The other day, I was talking with my dad and we got to talking about my new job. I told him how I was doing – I liked it, I was way less stressed and anxious, and overall, the new job seemed like a better fit for me and my personality. Yes, it was another pay cut (after already taking a pay cut when I left biglaw), but I was enjoying myself, gaining back hours in my day that would otherwise be stuck at an office, and most importantly, I was, for the first time in my life, getting home from work at a reasonable hour.
After I tried to explain to him what I did at my new job, my dad asked me an interesting question about what led me to my new gig: “Did you get fired?”
The question initially struck me as an odd one. But, when I think about it, it’s not a crazy question for my dad to ask. From the outside looking in, it does look like I must have gotten fired. What else could explain why I was doing what I’m doing?
My Reverse Career Trajectory
As a bit of background for those of you just tuning in, I spent the first four years of my legal career following a fairly traditional legal path for someone who did well in law school – good grades and law review at a top law school, three years doing litigation at one of the largest law firms in the country, then moved on to a fairly prestigious state government job.
When I left biglaw, I told myself that the main reason I’d been unhappy as a lawyer was because of the biglaw environment. The long hours, the 24/7 availability that clients expected, all of the stress and anxiety that came along with being a lawyer – none of this was good for me. But after a few months in state government, I started to realize that maybe it wasn’t the biglaw environment that was the source of my unhappiness. It was the traditional practice of law that I didn’t really enjoy.
After just one year in state government, I decided to make a radical career change, completely leaving the traditional practice of law and taking a non-practicing attorney position with a branch of my state bar association. I’m still a licensed attorney, but I no longer actually practice law anymore. So far, I’m happier for it.
Most people with my credentials wouldn’t make a career change like the one I did. What probably makes my career trajectory so odd isn’t just that I jumped out of my traditional legal career – it’s the fact that I took massive pay cuts in order to do so. Today, I’m making close to $100,000 less than what I would make if I were still sticking it out in biglaw. Even leaving my government job earlier this year ended up with me taking a $20,000 pay cut.
All of these pay cuts – this seemingly backward career slide that I’ve been doing over the past two years – provides the backdrop for my dad’s view of what’s going on in my world. It really does look like I got fired and was just desperate for any job in order to pay the bills. But that’s not what happened.
Flexibility – The Opposite Of Desperation
One of the great benefits of choosing not to live like a big shot lawyer was that it put me in a position where I didn’t need rely on a huge paycheck in order to live well. With all of the extra money that I didn’t need, I was able to pay off my student loans in just 2.5 years.
Most importantly, not living like a big shot lawyer got me used to living on less. Since I wasn’t reliant on that huge paycheck, I had the flexibility to change directions if I wanted to. I could take risks. My colleagues that chose to embrace the big shot lawyer lifestyle didn’t give themselves those choices.
Most people don’t realize it, but we limit our options simply by the lifestyle we choose. If you have a ton of fixed costs (think student loan payments, a big rent or mortgage payment, car loans, and any other kind of debt that you have to pay every month, no matter what), you necessarily limit yourself to the type of jobs you can have. If the entire world of jobs includes anything from working at a golf course for minimum wage to the super high paying, six-figure job, someone with a high fixed cost lifestyle can only work in that higher end of the job spectrum. Instead of gaining freedom with the large paycheck, the person tied to the big paycheck has placed themselves in a different position – desperation to maintain their paycheck.
I Wasn’t Fired – I Gave Myself Choices
My dad is someone who has never thought of a job as anything beyond just making money. To him, a job is something you put up. The bigger the paycheck, the more you put up with – but that’s just the nature of a job. So, the only explanation for why I would make the career moves I was making was because I’d been fired. Otherwise, I’d just stick it out and keep earning that money.
For me, a job is still about money – I’m not financially independent or anything like that yet, so I need a job in order to live. But, I don’t need as much as most people. Unlike a lot of people, I actually have the privilege and luxury of being able to access a wide spectrum of jobs that others simply cannot afford to take. Money is important, sure. But I can account for time and happiness too. That’s the beauty of having choices.
