http://daily.jstor.org/do-people-regret ... aw-school/
Finally, the researchers analyzed a questionnaire that asked the lawyers themselves, about seven years on, how they felt about their decision. These numbers painted a surprisingly rosy picture. Unsurprisingly, graduates from the top 10 schools reported the highest satisfaction, but those from lower schools were not far behind. On a 14-point scale, elite lawyers had an average satisfaction score of 11.08, compared with 10.64 for the less-elite group. Those with the highest debt (six figures or higher), had a mean satisfaction score of 9.9, and those with around $30,000 in debt had a mean score around 11. This doesn’t seem an enormous difference in satisfaction given the substantial difference in debt burden.
There were also interesting correlations between job roles and happiness. Those working in state government reported lower satisfaction than those in federal government. Other factors connected with happiness were salary, working in a non-governmental sector, being a practicing lawyer, being African-American, and being over 40. While things like having a lot of debt reduced satisfaction, categories like having attended a top school and GPA were unimportant by the time the lawyers took the survey, and instead factors like the opportunity to do pro bono work had more of an effect.