Law degrees generally require three years of additional study beyond a bachelor's degree. In the United States these degrees are conferred as "juris doctorates" and are a professional doctorate degree. The education required to complete a law degree instills critical thinking, writing, researching and persuasive skills that can be applied to many fields outside of law.
Education
A law degree prepares students to work in the educational field either as a teacher or administrator. Individuals possessing a law degree usually teach history or government classes at law schools, colleges and universities or occasionally high schools. Law degree holders can also work in admissions offices, alumni offices or even in the president or headmaster's office.
Media
The researching and presentation abilities taught in law school prepare a person with a law degree well for a journalism career. Many media outlets hire a specialist as a court reporter. Someone with a law degree is particularly well qualified for this position because of their knowledge of the legal system and their ability to research information and present it in a manner that the viewing, reading or listening audience will comprehend.
Financial Services
The critical thinking that is developed in law school prepares law degree holders to research and analyze different investment opportunities. They may work for brokerage firms doing research on companies to invest in or in banks determining whether individuals are a good credit risk and how much interest needs to be charged to account for the risk of the borrower defaulting. Law degree holders have also been trained to persuade people to adopt their point of view so they are effective salespeople.
National Security
The Central Intelligence Agency, Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Bureau of Investigations are in need of individuals with strong research skills and the ability to analyze the information they find. These skills are taught in law school so law degree holders can use their degree to work as analysts in the government.
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