'Cuse law vs. entry level Merrill Lynch?

[FSUGeoff]

Here is my possible scenario, I have already been accepted at ‘Cuse and it is looking like it might be my best overall option. I have been offered no money and will be paying full pop all by myself(150K of debt). The average starting salary for private sector is 60K which is all its is reasonable to assume I would make for this exercise.(though I’d hope I could bust into that 100K range for 100+ firms) Now I’m interviewing at Merrill Lynch over the phone next week, and will probably be called back to the Jacksonville office, as I am a pretty good interviewer. I’m not sure which division they would place me in, but more likely then not I will be making 35ish, with pretty good upward mobility. They also offer up to 8K a year tuition repayment for employees, but being in Jacksonville will limit my ability to attend a “worthy” institution. I have already taken the LSAT twice so a retake in the immediate future seems useless. My degree is in Economics, so I don’t know how useful or reasonable an MBA is. Also I’m not sure I’m into sales(I feel like it might compromise my integrity to "push" people into things, though I'd probally be alright at it), but wouldn’t mind an analyst job, but apparently those are hard to come by. It sure is keeping me up at night. All this said I do have a desire to study the Law and have a great respect for it, and feel my strengths lead me in the direction of Law. What do you guys think?

[AH]

baff

analyst positions are pretty tough, it helps a lot to have a military background

[JParker]

Tough call.  You shouldn't go to law school just because your other options are crappy.  At the same time, you shouldn't want to work a crap job for 35k.  Do you have any other options?  Family business, connections, etc?  I think you may be looking too narrowly.

[mirror]

baff

analyst positions are pretty tough, it helps a lot to have a military background

why would military background help an analyst?

also, analyst positions are much, much easier than FA positions.  at the regional level, most merril jobs funnel into being an FA.  if youre on a different track that truly does have a lot of growth potential it could be cool

[yiplong]

I am now working as an IT on Wall Street and I know these financial people have great career potentials.  Since the 2nd half of last year, as the the economy recovers, about 10 finance guys have already left for higher paying jobs.  Maybe in Jacksonsville FA jobs pay crappy?  But here on wall street I know these FA guys are rich.  If I am working as a FA now I would not be going to law school but instead trying to jump to a higher paying firm like Golden Saches or JPM. 
But for me, I am an IT doing crap job and getting crap pay, with little or no upwards mobility.  Many of my college friends are still jobless.  Law school makes more sense for me than for you. 

[mirror]

I am now working as an IT on Wall Street and I know these financial people have great career potentials.  Since the 2nd half of last year, as the the economy recovers, about 10 finance guys have already left for higher paying jobs.  Maybe in Jacksonsville FA jobs pay crappy?  But here on wall street I know these FA guys are rich.  If I am working as a FA now I would not be going to law school but instead trying to jump to a higher paying firm like Golden Saches or JPM. 
But for me, I am an IT doing crap job and getting crap pay, with little or no upwards mobility.  Many of my college friends are still jobless.  Law school makes more sense for me than for you. 

let me clarify, regionally 'most' investment firm jobs funnel into Financial Advisor jobs (not Financial Analysts).  you can make a lot of money or you can be broke.  its a sales job and you have to get your own clients.  sometimes they title these positions wealth mgmt analyst or whatever but its on the retail side. 'most' of the true analyst jobs are in nyc.  i obviosuly dont know the exact situation in jacksonville, merril may have a secondary hq there for all i know   

[AH]

re analyst:  My mom recently started applying for analyst positions, pretty much all occupied by ex-military.  It may be a specific field, though, because it was largely due to their possession of government clearances.   

[trout]

I personally would not settle for a job in sales.  But that being said u can make great money eventually and barely work 40 hours.  Analyst jobs are moderately hard to come by but there is a huge variance in them.  I would browse this site if u are really interested in being an analyst.  It is for kids who are interested in private equity / portfolio management.  good luck

analystforum.com

[mirror]

re analyst:  My mom recently started applying for analyst positions, pretty much all occupied by ex-military.  It may be a specific field, though, because it was largely due to their possession of government clearances.   

what in gods name are you talking about??  how does that relate to a financial analyst at merril??

[bobcat]

Here's my two cents.  I got my degree in Econ, and worked as a Registered Representative (broker). for a major brokerage house.  I made great money for an entry level position here in Salt Lake.  But I could only take the job for about 9 or 10 months before I quit and went back to work in IT and get ready for law school.  I wasn't into the selling aspect, even though I believed in the products.  Sales just isn't my thing, and I knew that pretty much all upward mobility (into advisor positions mostly) in the company was going to be related to sales.  I couldn't envision myself doing that for years on end, so I went back to the original plan and applied for law school.

In my opinion, I would say you should do law school, if that's what you really want to do.  The money will work itself out.