To those of you reading this (especially newer grads entering the workforce), my advice is to always maintain flexibility in your life. Careers fluctuate, incomes change – it’s never going to a smooth ride like most people seem to think. And you never know what the next few years might hold. If you’d asked me back in law school what I’d be doing now, I’m sure I wouldn’t have thought I’d be in a non-traditional attorney role like the one I’m in now.
I wasn’t fired, although I understand why someone might think that. Instead, I changed jobs because I could. Not a lot of people give themselves that choice.
This post may contain affiliate links. Financial Panther has partnered with AwardWallet and CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products. Financial Panther, AwardWallet, and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers. Some or all of the card offers that appear on the website are from advertisers. Compensation may impact on how and where card products appear on the site. The site does not include all card companies, or all available card offers. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities.
More Recommended Ebike/Scooters
Check out these other ebikes and scooters I've reviewed:
- Urban Arrow Ebike – Last year, I made one of the largest purchases I’ve ever made – I bought a $9,000 electric cargo bike from Urban Arrow. In my Urban Arrow review, I will discuss what it is and why I decided to buy this bike, as well as discuss how impactful a bike like this can be on your journey to financial independence.
- Troxus Explorer Step-Thru Ebike – The Troxus Explorer Step-Thru is a fat-tire ebike that I’ve had the pleasure of riding for a while now. It has amazing power, great looks, and awesome range. If you’re looking for a great fat-tire ebike that offers a lot for the price, the Troxus Explorer Step-Thru is definitely one for you to consider. Check out my Troxus Explorer Step-Thru Review.
- Hovsco HovBeta Ebike – The HovBeta is a folding ebike with great specs and a lot of interesting features, and importantly, it’s sold at a good price point. I’ve had a blast commuting with it and using it to do deliveries with DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub. Check out my Hovsco HovBeta Ebike Review.
- Vanpowers Manidae Ebike – The Vanpowers Manidae is a fat tire ebike that I’ve been riding as my primary winter commuting bike and have also been using it to do food delivery with apps like DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub. After clocking in a decent number of miles with this ebike, I wanted to write a post sharing what my experience with the Vanpowers Manidae ebike has been like. Check out my Vanpowers Manidae Review.
- Sohamo S3 Step-Thru Folding EBike Review – A Great Value Folding Ebike – The Sohamo S3 Step-Thru Folding Ebike is an entry-level folding ebike that offers a lot of value for the price point. I’ve been riding the Sohamo S3 for a while now, putting the bike through its paces, and I have to say, this bike has exceeded all of my expectations. Check out my Sohamo Review.
- KBO Flip Ebike – The KBO Flip is an excellent bike. I’ve had a great time riding it and think it’s a versatile bike that can be used for a lot of purposes and can fit a variety of lifestyles. It’s worked out great for me as a general commuter bike and as a food delivery bike. Check out my KBO Flip Review.
- Hiboy P7 Commuter Ebike – The Hiboy P7 is an excellent electric commuter bike that’s offered at an affordable price point. The range and speed of this bike are both very good, so you won’t have any trouble getting anywhere you need to go with it. As a food delivery vehicle, this is also good – with how much range it offers, you’ll be able to work all day on a single charge. Check out my Hiboy P7 Commuter Electric Bike Review.
- Himiway Escape Ebike – The Himiway Escape is an interesting bike for anyone looking for a moped-style ebike. If you’re a gig economy worker, the Himiway Escape is particularly interesting and it’s possible to think of it as an investment, especially if you can opt to do deliveries with the Himiway versus using a car. It’s not cheap, but you can definitely make your money back when you compare the mileage you’ll put on your car versus using an ebike. Check out my Himiway Escape Bike Review.
- Espin Sport Ebike – The Espin Sport is a good ebike for someone who is looking for an ebike that feels and rides more like a regular bike. There are many ebikes that are really only bikes in name. In reality, they’re basically electric mopeds. The Espin Sport, by contrast, is a bike you could probably ride without the battery and you’d feel like you’re just riding a regular bike. Check out my Espin Sport Review.
- Varla Eagle One Scooter – The Varla Eagle One is an excellent scooter that can make sense for a lot of people. It can work as a primary mode of transportation. You can use it to work on gig economy apps like DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub. And it can also be a recreational vehicle if you’d prefer to use it for that. Check out my Varla Eagle One Review.
