Oddball Undergrad Degrees...

[ccast]

i complete disagree with this.  my passion for the arts is the reason i am going to law school. also, many artists who have gone to law school want to work specifically in the arts community.  their advantage comes from being an artists which provides first hand understanding of the balancing act many artists face when dealing with creating new works and the endless legal and management issues that arise.  finally, i know a few dancers that had a passion for both dance and the study of law but decided to pursue a dance career b/c in all honesty u can only be a dancer for a short time.  these people, after ending their dance career were able to the pursue their second passion and in many cases were able to combine the two.

ur first mistake is basing ur statement about artists on the postin gof a few people on this board who are not an accurate representation of all the fine arts majors out there.  ur second is basing ur statement on limited information b/c u don't know what is causing these fine arts majors to pursue something total different.  u never know, there could be a logical connection that u r not making.

not that this is going to prove anything or matter, but if you were a. really good at your fine art (acting, playing an instrument) and b. passionate about your talent, it seems unlikely you would settle for a career in the law as it offers, at best, a tangential (ie you can't play your instrument or act in productions full-time) connection to these pursuits. 

i applaud you for "UR" last paragraph, someone has finally discovered the obvious limitations of message board debates.

[legalkitty]

Even before I had my hearing loss, I was starting to have second thoughts about a career in performing. I did it for awhile, but constantly being on the road can be tiring, as can the requirment to constantly sell yourself. It felt extremely narccisstic and it will be nice to help others in a more direct way.

[A_guy]

not that this is going to prove anything or matter, but if you were a. really good at your fine art (acting, playing an instrument) and b. passionate about your talent, it seems unlikely you would settle for a career in the law as it offers, at best, a tangential (ie you can't play your instrument or act in productions full-time) connection to these pursuits. 

i applaud you for "UR" last paragraph, someone has finally discovered the obvious limitations of message board debates.

although i understand what u r saying, i don't see it as a matter of not being good or not being passionate.   a lot of dancers ( i can only speak of this paticular art) were great dancers and go to law school after they end their career.  dancers enter the field knowing their career will be short and many make plans to move into teaching, choreography, arts administration, business, or law with the a purpose of continuing their work within the arts community.  they are not settling but see thmeselves moving to the next level in their career. 

[ElizaB]

ccast...if your argument were true, then why did all of the bussiness majors do business instead of going to law school?  Why are not the poli sci majors pursueing political careers?  Why didn't the the engineering majors pursueing enginnering careers?

Just because someone decides to take a career path different from the one they originally chose (probably when they entered college at the tender age of 18) can we really say that they are no longer enjoy or are passionate about their art?  Perhaps the realities of the industry make it difficult for them to make a living at their career.  There are a lot of very talented actors, dancers, singers, etc. out there who have not been able to earn a living practicing their art but who are none the less very talented.  Maybe their family circumstances mean that they have a difficult time pursueing their art.  I don't know....I'm just saying that I really don't see how your argument holds any water and I am no longer going to waste any time trying to proove it as my soup is now ready. 

[ScurvyWench]

I agree with ElizaB. I was a double major in Journalism (Political focus, yes a spin doctor) and Anthropology and went into advertising. I was very successful in my career, but when it all came down to it, I didn't want to do a job that was really all about the money. So I want to go to law school to do public interest law in the community where I focused my anthro research. The gay community. It doesn't mean I'm no long passionate about what I studied, I just want to use my skills in a different way.

BTW AdComms have very strange views of what they think are rigorous majors. I've gotten quite a few compliments on my majors and the strange combo. You never know how they're going to be weighted.

ccast...if your argument were true, then why did all of the bussiness majors do business instead of going to law school?  Why are not the poli sci majors pursueing political careers?  Why didn't the the engineering majors pursueing enginnering careers?

Just because someone decides to take a career path different from the one they originally chose (probably when they entered college at the tender age of 18) can we really say that they are no longer enjoy or are passionate about their art?  Perhaps the realities of the industry make it difficult for them to make a living at their career.  There are a lot of very talented actors, dancers, singers, etc. out there who have not been able to earn a living practicing their art but who are none the less very talented.  Maybe their family circumstances mean that they have a difficult time pursueing their art.  I don't know....I'm just saying that I really don't see how your argument holds any water and I am no longer going to waste any time trying to proove it as my soup is now ready. 

