Education · 1 of 5

The path

Seven years of school, then a hiring process that cares about whether you can stand up and talk.

1. 1

   High school

   Grades 11 and 12

   Grades strong enough for a good college. Debate and writing matter more than any particular subject.

2. 2

   Bachelor's degree

   4 years

   Any major. Law schools care about your grade point average and your test score, not what you studied. Take the LSAT (Law School Admission Test) in your junior or senior year.

3. 3

   Law school

   3 years

   Three years for a Juris Doctor (JD) degree. Do the criminal clinic, do moot court, and intern at a prosecutor's office every summer.

4. 4

   Pass the bar exam

   Summer after graduation, results in the fall

   Your state's exam plus a separate ethics test, the MPRE (Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination). Then a character and fitness review before you are admitted.

5. 5

   Get hired and get trained

   First 1 to 2 years on the job

   Offices hire in classes and start you on traffic, misdemeanors and preliminary hearings before you touch a felony.