- Varla Falcon Scooter – The Varla Falcon is an excellent scooter that offers a good amount of power at a lower price point compared to more powerful scooters. It’s not exactly an entry-level scooter, nor is it a high-powered scooter. I think it fits somewhere in-between those two categories – an intermediate scooter if I had to give it a category. Check out my Varla Falcon Review.
- Hiboy S2 Scooter – The Hiboy S2 is an excellent entry-level commuter scooter that's perfect for someone looking to save some money in transportation costs and improve their commute. Check out my Hiboy S2 Review.
- Hiboy S2R Scooter – The Hiboy S2R is one of the more interesting electric scooters I’ve been able to test out. It’s not a high-powered scooter, but for an everyday transport option, it’s very useful, especially given some of the unique features that it has. Indeed, for the price, the Hiboy S2R might be the best value scooter I’ve used. Check out my Hiboy S2R Review.
- Fucare H3 Scooter – The Fucare H3 is a fun scooter and I’ve enjoyed testing it out. For a daily commuter or quick trips or errands, the Fucare H3 is probably the scooter I’ll use. It’s portable and easy to maneuver, so it’s just easier to take on the road when I need it. Check out my Fucare H3 Scooter Review.
More Recommended Investing App Bonuses
For additional investing app bonuses, be sure to check out the ones below:
- M1 Finance ($100) – This is a great robo-advisor that has no fees and allows you to create a customized portfolio based on your risk tolerance. You also get $100 for opening an account. Check out my M1 Finance Referral Bonus – Step-By-Step Guide.
- SoFi Invest ($25) – SoFi Invest is an easy brokerage account bonus that you can earn with just a few minutes of work. Use my SoFi Invest referral link, fund your SoFi Invest brokerage account with just $10 and you’ll get $25 of free stock. I also have a step-by-step guide for the SoFi Invest referral bonus.
- Webull (20 free stock shares) – Webull's current promotion gives you 20 free shares valued between $3-$3,000 each if you open an account using my referral link. Here’s a guide I wrote about how to earn your free shares using Webull.
- Moomoo (15 free stocks) – Moomoo is a free investing app currently offering 2 different referral bonuses if you open an account using a referral link. Read my Moomoo referral bonus guide for more information.
- Robinhood (1 free stock) – Robinhood gives you a free stock valued between $2.50-$225 if you open an account using my referral link.
- Public (1 free stock) - Public gives you a free stock valued between $3-$70 if you open an account using my referral link.
More Recommended Bank Account Bonuses
If you’re looking for more easy bank bonuses, check out the below options. These bonuses are all easy to earn and have no fees or minimum balance requirements to worry about.
- Upgrade ($200) – Upgrade is a free checking account that’s currently offering a $200 referral bonus if you open an account and complete a direct deposit. These bonus terms are easy to meet, so it’s well worth doing this bonus as soon as you can. Here’s a post I wrote with more details: Upgrade $200 Referral Bonus – Step By Step Directions.
- Ally Bank ($100) – Of all the banks out there, Ally is, without a doubt, my favorite. At the moment, Ally is offering $100 to customers who open an eligible Ally account and meet the requirements. Here are the step-by-step directions to earn your Ally Bank referral bonus.
- Fairwinds Credit Union ($175) – Fairwinds Credit Union is offering a referral bonus for users that sign up using a referral link. Fairwinds has no fees or minimum balance, so this is a particularly easy bonus to earn. Since this is a smaller credit union, my gut instinct tells me this offer won’t be around long, so if you’re in a position to meet the bonus requirements, grab this bonus before it’s gone. Here is my step-by-step guide on how to earn your Fairwinds Credit Union bonus.
- Chime ($100) - Chime is a free bank account that offers a referral bonus if you use a referral link and complete a direct deposit of $200 or more. In practice, any ACH transfer into this account triggers the bonus. This bonus is easy to earn and posts instantly, so you’ll know if you met the requirements as soon as you move money into the account. I wrote a step-by-step guide on how to earn your Chime referral bonus that I recommend you check out.