[mmyles]

As a current music major, I feel compelled to say something as well.  It is not an easy major.  Sometimes the grading scale may be more lenient, but the actual major is incredibly challenging.  There is little else that requires so much time and effort.  And to anyone who thinks it's easy - please take an advanced music theory class.  I think your opinion will change. 
As for myself, I've always enjoyed both law and music.  There was no hurry to go to law school, and the training I received these past fours years will be with me for the rest of my life.  I don't regret that decision.
I don't mean to offend anyone, but as I'm preparing for law school and my senior recital, I can vouch wholeheartedly that the belief about fine arts majors simply isn't true.

[ccast]

Eliza

You mistake these situations to be analagous.  Business/Politics(iepolicymaking) are definitely more connected, career wise, to the law then the fine arts are. Almost anything else (even Journalism, which I don't consider to be a fine art (ie PLAYING an instrument, CREATING visual art or ACTING)) is more directly related to the study and practice of law (covering legal stories).  If you actually look at the conditions I set forth, it is easy to see that all the examples and arguments subsequent to my post (the one about hearing loss) did not meet either condition a or b, and thus do not fall within the scope of the claim.  My point isn't particularly controversial.  Those with the ability and passion sufficient to make a CAREER out of the fine arts don't go to law school.  So, if you are going/applying then you lack either/both of these things.  Someone mentioned dancers who plan to work as a lawyer after they can't dance, but I would argue that if they truly meet these two conditions they would find work MORE directly involved with dancing (ie teaching, choreographing) rather than simply being a lawyer who represents dancers/companies.   

[legalkitty]

As a current music major, I feel compelled to say something as well.  It is not an easy major.  Sometimes the grading scale may be more lenient, but the actual major is incredibly challenging.  There is little else that requires so much time and effort.  And to anyone who thinks it's easy - please take an advanced music theory class.  I think your opinion will change. 
As for myself, I've always enjoyed both law and music.  There was no hurry to go to law school, and the training I received these past fours years will be with me for the rest of my life.  I don't regret that decision.
I don't mean to offend anyone, but as I'm preparing for law school and my senior recital, I can vouch wholeheartedly that the belief about fine arts majors simply isn't true.

God, that's the truth. I had friends senior year who were ready to chuck their whole music degree because of Advanced Theory. It's from Hell! Thank God there is a little give on the grading, or none of us would ever make it!

[A_guy]

Eliza

You mistake these situations to be analagous.  Business/Politics(iepolicymaking) are definitely more connected, career wise, to the law then the fine arts are. Almost anything else (even Journalism, which I don't consider to be a fine art (ie PLAYING an instrument, CREATING visual art or ACTING)) is more directly related to the study and practice of law (covering legal stories).  If you actually look at the conditions I set forth, it is easy to see that all the examples and arguments subsequent to my post (the one about hearing loss) did not meet either condition a or b, and thus do not fall within the scope of the claim.  My point isn't particularly controversial.  Those with the ability and passion sufficient to make a CAREER out of the fine arts don't go to law school.  So, if you are going/applying then you lack either/both of these things.  Someone mentioned dancers who plan to work as a lawyer after they can't dance, but I would argue that if they truly meet these two conditions they would find work MORE directly involved with dancing (ie teaching, choreographing) rather than simply being a lawyer who represents dancers/companies.   

but a lawyer that works with dancers/companies is directly involved with dance.  u r assuming that a career in the arts only means wrking in one aspect of that art meaning a singer can only sing or a dancer can only dance in some variation.  however, the arts cover a large range of fields incuding business, law, history, etc.  so artists are not limited to just doing art.

also, there are other reasons artists will go to law school.  the dancers i know that have pursued graduate degrees did so AFTER a SUCCESSFUL CAREER as a performer/choreographer. 

[mmyles]

God, that's the truth. I had friends senior year who were ready to chuck their whole music degree because of Advanced Theory. It's from Hell! Thank God there is a little give on the grading, or none of us would ever make it!

Yeah, I know people who did drop the entire major because of theory.  I was always grateful for extra credit on ear training exams...