Are you unsure of which career path to take? Are you stuck between becoming a doctor or a lawyer? It’s a difficult decision to make, and you want to make sure you choose the right profession for your future. Becoming a doctor or lawyer can lead to a successful career, but it is important to consider the different aspects of each profession before making a final decision. This guide will provide you with helpful advice and information on how to decide if you should become a doctor or lawyer, so you can make the best choice for long-term career growth. From understanding the educational requirements to exploring the job market, you can gain insight into which profession is right for you. Make sure to do your research and explore the pros and cons of each profession to help you make the informed decision that is right for you.
Should I Be A Doctor Or A Lawyer?
If you want to be a doctor or lawyer with respect, you have to be in such a profession for more than 20 years. I had an uncle who decided to become a lawyer at the age of 22 in 1977, he became one after achieving his LLB from London, UK in 1982 and started practice in 1983. He completed 40 years of his law practice (his entire life) and went on to become a Judge in Supreme Court.
The Educational Requirements For Doctors And Lawyers.
- Doctors are required to have a four-year undergraduate degree from an accredited college or university.
- While you can become a licensed attorney without attending law school, you must earn a bachelor’s degree and pass the bar exam to become an attorney licensed in your state.
- Not all states require the same education or experience for doctors, though the majority of states require at least a four-year undergraduate degree and medical license. You should check with your state’s board of medicine to see what requirements you need to possess to practice medicine in that state.
- Lawyers must first earn a bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university before they can sit for the bar exam. Depending on how long it takes them to pass after they graduate, some lawyers go on to earn their Ph.D. and then pass the bar exam as well, so lawyers and doctors can have similar educational requirements, but there are still some differences that may affect your decision about which profession you should choose for your future career growth.
- The United States is still considered to have a medical doctor shortage, but the shortage of single-medical-degree holders (MDs) is becoming more and more apparent. In fact, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there was a 21 percent increase in job openings for those with just an MD between 2009 and 2014. This shows that there are more and more medical doctor jobs available than there used to be, which may make it less important to pursue a career in medicine if you have not already decided on your career path.
The Job Market For Doctors And Lawyers
- Doctors and lawyers tend to have relatively similar job prospects, with the majority of both jobs usually offering a starting salary of around $50,000 – $60,000. Even if you are not able to get a job immediately after graduating from college or university, there are always jobs available for experienced and new graduates.
- There is often a long wait list for certain positions in medicine or law which will require you to go through the rigorous steps to become licensed in that particular field before you can become an employee of the company or organization. You should check out websites like Monster.com and CareerBuilder to see if there is anything specific about the position you would like to pursue that is listed as having a long waiting period for interviews.
- If your ideal profession does not have an opportunity for you at this time, there are always many other possible career paths open to you that may be more suitable for your career goals and educational plans. Check out websites like Monster.com and LinkedIn to see what careers might be available that fit into your area of study, interests, and future goals as well as ones with comparable salaries, location options, and professional opportunities with minimal education requirements for entry into the profession you want to pursue to make a more informed decision about your career path.
- If you are not capable of completing the rigorous requirements for licensing in a field that you want to pursue, then it may be wise for you to consider something less demanding than medicine or law in your future profession. If it is not possible for you to use your education solely towards a qualifying degree or license that would immediately open up opportunities in the field of study you would like to pursue, there are always many other professions open to you that may be suitable for your skill set, educational goals, and plans.
Pros And Cons Of Becoming A Doctor
The medical profession is one of the most popular, yet challenging professions. As a doctor, you will help patients, provide them with a diagnosis, and work to provide them with the best medical care possible. Becoming a doctor will provide you with a rewarding career that allows you to help and assist others, while also giving you the ability to set your work hours. While becoming a doctor is a challenging path, it also comes with many benefits. Doctors have high earning potential and can earn a salary that is well above the national average. Doctors also have job security and can expect to have a long and successful career. Becoming a doctor will help you provide for yourself, and your family, and have a high earning potential for the rest of your life. Doctors are in high demand, which means there is a significant amount of job growth in the medical field. You will need to be dedicated, hard-working, and have a strong passion for the medical field to succeed in this profession. Along with a significant amount of schooling and medical training, becoming a doctor will be a rewarding, and challenging, journey.
Cons Of Becoming A Doctor
- Medical school can be a very long and challenging process. You will need to commit yourself to a long and demanding process that will be filled with a large amount of personal sacrifice. The medical field is hard work, which means you will need to be reliable, dedicated, and committed to succeed.
- Medical school can take up significant amounts of personal time as well as money, especially if it is not paid for by your employer through tuition reimbursement or financial aid from the government or school. If you are unable to afford medical school on your own after taking out student loans, you may have more trouble finding employment after graduating from medical school than before.
- While doctors have the job security that comes along with being a licensed professional and having a strong career path set in stone before they even graduate from medical school, most students do not know what their post-graduate career plans are when they enter medical school as interns. Despite this uncertainty, you may still decide on becoming an anesthesiologist, obstetrician, gynecologist, or surgeon to increase your earning potential.