- US Bank Business ($900) – This is a fairly easy bank bonus to earn, since there are no direct deposit requirements. In addition, you can open the Silver Business Checking account, which comes with no monthly fees. Check out how to earn this big bonus here.
- GO2Bank ($50) - GO2Bank is an easy bank bonus that I recommend people take advantage of if they have an easy way of meeting the direct deposit requirement. I like that it’s easy to open the account and that the bonus pays out quickly. Check out my step-by-step guide on how to earn your GO2Bank $50 referral bonus.
- Current ($50) – Current is a free fintech bank that’s offering new users a $50 referral bonus after signing up for an account using a referral link. Current is an easy bonus to earn and also gives you access to three savings accounts that pay you 4% interest on up to $2,000. That means you can put away up to $6,000 earning 4% interest. That’s very good and makes Current an account I recommend to everyone. Check out my step-by-step guide on how to earn your Current Bank bonus.
- Novo Bank ($40) - Novo bank is a free business checking account that’s currently offering a $40 bonus if you open a Novo business checking account using a referral link. In addition to being a good bank bonus, Novo is also a good business checking account. It has no monthly fees or minimum balance requirements and operates a good app and website. Indeed, it’s the business checking account I currently use for this blog. Check out my post on how to easily open a Novo account.
- Varo ($25) – Varo is a free fintech banking app similar to Chime or Current. It’s currently offering a $25 bonus to new users that open a new Varo account with a referral link. The bonus for this bank is very easy to meet, all you need to do is spend $20 within 30 days of opening your Varo account. Check out my step-by-step guide to learn how to earn this bonus.
Kevin is an attorney and the blogger behind Financial Panther, a blog about personal finance, travel hacking, and side hustling using the gig economy. He paid off $87,000 worth of student loans in just 2.5 years by choosing not to live like a big shot lawyer.
Kevin is passionate about earning money using the gig economy and you can see all the ways he makes extra income every month in his side hustle reports.
Kevin is also big on using the latest fintech apps to improve his finances. Some of Kevin's favorite fintech apps include:
- SoFi Money. A really good checking account with absolutely no fees. You'll get a $25 referral bonus if you open a SoFi Money account with a referral link, and an additional $300 if you complete a direct deposit.
- 5% Savings Accounts. I'm currently getting 5.24% interest on my savings through a company called Raisin. Opening a Raisin account takes minutes to complete, it's free, and all of your funds are FDIC-insured. I explain how it works, why I'm now using it to store my emergency fund and any other cash savings I have, and why I recommend everyone check it out in this review.
- US Bank Business. US Bank is currently offering new business customers a $900 signup bonus after opening a new account and meeting certain requirements.
- M1 Finance. This is a great robo-advisor that has no fees and allows you to create a customized portfolio based on your risk tolerance. You also get $100 for opening an account.
- Empower. One of best free apps you can use to monitor your portfolio and track your net worth. This is one of the apps I use to track my financial accounts.
Feel free to send Kevin a message here.
Great post. You have the ability to control your life in a meaningful way, and that matters a lot. You can’t put a price on freedom.
Love this post Financial Panther. My dad had similar questions when I told him I was turning down a $140k job offer to live in a van, run our businesses, and live off our investments. FI really is all about choices and the freedom to make the choice that is best for you. Proud of you for honoring yourself and taking the job that suits you better! you rock! Excited to see you at FinCon this year! – Matt & Alli
Thanks Matt and Ali! Was great to meet you both at the last FinCon and definitely will see you in Orlando. You guys are doing alright!
Good stuff! Most careers are not as linear as our parents think. I have the same discussion with my dad on the grad school topic. He wants me to go to grad school, but I don’t want to for various reasons. It’s like if I don’t go to grad achool my career won’t go far. Got to love parents!
I wonder if things were maybe more linear back in the day. Maybe we millennials are really just lazy, good for nothings 🙂
Hopped over to your blog after reading the title on Rockstar Finance. It made me laugh.
I like the way you write… I’ll be back.
🙂
haha thanks!
Awesome post! I can relate.
