D.?

MBA Salary Statistics

The Problem With MBA Salary Statistics

Ph.D. Salary Statistics

PhD Salaries After Graduation

Conclusion about MBA vs. Ph.D. salaries.

MBA vs. Ph.D. in finance (with salary comparison)

How much can you make with a Ph.D. in finance?

Why is MBA better than Ph.D. in Finance?

Conclusion about MBA vs. Ph.D. in finance

MBA vs. Ph.D. in economics (with salary comparison)

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