Quote:
Originally Posted by troutman
Never understood why that was the goal for so many. It's a soul destroying, life-shortening, substance abusing, stressful existence.
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Agreed, but I can understand the thinking. For US law school grads the debt load is often crushing, and a job that starts at $160k is sure a big help with that. I'd say that it's the primary motivation for a pretty large chunk of those employed at big firms, it certainly explains the people who do it for 3-4 years and then jump ship to lower paying less stressful jobs.
There are also people who feed off those kinds of jobs, people who love the 'prestige' of working on very complicated and high end deals (not to mention the ability to name drop) so much that they'll gladly take on the absurd lifestyle that comes along. Some people just genuinely love their practice area, they seem to be few and far between but they're the best people to work with.
There's also a bit of naivety among most law school grads destined for big law. They seem to have images of big money and high profile flashy job responsibilities when the reality is grueling menial tasks. Eventually you can find yourself doing pretty cool deals and making seven figures, but it's a long road that few make it down and that idea doesn't seem to get through all the time.
The first thing I tell anyone considering law school is to get a realistic impression of your career options before you make the choice. There are a lot of potential careers for lawyers, both within and outside of law, but don't get an idea that you will just work your way to partner in 8-10 years and retire to the French Riviera because it's probably not going to happen.