Previously, I left a lucrative private practice. Now I’m dropping medical directorship stipends in order to go part-time. Many of my friends, family, and co-workers ask questions like your Dad did. It is hard to understand those who make nontraditional choices. I have no doubt that I’m heading in the right direction with these changes, even though continuing to grind it out would be more socially acceptable. We get only one life. We need to live it in the best way for us and us alone – even if it is hard to explain to others.
Thank you Doc! Exactly right – we have one life. Live it in the best way that works for you! Thanks for sharing your story – I imagine you get the same curious looks too.
I can see your dads position but also ultimately agree with your decision. Work, even with FIRE will represent a huge portion of your life for decades. Life is about being happy in all phases, not just after you make retirement. That means that if a high paying job kills your quality of life, and you can afford to walk away, you should. You can’t take the money with you.
See, my dad would just say tough it out. He didn’t like his job either and regularly worked 12+ hour days. That’s just not something I want to do.
Good introspection! My dad always push me to do more, but when I did less, he didn’t question it.
In retrospect, was working at the government a mistake? One year is pretty short to be in a new position. What was the main reason for the change? Am I have to go read a post you wrote.
In a way, are you becoming the law your version of all the physicians and doctors who want to FIRE? Could be a great branding element!
Happy holidays!
Sam
Hey Sam. Thanks for stopping by!
In retrospect, working in the government wasn’t necessarily a mistake – I think it showed me that it wasn’t biglaw that I was having a problem with so much as it was just practicing law in general. I got so caught up in the prestige and everything that I never really asked myself, do I actually like practicing law? (The answer was, no). It’s funny, I was a litigator but never really asked myself, do I like fighting and bickering with people all day…
I wrote a post about my move to a non-traditional legal career a few months back, and the idea came to me when I started listening to a number of podcasts about unhappy lawyers. That’s when I knew I needed to do something because I just wasn’t doing so great mentally, emotionally, and physically.
I didn’t think about that, but maybe that is what I’m doing – LawyerOnFire or something like that. Never thought about that as a branding element!
I certenly see your dads confusion here. Good for you for both putting yourself in a position to take a pay cut and for actually doing it. Very few are in that position and even fewer take advantage of it.
Thanks Jason. I gave myself the option to try something new, in any event. So not out of desperation, but out of having options and flexibility.
Congratulations on your career change. You have worked hard and optimized your financial situation. As the result, you now have options and opportunities that are not available to most. One of the main benefits of reaching financial independence at a young age is that it allows you to do what truly makes you happy.
Thanks Dave! Still not financially independent myself yet (far off from it), but being able to live on less and be happy gives you so many more options and ways to make it in the world.
I love the fact that you chose to give yourself more flexibility and choices, regardless of how it looks from the outside. It’s like you found a hidden gold mine that others can’t see/find… the power of finding the right fit for you vs the expected or the “normal track” 🙂
So far, so good! My wife is enjoying that I’m home from work at more reasonable hours and it’s very interesting to see this entire world of lawyers and the legal community that I never even knew existed before.
Great post Kevin, the way you highlight your counter intuitive approach to the time vs money dilemma is well articulated.
An alternative approach may have been to keep your hand in while reducing your working hours, financially a similar result but more control of your time. That said if the practicing of law wasn’t making you happy then half your time spent being miserable is still too much!
Not a bad idea to go part-time if you can swing it. It’s very difficult to do in the legal world unless you work for yourself – with the focus on billable hours, not too many law firms are willing to let someone go part time and bill half the hours! I have had some folks say I should’ve just gone out on my own with my own firm, but I always tell them that, if I’m starting a business for myself, it definitely wouldn’t be as a lawyer! I’d try to do something much more fun!
I love this. It’s so counterintuitive to how we think a career trajectory should go. Even though you aren’t FI you’ve put yourself in a position to be able to do so much more than your peers.
I did get fired (well laid off) and when I ran my numbers I realized that I didn’t need nearly as much as I was getting paid to maintain my current lifestyle. I could live on even less if I didn’t have a student loan payment (albeit a low one) and a mortgage.
My family’s reaction to where I want to take my career has been mixed. I don’t think it occurs to most people to simply not spend everything you earn. Way to go for setting your life up so you can do work that fulfills you beyond just a paycheck.
