JD vs. MBA (0.00 / 0)

Why do you consider a JD more advanced than an MBA?  Both are terminal degrees.  Is it just because a JD takes three years and and MBA takes two?  I'm not saying a JD isn't more advanced, in fact, I think it is, but rather for reasons pertaining to the substance of the degree itself rather than the tenure.  Of course, the quality of the school matters as well.  I'm just curious about your own criteria.

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by: md @ Wed Dec 03, 2008 at 17:02:37 PM UTC

oops (0.00 / 0)

you beat me to it!

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by: mpcloat @ Wed Dec 03, 2008 at 17:05:52 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

JD vs. MBA (0.00 / 0)

I have an MBA and I would consider a JD to be slightly more advanced.  Typically a JD program consists of 90 credits whereas the MBA will consist of 48-54.  Furthermore, law schools usually teach the same sort of standard courses over the first year, whereas there is more flexibility in the MBA.  As such, it is certainly more difficult to tell who got what out of the MBA.

It is partially with that in mind that I chose to obtain an MS in International Relations to go along with my MBA.

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by: Mark J Bowers @ Wed Dec 03, 2008 at 17:21:48 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

saw a similar column from David Brooks (0.00 / 0)

but with more obvious tongue wagging. Curious why you listed JD over MBA, and MA and MBA as equal. Because one has master's and one has doctor in the title? Because JD is an extra year? You might have a case, but I would think of JD and MBA as both professional degrees that are hard to compare in terms of which constitutes "more" education. It would be interesting to see a couple more Ph.D's (i.e., more people from a purely academic as opposed to professional educational background) in the mix.

Also, who was Larry Summers' counterpoint under Bush in 01. Summers isn't my favorite policy person, obviously, but he's certainly highly educated.

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by: mpcloat @ Wed Dec 03, 2008 at 17:05:24 PM UTC

I'm very insulted (0.00 / 0)

As a Harvard MBA myself, I'm very insulted that you think a JD > MBA.  You seem to be making a value judgment rather than a quantitative (or even qualitative) assessment.

On the other hand, you may just be extrapolating from the very small Harvard MBA sample listed above.

If you are a JD yourself, sorry if I used too many big words in this comment :)

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by: steviez314 @ Wed Dec 03, 2008 at 17:09:40 PM UTC

JD (0.00 / 0)

A JD is a doctorate degree, while an MBA is simply a masters degree. By definition, doctorate agrees are more advanced than masters degrees.

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by: boomersun @ Wed Dec 03, 2008 at 17:14:51 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Doctorate (4.00 / 1)

Those with Ph.D.s, who have written dissertations, will tell you that a J.D. is not a doctorate in the same sense that a Ph.D. is - in workload or tenure.  So the nomenclature in and of itself is something of a false method of comparison.

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by: md @ Wed Dec 03, 2008 at 17:17:24 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Sorry, an MBA is easier than a JD (0.00 / 0)

I had several friends doing those tracks and the law school friends did a lot more work than the MBA friends, not just counting the extra year.  These were all top institutions (Columbia, NYU, Chicago, Cornell). I had a friend who got an MBA from some small school and it was pitiful what little was required to get that degree.  Not sure if the same holds, and not trying to be even more elitist, but I might take exception to the equal comparison of a Dickinson JD to a Virginia JD.  

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by: Ricky @ Thu Dec 04, 2008 at 18:13:54 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Really? (4.00 / 1)

You really think an MA in speech comm is more education than a BS in engineering?  :-)

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by: Whoppo @ Wed Dec 03, 2008 at 17:13:30 PM UTC

Brains aren't enough: We need new ideas (0.00 / 0)

Brain Trust vs Brainiacs

today, something is amiss. Even if everyone is now using the Great Depression and the New Deal as benchmarks for what we're living through, Act I of the new script has already veered away from the original.

A suffocating political and intellectual provincialism has captured the new administration in embryo. Instead of embracing a sense of adventurousness, a readiness to break with the past so enthusiastically promoted during the campaign, Obama seems overcome with inhibitions and fears.

Practically without exception he has chosen to staff his government at its highest levels with refugees from the Clinton years. This is emphatically true in the realms of foreign and economic policy. It would, in fact, be hard to find an original idea among the new appointees being called to power in those realms -- some way of looking at the American empire abroad or the structure of power and wealth at home that departs radically from views in circulation a decade or more ago. A team photo of Obama's key cabinet and other appointments at Treasury, Health and Human Services, Commerce, the President's Economic Recovery Advisory Board, the State Department, the Pentagon, the National Security Council, and in the U.S. Intelligence Community, not to speak of senior advisory posts around the President himself, could practically have been teleported from perhaps the year 1995.

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by: Alexander @ Wed Dec 03, 2008 at 17:13:35 PM UTC

More importantly (0.00 / 0)

I do believe that Open Left possesses more advanced degrees than both administrations, combined.  A veritable Geniocracy:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T...

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by: md @ Wed Dec 03, 2008 at 17:31:14 PM UTC

JohnS Hopkins (0.00 / 0)

Just chiming in to point out your misspelling of the name of the Johns Hopkins University. Sorry, it's a big pet peeve!

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by: caro13 @ Wed Dec 03, 2008 at 17:37:48 PM UTC

unbold biden (0.00 / 0)

Because he plagiarized, you should unbold Biden. Also you are comparing apples and oranges -- e.g., JD v MBA. Furthermore, on some level, the comparisons lose relevance.  Having one additional year of education (JD v MBA) does not really matter for seasoned, career professionals.  It might mean something to recent college graduates, but for these individuals, this listing is really irrelevant.

PS: I have a JD, and I would not give lawyers a higher edge just for having one additional year of education.  

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by: damitajo1 @ Wed Dec 03, 2008 at 17:41:32 PM UTC

Embarassing Elitism (0.00 / 0)

The best gift I ever received from my own higher education was letting go of putting education on a pedestal.

I arrived.  

When I arrived, I caught a glimpse of just how much I'd never understand, how vast the universe truly is, how small I truly am.

I think I may have arrived at the same place where those who till the earth or serve life in other ways arrive, from different paths.

But one thing I became convinced about.  Education is no "leg up."

It signified one quality I have:  Determination.  But if you are a farmer with 3 years of failed crops, and you plant again, you're even-steven.

I must be blunt.  I think those who are admiring their own educational credentials are vain.

You're simply admiring yourself in your own mirror.

And it's quite flattering.

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by: AnninCA @ Wed Dec 03, 2008 at 19:47:12 PM UTC