Starting a career Plaintiff side v. Defense side Forum

[Anonymous User]

Hello all...I know this is a bit of a speculative/broad question, but I thought I'd ask. I recently graduated law school and am working at a law firm, but would like to move to another firm (for various reasons, including possibly wanting to switch markets).

I have in mind certain practice areas I'd like to focus on, but am not partial to either Plaintiff or defense side work. That being said, aside from moral considerations/preferences, is there an advantage/disadvantage to beginning a career at a plaintiff's firm as opposed to a defense firm, and vice versa? Are there advantages to one side or the other, in terms of lateral opportunity, long-term earning potential, training opportunities? I'm NOT talking about big law defense work, as I missed the OCI boat and don't likely have the grades for it, so defense-side firms would be mid/small law.

I'm currently working at a plaintiff's firm and there are some things I don't like about it. The training I'm receiving isn't as comprehensive as I'd like and I've noticed that the dog-eat-dog business model, at least at my firm, causes the equity partners to really only care about their bottom line. This translates to little job security for our associates, who if they mess up on a case, have been fired without warning. I realize the grass is always greener on the other side, and that defense work certainly has negative aspects of its own. I'm hoping for advice on whether or not you think its advantageous to try to begin a career on one side of the coin, or the other, and why?