If you have visions of power suits, briefcases, and the inside of a courtroom, you might have traditional "old school" notions of what it means to go to law school.

That stereotype no longer holds true, according to the American Bar Association, which reports that approximately 11% of law graduates enter the workforce each year in "non-legal" jobs.

That means they are not directly practicing law and are working in numerous other fields that require the critical thinking, writing skills, and intensive research knowledge that only law school can teach. Some do not even take the bar exam that grants them a license to practice.

But after the tough three-years it takes to obtain your law degree, many new J.D.s are choosing traditional legal careers. The choices are private law firms, government jobs, or public interest. The advantage of going for these typical law career paths is that law schools have a structured mechanism in place to help you find those jobs by literally peddling you to prospective employers by way of on-campus interviews and job fairs.

Pursuing a career in medicine has become more diverse. The choices vary from being a Medical Doctor (M.D.), a Doctor of Osteopathy (D.O.) to the ever-popular Physician's Assistant (P.A.).

Medical school is typically four years long and incorporates training in a wide range of health sciences, such as anatomy, physiology, biochemistry, and pathology. Those schools are looking for the best minds and the most motivated students. Only half of those who apply to medical school are accepted and they are the ones with the strongest GPAs and highest MCAT (Medical College Admission Test) scores.

In addition, med students receive extensive clinical instruction, doing rounds in teaching hospitals and clinics. After graduation, new MDs continue their training in residency programs where they choose a medical specialty, such as pediatrics, surgery, or anesthesiology.

It is mentally and physically-challenging to make it, which is why the process of "weeding out" those who are not cut out for this profession begins in college. Before applying, pre-meds must take one year of college-level biology, general chemistry, organic chemistry, physics, and maybe even calculus.

Like M.Ds, med school students who earn a degree of Doctor of Osteopathy graduate from a course of study at an approved medical school. Osteopathy is an approach to medicine that uses common medical procedures, but it places a greater emphasis on understanding the relationship between the organs, muscles, nerves, tissues, the bones surrounding the spine, and tendons, than traditional medical training does.

A D.O. also completes a residency or internship and then usually begins practicing to get additional training in a specific field of medicine. A license is required in the state where they will practice.

Physician assistants do not go to med school but are educated in intensive medical programs accredited by the Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant (ARC-PA). The average PA program takes about two years to complete in a curriculum that follows the medical school model. Like medical students, PAs are taught to diagnose and treat medical problems.

The typical PA candidate has a four-year college degree and has a nursing or paramedical background. Continuing medical education and constant retesting on their clinical skills is required.

Besides medicine and law there are other professional degrees that do not require that you necessarily stop your life. The most popular of which is a Master's of Business Administration (M.B.A) program.

This degree gives you the option of going full-time or earning an Executive MBA as a working professional. A full-time degree program takes two years to complete. Some so-called accelerated programs will credit you for prior work experience for a faster-track degree.

According to The Department of Education, more than 100,000 MBA degrees were awarded to students in 2004. And if you wonder how to place "real-world" value on an MBA education, experts say, in one word, versatility. According to the non-profit group Graduate Management Admission Council, while other degrees are field-specific, you can apply the management skills and business savvy, for which an M.B.A. trains, to just about any field.

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