- Becoming a doctor is a very demanding profession. You will be putting a large amount of effort into your studies, and you may have more family obligations than many other career paths in the medical field allow for. Your downtime will also be limited because you have an active work life as well as your personal life.
Pros And Cons Of Becoming A Lawyer.
- Most law firms offer good health benefits and retirement packages. You can also make a very respectable income if you have the necessary skills, hard work, and experience. The field also has a high level of prestige and is projected to be among one of the fastest-growing industries shortly.
- Lawyers must have strong communication and organizational skills as part of their job description. In addition to being able to communicate effectively with people from all walks of life, lawyers must also be able to file paperwork accurately, keep track of much information, and know how to make use of their time wisely to succeed at their job.
- Law school is not mandatory for most law jobs; however, it could help you obtain a higher-paying position than if you learned on the job while working as an attorney’s assistant or paralegal clerk. Even if you do not choose law school after college graduation, choosing an area that interests you will help prepare you for some degree-related courses in criminal justice, economics, or political science that could help you obtain a high-paying job upon graduation.
- Lawyers are required to maintain a high level of knowledge about the law and contract law in general. Your understanding of legal terminology is also essential to your success at work. You will also have to learn how to put these skills into action as you represent clients in court cases based on their legal issues and use your negotiation skills to settle any disputes between parties.
Cons Of Becoming A Lawyer
- There is no guarantee that you will be able to find a job that you love. Not only do you need to go through law school, but your entire career will be built on your ability to consistently maintain the high standards set by the law firms for which you work.
- Lawyers must be able to work well in a variety of situations. Law jobs vary widely, and many lawyers work as public defenders in the criminal justice system, or as corporate and business lawyers who represent companies in court cases or negotiate contracts over both legal issues as well as physical issues of property. You may also have to defend corporations against lawsuits or negotiate with foreign countries and companies whose laws differ from both American and international law.
- You can have many successful years in the field without ever getting married, but it is difficult if not impossible to have children while working toward making partners in a large firm. Some countries do not allow partners of large law firms to have children at all due to their success in the field.
- Law school is costly, and even after you graduate you will have to work hard to earn money to pay for your rent, utilities, food, and other expenses during law school. The cost of law school can be as much as $100,000 or more per year if you attend a private university rather than a state or community college that is part of your state’s legal education system. If you live in a large city like New York or Los Angeles along with the other costs of living such as transportation and entertainment this amount can rise to about $250,000 per year or more.
- A high salary may not be available if you are a woman in an area where there are not many women attorneys; however, discrimination against women has been on the decline in recent years since they began to go into the legal field at higher rates than men.
The Financial Rewards Of Becoming A Doctor Or Lawyer
- A Doctor or Lawyer can make a large income. A Doctor can make anywhere from $150,000 to $1.5 million or more depending on the field of medicine or law and where you live in the country. Doctors can even make more than $1 million when working as a specialist such as Orthopedic Surgeons, Psychiatry Neurosurgeon, Plastic Surgeon, Pediatric Surgeon, Cardiologist, Urologist, and many others. A Lawyer with a law degree at an average law school can expect to earn an average salary between $75,000 and $120,000 per year depending on the type of firm he chooses to work for and his level of experience in his field.
- Law firms may offer higher salaries than Doctors who work for large law firms rather than solo practices. Law firms are usually much larger than doctors’ offices and they have higher overhead costs that must be paid regardless of whether you are making money as your doctor’s fees are usually paid directly by insurance companies, Medicare or Medicaid.
- The amount of money earned by Doctors and Lawyers as well as Engineers and Physicists is increasing at a faster rate than the other jobs in America. The fastest growing job in America is an Engineer (56%), Computer Science (23%), Physicist (13%), and Lawyer (10%)
- Due to the high cost of education to become a Doctor, Lawyer, Engineer, or Physical Scientist it is necessary to obtain post-secondary education before attending college that will enable you to pay for your college education while you are still in high school or while attending college. College tuition is rising much more quickly than inflation which means that a doctor without a post-secondary education has little chance of being able to afford his tuition costs as well as living expenses on his income alone even if he works fourteen hours per day for thirty years so that he can pay for his tuition costs plus medical insurance coverage required for him to be allowed onto the medical profession.
- College Tuition is skyrocketing and medical school tuition can cost as much as $50,000 or more depending on where you attend college and what your major is. A well-off doctor may be able to afford his schooling but a student who works two jobs minimum to pay for a well-off doctor’s schooling has little chance or hope of paying for his schooling due to the high tuition costs.
Conclusion
Do you ever wonder if you should become a doctor or lawyer? With the long hours and challenging nature of these professions, it can be difficult to decide whether it is right for you. There are many factors to consider before you decide what path to pursue. If you choose the medical field, you will have to deal with medical emergencies and emergencies are unpredictable. You will also have to work very hard in school since it is not a part of a graduate degree program. On the other hand, if you choose a law degree, you will be able to practice in your hometown and make more money than most people would make at their jobs.