is it worth it to be an mph jd?
i was browsing through the google analytics, curious about what search parameters bring people to this blog, and i came across this question buried in the list. it struck me that i’ve never really thought about it.
first, there are the definitional questions. what did the searcher mean by “worth it”? and – don’t laugh – what did he or she mean by “be”? is this a cost-benefit analysis? a worldview question? is my existence defined by my advanced academic degrees? (the short answer to that one is a resounding “no,” by the way.)
i grew up in a public health household, and the most fulfilling work i’ve ever done has been in that field. i decided to earn an mph for entirely economic reasons, though – the added income from the degree. there was very little offered in the coursework that i either hadn’t already studied, or hadn’t learned at the dinner table or in the field. (obviously this wouldn’t be the case for most people, but i remember looking at maps of central american countries with my father when i was in 7th grade, as he determined the catchment areas of rural health posts. the broad street pump was practically a bedtime story. in fifth grade, i made a presentation to my class on contraceptive methods, much to my language arts teacher’s dismay. imagine explaining vaginal suppositories to your teacher when you’re ten years old…)
the mph was “worth it” in the sense that i completed my coursework while working full time, and saw a satisfying bump in my income. but it didn’t do much to change the way i looked at the world, or analyzed problems. it was really just academic and professional recognition of something i already knew.
the jd on the other hand – now that is a completely different story.
i went to law school – several years after earning my mph – simply because i could. i scored well on the LSATs; international trade law and health law issues were directly pertinent to my work, and unlike public health, it was not something i could learn from my parents or on the job. i never had any interest in practicing law in the courtroom or for a firm. i just wanted the additional analytical tools. and from that perspective, earning the jd was definitely “worth it.” i loved law school. i didn’t have much exposure to the socratic method, but it was thrilling in the classes where the professor used it. hypos were essentially big puzzles to which case law, statutes, and regulations could be applied – fitting the pieces together to determine possible answers. i learned more about the u.s. government than i had before (growing up overseas and having a narrow academic interest in college can stunt one’s civics education), and my appreciation and respect for the rights and responsibilities of individuals grew enormously, challenging my generally-unquestioned collectivist public health mindset. my public health positions have been somewhat altered by my legal education, both reinforcing some beliefs and leading me to question and reject others. i think these are all good things.
i “am” an mph jd in the sense that those letters come after my name on my business cards. i currently work for an organization whose primary focus is the law, and in an issue area that happens to be health (but not public health as its usually construed). when i read the newspaper, i naturally gravitate toward health and law reporting in areas that interest me, and i think i’m more likely to question assumptions i come across than i was before my degrees. but the mph/jd doesn’t define all of me. a quick search through this blog gives a much better picture of who i “am” than five letters on cardstock, or the diplomas gathering dust at the back of my closet.
i’ve found many benefits to having an mph/jd, and given the opportunity, i would likely do it again. one drawback, though, is that i’ve educated myself out of the type of jobs (and beyond the expected income level) that i like – at least for the moment. i’m an analyst at heart. show me a forest, and i’ll start cataloguing the trees and wildlife, and developing theories about pretty much anything i’m asked about. the big picture – the policy decisions, the strategic planning, the long-term outlook – these are things in which i have no particular interest. if i agree with them, i’ll happily work to support them, but i’d rather leave the development to someone else.
so there you go. a more introspective post than i’ve written in some time. and it probably won’t help the person who originally posed the question one bit. because what “worth it” and “be” mean to me may be entirely different than what they mean to him or her.
yes, what happened to the hokies was awful. now if the media would just stop treating it like a damn photo op (could you get more gorgeous than the saturated colors and silhouettes featured by cnn?) and lovefest (“beautiful, clever, talented victims honored” gushes one cnn video clip… [insert snide "what about the ugly, slow, talentless victims?" comment here]) and get back to coverage of the ongoing destruction of our country by the bush administration, i might be less grumpy.