If you graduated without debt, would you still do BigLaw? Forum

ManoftheHour · Post by **ManoftheHour** » Thu Sep 24, 2015 2:25 am

Why wouldn't one do that? Think of all the stuff you can buy. Instead of paying off a $250k loan, you can buy an Aston Martin.

Anonymous User · Post by **Anonymous User** » Thu Sep 24, 2015 9:54 am

No debt but doing biglaw because if starting a family is anywhere on your radar, then a house in a decent school district and childcare ain't gonna pay for themselves.

I've seen many young, well educated professionals blow off their current income on excessive consumption because they feel they can. $160K after tax really isn't a lot in a place like New York or San Francisco, but compound interest is key to maintaining a good lifestyle especially after one quits biglaw.

BizBro · Post by **BizBro** » Thu Sep 24, 2015 10:01 am

Anonymous User wrote:No debt but doing biglaw because if starting a family is anywhere on your radar, then a house in a decent school district and childcare ain't gonna pay for themselves.

I've seen many young, well educated professionals blow off their current income on excessive consumption because they feel they can. $160K after tax really isn't a lot in a place like New York or San Francisco, but compound interest is key to maintaining a good lifestyle especially after one quits biglaw.

I don't know shit about investing. Dump the money in index/mututal funds?

TheoO · Post by **TheoO** » Thu Sep 24, 2015 10:02 am

I have debt, but I will likely not have to pay it off by myself. That said, I'll have to pay off a few years worth and would love to be making 160K with no debt. The feeling of watching my bank account blow up is pretty intense.

TheoO · Post by **TheoO** » Thu Sep 24, 2015 10:05 am

Anonymous User wrote:No debt but doing biglaw because if starting a family is anywhere on your radar, then a house in a decent school district and childcare ain't gonna pay for themselves.

I've seen many young, well educated professionals blow off their current income on excessive consumption because they feel they can. $160K after tax really isn't a lot in a place like New York or San Francisco, but compound interest is key to maintaining a good lifestyle especially after one quits biglaw.

God, children are so selfish.

Anonymous User · Post by **Anonymous User** » Thu Sep 24, 2015 10:29 am

I would have likely still done it since I wasn't entirely sure what I wanted to do right out of school. But I would have bailed literally the second I got fed up with it, or the moment I realized what I truly wanted to be doing.

zot1 · Post by **zot1** » Thu Sep 24, 2015 11:38 am

FWIW* I had a nightmare last night that I left my government job for a big law gig. I was crying like a baby and walking up towards random people and telling them I had made the biggest mistake of my life. I woke up in the middle of the night and had trouble falling asleep again.

*which is nothing.

Anonymous User · Post by **Anonymous User** » Thu Sep 24, 2015 1:03 pm

I will be graduating without debt. I'm doing a 2L SA but may try and work in a chill corporate gig/government/consulting (if I can get it) post-grad. The allure of a 100k+ paycheck in my mid-twenties is very alluring though.

BrazilBandit · Post by **BrazilBandit** » Thu Sep 24, 2015 1:12 pm

BizBro wrote:
Anonymous User wrote:No debt but doing biglaw because if starting a family is anywhere on your radar, then a house in a decent school district and childcare ain't gonna pay for themselves.

I've seen many young, well educated professionals blow off their current income on excessive consumption because they feel they can. $160K after tax really isn't a lot in a place like New York or San Francisco, but compound interest is key to maintaining a good lifestyle especially after one quits biglaw.
I don't know shit about investing. Dump the money in index/mututal funds?

Don't pay someone else to manage your money. Read "a Random Walk down Wall Street" and then watch some Bloomberg and buy ETFs...

FSK · Post by **FSK** » Thu Sep 24, 2015 1:15 pm

I don't want to make a lot of money, just enough. But finding an opportunity that isn't biglaw that isn't SPS is motherfucking hard. Much harder than biglaw. I'm trying, but I might fail. If I do, biglaw for me.

chalky · Post by **chalky** » Thu Sep 24, 2015 1:22 pm

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BizBro · Post by **BizBro** » Thu Sep 24, 2015 1:28 pm

chalky wrote:Just curious how people graduate with zero debt. Are you receiving stipends or have money saved? Trust fund or help from family? I'm a 0L but even with full-tuition I'd still have to take out loans for housing/food/general living expenses.

