by Polymath » Fri Jul 15, 2005 8:39 pm
These are two entirely different fields, not only in philosophy and aim, but in the nature of the way one's daily time will be spent. I would think you would want to familiarize yourself thoroughly with the details of the types of day-to-day tasks you will carry out in each field. The purposes and goals of your profession is surely important, but so is whether the work itself is suited to you.
As far as job security, that can be had or be precarious in either field, depending on what choices you make in each. Clearly, if you have a job you could be fired, down-sized, etc. Each field also allows you to be in practice in which you are essentially the owner of your own business, alone or with others, if that type of work appeals to you.
As far as defending guilty parties, very few lawyers are actually doing criminal defense work, so if thats not ok with you, you would have many other options. Tax attorney, for one.
Best of luck.