2-3 years in biglaw without ruining my life? Forum

[Anonymous User]

I am currently in the position to go to any v5 minus wachtell for next summer and I am surprised by how unsatisfied I feel. All I could notice during the callbacks was that everyone in biglaw works extremely hard. While I'm not afraid of hard-work I do not want to spend the rest of my life working insane hours. How many people have found spending just 2-3 years in biglaw to payback some loans to be a fulfilling experience? Even while I type this I realize that I'm inevitably going to end up in biglaw but I would still appreciate some perspective and insights. I also fully realize I am in a position others would kill for so I hope I do not too sound entitled or whiny.

[zot1]

I think going through the "is any of us in BigLaw happy" thread could give you some perspective. Hang in there!

[TheoO]

Paying off debt in 2-3 years depends heavily on how much debt you have, and where you are living. If you have the average amount of debt that students from CCN comes out with or more, and you will be living in NYC, paying off that debt in 2-3 years is a pipe-dream.

[Hutz_and_Goodman]

Create a thread on reddit asking how many people making 200k+ have a good work/life balance. There are some alternatives (very successful small business owners and entrepreneurs) but not many.

With limited exceptions, $$$$= hard work for years

[84651846190]

i did 2.5 years. it's doable, if you can land something around year 1.5 and coast the rest of the way (what i did)

[84651846190]

Create a thread on reddit asking how many people making 200k+ have a good work/life balance. There are some alternatives (very successful small business owners and entrepreneurs) but not many.

I think owning a Papa John's franchise would be pretty easy (and you could make 200k+ if in a good area).

[Anonymous User]

Paying off debt in 2-3 years depends heavily on how much debt you have, and where you are living. If you have the average amount of debt that students from CCN comes out with or more, and you will be living in NYC, paying off that debt in 2-3 years is a pipe-dream.

I have a decent amount of debt. I guess the point of my post, if it had one, wasn't so much to gauge whether paying off my loans in 2-3 years but rather to see if people found the experience they gained in biglaw before moving to another position to be worth the hours they invested. But I do hope that paying off a good chunk of loans would be possible.

[thesealocust]

A few years is probably a good experience. You'll learn a lot about yourself, you'll probably actually develop skills, and you'll make a small mountain of money while you're doing it.

Like, the money is seriously crazy. You can't withdraw the amount of money you make in a week from most ATMs. It's stupid. It's way more than you're worth. It can buy you a lot of shiny things, it can buy you freedom, it can slay debt monsters, and it's not simple to acquire at that rate anywhere else.

Go for it. But you really do only live once, so keep your eyes open, stay reflective, and set boundaries - even when that's painful. You probably got those offers because you've been extremely hard working and "people pleasing" for years if not decades, and left unchecked that can bring on a world of hurt at Name & Ampersand LLP.

[Anonymous User]

A few years is probably a good experience. You'll learn a lot about yourself, you'll probably actually develop skills, and you'll make a small mountain of money while you're doing it.

Like, the money is seriously crazy. You can't withdraw the amount of money you make in a week from most ATMs. It's stupid. It's way more than you're worth. It can buy you a lot of shiny things, it can buy you freedom, it can slay debt monsters, and it's not simple to acquire at that rate anywhere else.

Go for it. But you really do only live once, so keep your eyes open, stay reflective, and set boundaries - even when that's painful. You probably got those offers because you've been extremely hard working and "people pleasing" for years if not decades, and left unchecked that can bring on a world of hurt at Name & Ampersand LLP.

I appreciate this. I am hoping that one can actually learn and grow both as a professional and as a person in biglaw. I'm just praying I get out in time to keep my soul.

[thesealocust]

I believe in you anon.

[Desert Fox]

[Germaine]

A few years is probably a good experience. You'll learn a lot about yourself, you'll probably actually develop skills, and you'll make a small mountain of money while you're doing it.

Like, the money is seriously crazy. You can't withdraw the amount of money you make in a week from most ATMs. It's stupid. It's way more than you're worth. It can buy you a lot of shiny things, it can buy you freedom, it can slay debt monsters, and it's not simple to acquire at that rate anywhere else.

Go for it. But you really do only live once, so keep your eyes open, stay reflective, and set boundaries - even when that's painful. You probably got those offers because you've been extremely hard working and "people pleasing" for years if not decades, and left unchecked that can bring on a world of hurt at Name & Ampersand LLP.

Especially when measured against the average TLS post, this deserves a fucking Pulitzer.

[legends159]

I never felt like the money was that high when taxes took almost half of it. It felt likeit was a lot as a SA but never as an associate. It actually pissed me the fuck off since I worked so damn hard for every penny and lost half to taxes. Add in rent and loan payments and it was really demoralizing.

[Anonymous User]

Personally, I'd just do whatever you want to do in the first place if you can.

If you can't, I think Biglaw would be easier if you adopted a take no shit policy. Work 1800 hours, never work past 8 or on the weekends.

Can you pull this off in the V5?

[5ky]

Personally, I'd just do whatever you want to do in the first place if you can.

If you can't, I think Biglaw would be easier if you adopted a take no shit policy. Work 1800 hours, never work past 8 or on the weekends.

Can you pull this off in the V5?

I can't speak for lit work, but while it's theoretically possible to decline and wiggle out of enough work to bill 1800 hours, i just don't think it would be possible in corporate to refuse to work past 8 or on the weekends. if the firm were really conflict averse, maybe you could stick around for two years. but you wouldn't get any actual deal experience, they'd just give you menial tasks until you left/got canned.

[Br3v]

I first read it as "don't work past 8 on the weekends" and was like, welp.