I wish I had the time to respond to all oour questions. I promise I will, but after finals.
I do want to respond to the guy above. I see exactly what he's saying and that he is very correct when he says the dissatisfaction rate at these types of jobs and in the legal industry in general is very high. However, it is not AS bad as he says for two simple reasons:
(1) You can always leave. NOONE is keeping you there except your own greed. Unlike with most professions where the salary is set and people live their lives in some subconcious solace that "if they had more money they'd be happy". In the law, if you do well, you can make ALOT of money. The SKY is the limit, and for the first time, YOU are that glass ceiling. Because of this, we start to see the ugly side of human nature, where greed if left unchecked will cause the self-destruction of the greedy person. My friends (with BIGlaw jobs) already are spending like tycoons and haven't even yet started working. They know that they'll pay of the credit card debt in seconds flat. But the lifestyle gets addicting, and when some of these guys meet women who join them in holy matrimony because of their financial resources, a second person has just been added to the greed factor. When they realize they have a sh1tty life, horrible health and nothing but money to show for it, what can they do?
Its hard to take a multi-hundred thousand dollar paycut, but that ONLY because they are greedy. Me? I want to live well and wouldn't mind a $500k salary or even a $1million, but NOT at the expense of what it takes to make that in the legal industry. I will NOT work the way one has to, to get that - perhaps I feel fortunate in that I've had my "midlife" crisis when i was 24, and gained some perspective about life that many law students don't have. They think that they'll be able to have a successful marriage life seing their wife 1 hour a day, if that. That they'll be able to successfully raise kids that they never see. Not me. My wife, although I haven't found her yet, will be someone who would be happy with my if I dropped down to $60k a year, who would feel happy contributing to the family finances, and, in relation to another recent post of mine, DOESN'T have money as a "central figure" on her mind.
(2) While its easy to say that alot of these lawyers would do another career if they had the chance over again, isn't saying much. 90% of people in any career would say that, simply because they lack the insight in other careers, namely the negative insight, that they've gotten in their own. And to put it simply, doing something you love that really doesn't pay the bills and causes financial strain won't be something you love for long. And that being the case, would you rather work long hours and at least get paid for it, or work long hours for inadequate financial return?
Balance. It's hard to achieve in this career, but it CAN be done. At least, I believe so.
I do want to respond to the guy above. I see exactly what he's saying and that he is very correct when he says the dissatisfaction rate at these types of jobs and in the legal industry in general is very high. However, it is not AS bad as he says for two simple reasons:
(1) You can always leave. NOONE is keeping you there except your own greed. Unlike with most professions where the salary is set and people live their lives in some subconcious solace that "if they had more money they'd be happy". In the law, if you do well, you can make ALOT of money. The SKY is the limit, and for the first time, YOU are that glass ceiling. Because of this, we start to see the ugly side of human nature, where greed if left unchecked will cause the self-destruction of the greedy person. My friends (with BIGlaw jobs) already are spending like tycoons and haven't even yet started working. They know that they'll pay of the credit card debt in seconds flat. But the lifestyle gets addicting, and when some of these guys meet women who join them in holy matrimony because of their financial resources, a second person has just been added to the greed factor. When they realize they have a sh1tty life, horrible health and nothing but money to show for it, what can they do?
Its hard to take a multi-hundred thousand dollar paycut, but that ONLY because they are greedy. Me? I want to live well and wouldn't mind a $500k salary or even a $1million, but NOT at the expense of what it takes to make that in the legal industry. I will NOT work the way one has to, to get that - perhaps I feel fortunate in that I've had my "midlife" crisis when i was 24, and gained some perspective about life that many law students don't have. They think that they'll be able to have a successful marriage life seing their wife 1 hour a day, if that. That they'll be able to successfully raise kids that they never see. Not me. My wife, although I haven't found her yet, will be someone who would be happy with my if I dropped down to $60k a year, who would feel happy contributing to the family finances, and, in relation to another recent post of mine, DOESN'T have money as a "central figure" on her mind.
(2) While its easy to say that alot of these lawyers would do another career if they had the chance over again, isn't saying much. 90% of people in any career would say that, simply because they lack the insight in other careers, namely the negative insight, that they've gotten in their own. And to put it simply, doing something you love that really doesn't pay the bills and causes financial strain won't be something you love for long. And that being the case, would you rather work long hours and at least get paid for it, or work long hours for inadequate financial return?
Balance. It's hard to achieve in this career, but it CAN be done. At least, I believe so.