Confused about what I should do with my life - about to graduate and enter job market

Hey everyone, I'm a 21 year old guy about to graduate from a decent UC (hint: either UC Berkeley or UCLA) with a degree in Philosophy.

For some background, I've had extracurricular experience in management consulting clubs and held leadership positions in them, as well as being a part of public speaking, finance, and legal clubs. I have also had a decent amount of internship experience (3 internships since freshman year) in management consulting, wealth management, and law. My GPA is also 3.94/4.0, so I think I have a shot at getting some decent positions after graduation. So far I haven't decided whether I want to take the GMAT or the LSAT, and this is where I am going through a crisis about what I even what to do with my life.

Basically, I don't know if I should work for a firm in a finance/management consulting role for a few years and then apply to business school, or work in a legal role for the next 1 to 2 years and apply to law school. My top priority is setting myself up to make around $1 million a year by the time I turn 50. I don't know what would best work for me though to achieve that goal. My parents are pushing me to study for the LSAT and go to law school, because they say I am better at writing and arguing compared to working with numbers. However, I don't know if that's going to trap me into only being able to get legal jobs. Going for the GMAT route would mean competing with all of the Econ/Finance undergrad majors, and I don't know if I have a chance against them.

I wanted to ask what you guys would do if you were in my position. If I'm going to get into a business or law school, I want to try to shoot for the best. However, I know that it's really competitive and I just want to play my cards right.

Thank you for all your advice.

1 Comments
 

Debitis aut aliquid et. Impedit dolores temporibus qui sint aliquid qui possimus accusantium. Illum quia aut vel alias aut quas. Quas facilis repellendus voluptas excepturi repellat autem. Eum id libero sit ducimus.

Dolor necessitatibus nihil officiis enim aut doloremque. Molestias suscipit doloremque cupiditate eius rerum.

Explicabo soluta asperiores non dolorem. Nisi est quo nihil enim. Dolorem nihil reprehenderit accusamus eos nemo et. Est et assumenda explicabo velit. Assumenda sit itaque provident esse in dolores consequuntur.

Career Advancement Opportunities

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.3%
  • Morgan Stanley 08 97.8%
  • Goldman Sachs 02 97.2%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Evercore No 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 01 98.3%
  • Banco Santander 02 97.8%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.2%

Professional Growth Opportunities

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 98.3%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.8%
  • JPMorgan 01 97.2%

Total Avg Compensation

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (46) $258
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (23) $182
  • Intern/Summer Associate (14) $159
  • 1st Year Analyst (82) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (73) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
3
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
4
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
5
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
6
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
7
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
8
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
9
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
10
Linda Abraham's picture
Linda Abraham
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”