“Today, I’m making close to $100,000 less than what I would make if I were still sticking it out in biglaw. Even leaving my government job earlier this year ended up with me taking a $20,000 pay cut.” I can definitely see why your Dad asked you if you got fired. I like how you leveraged your higher income in biglaw to pay off your debt, then moved towards a more flexible lifestyle and work that you enjoyed more. I think a lot of people would like to do the same thing, but they just feel pressure to continue to make more and more money. Good stuff!
I really respect the decision you made, Kevin. I’ve lived most of my career life fearing losing my job — especially since getting laid off right after the 9-11 recession years ago. Flexibility is what financial independence grants you. It’s a wonderful thing if you can achieve it.
“Instead of gaining freedom with the large paycheck, the person tied to the big paycheck has placed themselves in a different position – desperation to maintain their paycheck.”
This unfortunately seems to happen to many people that I meet, particularly those who are in their 40’s and 50’s. It’s like they don’t know how to control themselves from spending. One client told me he never paid attention to his expenses because he always knew he would make more money. Well, now he is not making more money and can’t keep up the lifestyle he made for himself.
Kevin, you graduated when the economy was a mess and it will impact you and others like you for the rest of your life. Something very similar to those who lived through the great depression of 1929 – 1938.
I like to think about skills rather than job. People with relevant skills will always find work of their choosing which is what you are doing. Tom
“Most people don’t realize it, but we limit our options simply by the lifestyle we choose.”
Love the way your mind works, Kevin. In 2006, Mrs. G and I killed our debt by moving from Long Island to Charlotte. I took a step back professionally too. I went from making $75-80K a year to making $45-50K a year. But it was the best move I ever made. Getting rid of debt allowed me to make less but live more. Great post, my friend.
Thank you very much Mr. Groovy! Your story is awesome and is one that everyone should be hearing (your latest ChooseFI podcast was awesome).
Being in that position to “make less, but live more” is exactly the position I wanted to place myself in.
I admire people who quit jobs for less paying but more satisfying ones. It’s one thing to be able to afford it but it still takes guts to do it.
I mean, it might be more stupidity than guts, haha.
Hey FP, have you ever calculated your hourly rate at each job inclusive of ‘off the clock’ hours you were expected to be available? I’m guessing your pay cut wasn’t so dramatic once you got more of your time back in your current gig. You know as well as I do the declining marginal utility of money and inversely correlated value of time. ?
That’s a good point. I did the math once and basically, my buddy that was working at a federal government office was making more than me – he had a flat 40 hour work week, never worked more than 40 hours, and basically, his hourly wage was higher.
Sometimes you need to go backward to move forward. My trajectory has been a total zig zag. I feel like some people just can’t imagine not advancing in life without feeling like they’re doing something wrong. Thankfully my mom doesn’t have any clue what I do! Like you, I took an unpaid internship when I was in my mid-20s, which I could afford to do, because also like you, I had been saving steadily and living below my means. You’re so right that those habits set you up for options and flexibility.
That’s how you’re able to zig-zag I’m sure. It’ll be helpful to you in the future.
“One of the great benefits of choosing not to live like a big shot lawyer was that it put me in a position where I didn’t need rely on a huge paycheck in order to live well.” I am all for looking for a silver lining in a storm cloud but I have to call BS whenever anyone tries to make earning less into a benefit of some kind. Less money never gives you more choices, money gives you choices and flexibility. We are not required to inflate our lifestyle when our income increases. And unless you want to stipulate (like that legal language from an engineer, not too shabby eh?) that you aren’t really in control of yourself you will have to admit that staying in Big Law would have allowed you to pay off your loans even faster. I don’t argue you should stay in a miserable job but I do argue that you should try to find a fun job with less hours and stress that still pays as much or more than Big Law. I’m not criticizing, just suggesting that it doesn’t have to be a choice between less income and work that you hate. There might be a third choice that includes higher income and fun work. In my case I loved work from day one and they threw a ton of money at me so I’m not speaking from experience here, just sayin…
So, I guess I could say a few things. First, I paid off my student loans while I was in biglaw. It’s what made it possible for me to do that – no denial there. I gritted my teeth and did it because that was my goal. I literally left big law as soon as my debt was gone (I paid off all of my loans in June 2016, then left that job a week later to try my hand at practicing in the public sector).
