You make more money as an attorney to start, but if you had to pay for your own law school then it would be a wash. You do more fas 109/fin 48 calculations as a tax accontant (in Big 4) and do more compliance (tax return prep). You should be doing more research and planning as an attorney, but youll get the same opportunities as a cpa/tax accountant at a large firm.

So when it comes down to the final decision, it depends on who pays for law school: you or mommy and daddy.    

The work of a tax attorney is more along the lines of what I'm interested in, but of course, you need the law school which is out of the question for me financially.  It will take more time, but there are ways you can eventually do more of the tax attorney type of work even as a tax accountant.  There a Tax Court exam for non-attorneys that, if you pass, can allow you to represent clients in tax court.  That's what I'm studying for these days.

Good summary, QuantJockMN, but you are talking about entry level.  And note the age differences.  By the time the 22 year old tax accountant is 25+, they will be at least a senior tax accountant who, although still stuck with a lot of tedious compliance work, also gets to do more of the research and planning.

But, if you have a mom or dad who is able and willing to pay for or help substantially with law school, I'd definitely recommend the law school to tax attorney route if you are at all interested in that kind of work.