Students majoring in STEM fields should consider attending law school rather than attending medical school or another graduate research program.
A STEM background is an asset in the legal profession as all these skills translate well into the legal profession. Attorneys who have backgrounds in biology, chemistry, engineering and mathematics are in big demand, especially in legal fields such as health law and intellectual property law.
Firms want lawyers who can think like scientists.
Thinking like a scientist means understanding systems while logically applying consequences even when the components are altered, analytically finding flaws within studies and comprehending dense subject matters while extrapolating and expanding on information.
The LSAT (Law School Admissions Test) is designed to test students logical, analytical and compression skills. Furthermore, unlike the MCAT, the LSAT does not give an immediate advantage to students with a particular degree. Moreover, students majoring in scientific fields do not have to take additional course work or alter their degree plan.
Law school students graduate in 3 years, with a highly flexible degree that many corporations regard to be the most valuable graduate degree (even when the job is not law-related).
The flexibility a law degree offers means graduates can specialize in numerous fields ranging from environmental law to patent prosecution, establish themselves upon the legal and managerial ends of a biotech firm and have greater mobility as a professional school graduate within fortune 500 companies.
Both medicine and law are respected fields, and both will continue to be in demand for the foreseeable future. However, many students who obtain STEM degrees are unaware that law school is a viable option.
To many students in science classes, the idea of studying law may even seem taboo, exclusively for liberal arts majors. While medical school and graduate studies are actively endorsed by professors in the sciences, law is hardly ever mentioned. The knowledge that STEM majors are needed in the field of law seems to be insider information. Science majors who are passionate about learning can effectively communicate scientific principles to others and desire a degree that gives flexibility, mobility and stability, should consider law school for their graduate studies.