I don’t think I was trying to say that making less money is better. Obviously, if the choice comes down to it, make more money and have a good job. I think what I was trying to get at was that I wasn’t tied to that paycheck. I definitely didn’t mean to imply that the only way to have a good job is to have a crappy salary. There are options out there, no doubt about it.
OK, sorry, I read too fast for my brain to keep up. Plus if what you are doing right now is great for you then yeah, you make plenty of money now too. In fact tons of readers here would love making that much. And in my case I could have made more in my career if pursuing it had been my primary goal so maybe I was right where you are now, I just never had to change jobs to find out since I liked mine from day one. I do think some people see life as a choice between “selling out” and making serious money or doing something rewarding for slave wages. Obviously you aren’t one of those and the truth is probably that the optimum work is not always going to be the maximum wage. In any case you write extremely well and I appreciate you posting interesting content now that I’m early retired and have more time to read.
Thanks! I think we all make choices between maximum wage we can earn vs. whatever it is we like to do. I definitely don’t think there’s only selling out vs. not selling out. I do think that there are a lot of people stuck in jobs they don’t like because they have to – basically every biglaw lawyer I know is dreaming of the day they can leave. You have to wonder what’s stopping them, and my guess is, it’s the paycheck, which is understandable, but not the best position to be in.
Hello, I too agree that money gives you choices and flexibility. But there are certain expectations in BigLaw that are very restrictive. You’re expected to constantly be available and willing to drop everything to handle an issue for a client or a partner. This translates to very long hours and very high stress. You mention that you would recommend looking for another job that pays equal or higher for fewer hours and stress. I am genuinely curious as to where you have seen fun, low stress, and low hours jobs that will pay $180k (or more) to a 25yo straight out of law school that has no experience and where this would be their first “real job”. Because I certainly would like to apply there!
At the end of the day you have to do what makes you happy, even if it bucks conventional “wisdom.” I just took a new job as well. I didn’t take a pay cut per say but the trajectory of my comp will probably slow down compared to what it would have done if I stayed in my previous job. What I gained though was a predictable schedule and no more demanding clients. I think in the end my sanity is worth it. Glad you’re enjoying the new career.
Your sanity is priceless – that’s a pay raise in itself!
My question is what led you to law school in the first place? Most law students aspire to be practicing lawyers. Now you are not a practicing lawyer so maybe law school was the start of a misguided path. I am an engineer. Recently, a friend from engineering school told me that even after getting an advanced degree in electrical engineering that he wishes he could go back and be an accounting major and subsequently an accountant. I asked him if this was a new realization or did he harbor latent desires to be an accountant as an undergraduate. He said his father (who was an accountant) pushed him into engineering and he was too weak to defy him. I felt sad for him because it’s been 20 years since we were undergraduates and he has worked as an engineer for that time with this sentiment.
Going back to you, do you think you went down the wrong career path and you are now correcting the path? I’m not referring to the hours or the lifestyle but the actual practice of law. If I read correctly, you went to law school for three years, practiced law for 4 years and now have a job not practicing law. Couldn’t you have skipped the first seven years of the previous sentence, avoided the law school tuition & be essentially at the same place; maybe not the same job but the similar type of work or at least work that pays similarly and allows for your current lifestyle?
I read in another post you enjoyed law school but not the practice of law. I know that sentiment well. I enjoyed be a college student. Learning is what I enjoy most. You can’t separate the law school experience from who you are today but like your father, I look at your situation and come to a conclusion which may or may not be accurate.
Lot to unpack here. What led me to law school is what leads a lot of people to law school – they have no idea what to do. I graduated college in 2009, in the midst of the biggest recession in a generation. It’s not a coincidence that law school applications went through the roof during those years. Unlike other professional schools, law school has very few barriers to entry (no pre-requisites, no interviews). Contrast that to something like med, dental, pharmacy, etc, which require you to have certain science pre-reqs. I literally could not even apply to med or dental school without going back to college and taking 2 more years of science classes.
