It's a screamer: When Columbia Law School advises 3Ls to attend the undergraduate job fair, the message is clearly that there are few slots for JDs. Those in their first year of law school or considering applying would be reckless to not heed it.
In Abovethelaw.com, Elie Mystal reframes the issue in all its brutal implications. He asks, "Is a J.D. from a top five law school really just a weight hanging around the neck of future graduates." That question should resonate with everyone who is attempting to market an advanced degree or intends to matriculate to obtain one. In late June, THE NEW YORK TIMES boldly took up this matter in its special coverage "What is a Master's Degree Worth?" The more than 600 respondents answered that with "not much."
No wild-eyed radical David Wiley, a professor at Brigham Young, predicts all that will be an anachronism and something no one will pay six-figures for. In FAST COMPANY, he explains how the web is re-configuring how education can be delivered which will make the university as we know it irrelevant by about 2020. Want a law degree for the knowledge or credential to leverage in politics? Wait until it's available online, with the whole enchilada probably running less than $20K. And you can keep your day job as a Wal-Mart greeter.
N.B. Steven Gosset, Press Officer at Columbia Law School [steven.gosset@law.columbia.edu], sent me an email stating:
"The post you referenced from Above the Law erroneously reports that this is an undergraduate career fair. It is not. As the Center for Career Education websites notes [http://www.careereducation.columbia.edu/] students and alumni from many graduate schools at Columbia, including the Law School, are invited to attend, just as they are every year."
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