Had 50k saved from before law school

Anonymous User · Post by **Anonymous User** » Thu Sep 24, 2015 1:39 pm

chalky wrote:Just curious how people graduate with zero debt. Are you receiving stipends or have money saved? Trust fund or help from family? I'm a 0L but even with full-tuition I'd still have to take out loans for housing/food/general living expenses.

I work part time during the semester + $$$ from 1L and 2L Summer. I would take loans first year though.

Anonymous User · Post by **Anonymous User** » Thu Sep 24, 2015 1:41 pm

chalky wrote:Just curious how people graduate with zero debt. Are you receiving stipends or have money saved? Trust fund or help from family? I'm a 0L but even with full-tuition I'd still have to take out loans for housing/food/general living expenses.

Our culture has totally normalized moving back in with your parents for a year or two out of UG. If you don't have undergrad debt you can save a ton of money doing this and working. Figure 3 years of living in law school will cost you about $60K. You don't need to save that much though because there are opportunities to make money over the summer and even during in law school. You just gotta hustle. Obviously if you're straight through you'll be borrowing almost all of COL.

It's also common for people with spouses to not have to borrow much if at all for COL.

chalky · Post by **chalky** » Thu Sep 24, 2015 1:54 pm

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UnicornHunter · Post by **UnicornHunter** » Thu Sep 24, 2015 2:15 pm

chalky wrote:Just curious how people graduate with zero debt. Are you receiving stipends or have money saved? Trust fund or help from family? I'm a 0L but even with full-tuition I'd still have to take out loans for housing/food/general living expenses.

gi bill

ManoftheHour · Post by **ManoftheHour** » Thu Sep 24, 2015 8:33 pm

chalky wrote:Just curious how people graduate with zero debt. Are you receiving stipends or have money saved? Trust fund or help from family? I'm a 0L but even with full-tuition I'd still have to take out loans for housing/food/general living expenses.

I'm getting a few thousand from the school per year on top of my scholarship. That, and my savings from the few years that I worked post UG. That and living in a cheap city for law school.

84651846190 · Post by **84651846190** » Thu Sep 24, 2015 9:30 pm

hell no. working biglaw is just about the dumbest way to make lots of money i can think of

lavarman84 · Post by **lavarman84** » Thu Sep 24, 2015 9:53 pm

chalky wrote:Just curious how people graduate with zero debt. Are you receiving stipends or have money saved? Trust fund or help from family? I'm a 0L but even with full-tuition I'd still have to take out loans for housing/food/general living expenses.

Cheap school + big scholarship + help from family

Although, if you get good 1L and 2L SAs, you might be able to graduate without debt if you have a full scholarship live fairly cheaply.

Anonymous User · Post by **Anonymous User** » Fri Sep 25, 2015 1:51 am

flawschoolkid wrote:I don't want to make a lot of money, just enough. But finding an opportunity that isn't biglaw that isn't SPS is motherfucking hard. Much harder than biglaw. I'm trying, but I might fail. If I do, biglaw for me.

What's SPS?

El Pollito · Post by **El Pollito** » Fri Sep 25, 2015 2:14 am

los blancos · Post by **los blancos** » Fri Sep 25, 2015 5:02 pm

flawschoolkid wrote:I don't want to make a lot of money, just enough. But finding an opportunity that isn't biglaw that isn't SPS is motherfucking hard. Much harder than biglaw. I'm trying, but I might fail. If I do, biglaw for me.

Yep. It's not the money that's keeping me from leaving.

ScottRiqui · Post by **ScottRiqui** » Fri Sep 25, 2015 5:29 pm

Yes - I don't have that many prime earning years left, so I'd like to maximize my income while I can.

TatteredDignity · Post by **TatteredDignity** » Sat Sep 26, 2015 11:14 am

Biglaw_Associate_V20 wrote:hell no. working biglaw is just about the dumbest way to make lots of money i can think of

That's assuming you're willing/able to work outside the legal field, yes? Only thing I can think of making more money in the law is plaintiffs' work.

systemantics · Post by **systemantics** » Sat Sep 26, 2015 1:07 pm

Anonymous User wrote:
chalky wrote:Just curious how people graduate with zero debt. Are you receiving stipends or have money saved? Trust fund or help from family? I'm a 0L but even with full-tuition I'd still have to take out loans for housing/food/general living expenses.
I work part time during the semester + $$$ from 1L and 2L Summer. I would take loans first year though.

what work did you do during the semester?