If I could go back, no I would not have gone to law school. I would have instead tried my hand at something entrepreneurial. Unfortunately, there’s just no way to know what you’ll like/not like until you get out there and do it. But, without law school, I wouldn’t be who I am today either. And I kind of like who I am now.
Based on your answer, your career path is quite predictable. You never wanted to be a lawyer. You went to law school because you didn’t know what to do with your life, probably couldn’t get a job upon graduation and met the entrance requirements for law school.
I won’t say law school was a waste of time because the skills you learned can be applied elsewhere and it shaped the person you are today. I will say that you probably could have achieved much of the same experiences at a fraction of the cost if you had gone done many other paths. Essentially you used law school & 4 years of practicing law to orientate your career. Many people in your position would have been dissuaded by the law school tuition to enter a legal career for the reason you state.
This statement is very telling “And I kind of like who I am now.” The implication being you “kind of didn’t like who [you were] before.” I can understand – working long hours in a field you don’t want to be working in can bring dissatisfaction with your life.
Similar to another person’s comments, it appears you have never had a job you are passionate about. That’s a shame. You said it yourself – “For me, a job is still about money.” When I was young, the mantra was find your passion, get a job in that field and everything will work out. That’s what I did and everything has worked out so far. It certainly helped that my passion was engineering which is a relatively well paid field. However, the long hours don’t seem so burdensome when you are working on something you greatly enjoy.
One thing I’d point out is that law is one of the only professional fields that someone can stumble into. You really can’t do that with other fields, which I think attributes to the high burnout rate and low job satisfaction.
Think about engineering for example. You literally cannot become an engineer unless you major in engineering – which is something that you have to actively decide to do. I’d imagine the actual work of engineering isn’t so different from what you studied too.
In contrast, law school has no prerequisites and the actual process of law school is pretty much nothing like the practice of law. I majored in History and Econ. Most lawyers you talk to will have similar types of random liberal arts majors. It’s hard for a 22-year-old kid to know what their passion is, but I’m glad you found yours.
My real passion was literature but I didn’t think I could make a living with an English Lit degree so I went with my second interest – math & science. The study of engineering is very different than the practice of engineering. You think you will design the machine but on your first day of work, you discover the machine is already built and you are just feeding inputs into the machine and interpreting the outputs. Occasionally you fix the machine or modify it but by and large, they dumb down the process so it can be repeated and to reduce errors.
“It’s hard for a 22-year-old kid to know what their passion is…”
True but that 22 year old doesn’t need to go into 5 or 6 digit debt while trying to find it. When you say “stumble into” you are conveniently overlooking the tuition. That’s like saying “I stumbled into $100,000 in student debt over three years.” It was a very deliberate choice to assume the debt for a degree that you seemed luke-warm about from the beginning.
I know a lot of people can take or leave Suze Orman, but the one thing that she’s said that’s resonated with me is “the purpose of money is to give you security”. You bought your security by paying off your big debts and living below your means. We get to live just this one life, and how fortunate that you’ve figured out at an early age what it takes to make you happy.
Right you are!
I can understand why your dad asked the question. Society is used to people’s salaries going up over time. That’s often not true for a lawyer!
“What probably makes my career trajectory so odd isn’t just that I jumped out of my traditional legal career – it’s the fact that I took massive pay cuts in order to do so.”
I think it’s quite normal to take a massive pay cut to jump out of the legal field. Most people just don’t understand why you’d invest so much time in a legal education to end up outside the profession. You don’t seem to have that problem though – no “sunk cost” fallacy for you. How have you been able to make the choice that makes you happy without getting caught up in societal pressure?
Totally agree with you Biglaw. In a lot of ways, biglaw attorneys are like football players – you get a few years of huge income, then a potentially big drop. Probably more true for litigators that jump into public sector, since from the folks I’ve talked to, it seems like in-house corporate gigs still pay well. It might also be a little bit different in the midwest since we have lower market salaries (when I started biglaw, starting market rate was $110k, today it’s $140k). A friend of mine left to go to in-house at a non-profit in DC and says her salary is higher than it was as a 4th year associate here.
Honestly, as for how to avoid the societal pressure, I think it’s because I do all this low-level sharing economy stuff so I stay pretty grounded. My view of the world is really skewed now since I do these service gigs on the side.