Is $57,000 a good salary for a JD-required job in SoCal (near LA)? Forum

[nixy]

The example of the tuition waiver was kind of an extreme one - what you pay for your benefits may be better than with a lot of private employers. Firms that pay very high salaries are notoriously cheap about health care benefits and don't match any retirement funds. Your school might be really cheap in this regard, too, for all I know, though.

Keep in mind that I suspect most people in this thread are thinking about private sector and legal practice salaries. Whether they want to live on $57k in southern California is very different from whether $57k is a competitive entry level law librarian salary. Definitely look for jobs with better salaries, but since you want to be a librarian, not practice law, you need to be comparing your salary to librarians, not practicing lawyers.

If you've been in your job a year already I don't think you're going to burn any bridges applying for new jobs. For one thing, academic hiring is notoriously slow, so you likely wouldn't leave for a while. Plus people leave jobs all the time. If you can get another job, and give the proper notice, I don't think that would burn any bridges. But if you can get another better job that's worth it to you, I wouldn't worry about burning bridges, either.

[Anonymous User]

The example of the tuition waiver was kind of an extreme one - what you pay for your benefits may be better than with a lot of private employers. Firms that pay very high salaries are notoriously cheap about health care benefits and don't match any retirement funds. Your school might be really cheap in this regard, too, for all I know, though.

Keep in mind that I suspect most people in this thread are thinking about private sector and legal practice salaries. Whether they want to live on $57k in southern California is very different from whether $57k is a competitive entry level law librarian salary. Definitely look for jobs with better salaries, but since you want to be a librarian, not practice law, you need to be comparing your salary to librarians, not practicing lawyers.

If you've been in your job a year already I don't think you're going to burn any bridges applying for new jobs. For one thing, academic hiring is notoriously slow, so you likely wouldn't leave for a while. Plus people leave jobs all the time. If you can get another job, and give the proper notice, I don't think that would burn any bridges. But if you can get another better job that's worth it to you, I wouldn't worry about burning bridges, either.

Nixy, after reading the responses here and digging a little more at your suggestion, I do believe I'd get better pay and benefits at a higher-ranked school. You mentioned the example of UC Berkeley, which publishes salaries online since they're a public institution. I just realized that the AALL Salary Survey has even more detailed stats. According to that study, apparently I earn well within the bottom 10th %ile of academic Reference Law Librarians in the LA area. So, obviously no one goes into this career for big money, but $57K is not even competitive for a newbie law librarian in SoCal.

I hate to sound elitist, but if I were an 0L in SoCal, I would never seriously consider enrolling in this law school. It's not the typical TLS elitism in me (didn't attend a T14 myself), it's the school's employment stats, low grading curve, and not-so-charitable articles/blogposts about it scattered on the web. However, it was the first academic law librarian position I was offered, so I jumped at the opportunity, after consulting with a Dean, my academic advisor, and career services at my MLIS program, as well as a law librarian who taught me advanced legal research courses during law school. I was offered the job in mid-2020, amidst a pandemic, and didn't think I deserved or could get any better at this early stage of my career.

I just hope that I can maintain good terms with my current supervisor after such a short time here. One of my coworkers (who, btw, hasn't gotten a raise in 5 years) is thankfully very supportive of me and is willing to be a positive reference

[sparty99]

The example of the tuition waiver was kind of an extreme one - what you pay for your benefits may be better than with a lot of private employers. Firms that pay very high salaries are notoriously cheap about health care benefits and don't match any retirement funds. Your school might be really cheap in this regard, too, for all I know, though.

Keep in mind that I suspect most people in this thread are thinking about private sector and legal practice salaries. Whether they want to live on $57k in southern California is very different from whether $57k is a competitive entry level law librarian salary. Definitely look for jobs with better salaries, but since you want to be a librarian, not practice law, you need to be comparing your salary to librarians, not practicing lawyers.

If you've been in your job a year already I don't think you're going to burn any bridges applying for new jobs. For one thing, academic hiring is notoriously slow, so you likely wouldn't leave for a while. Plus people leave jobs all the time. If you can get another job, and give the proper notice, I don't think that would burn any bridges. But if you can get another better job that's worth it to you, I wouldn't worry about burning bridges, either.

Nixy, after reading the responses here and digging a little more at your suggestion, I do believe I'd get better pay and benefits at a higher-ranked school. You mentioned the example of UC Berkeley, which publishes salaries online since they're a public institution. I just realized that the AALL Salary Survey has even more detailed stats. According to that study, apparently I earn well within the bottom 10th %ile of academic Reference Law Librarians in the LA area. So, obviously no one goes into this career for big money, but $57K is not even competitive for a newbie law librarian in SoCal.

I hate to sound elitist, but if I were an 0L in SoCal, I would never seriously consider enrolling in this law school. It's not the typical TLS elitism in me (didn't attend a T14 myself), it's the school's employment stats, low grading curve, and not-so-charitable articles/blogposts about it scattered on the web. However, it was the first academic law librarian position I was offered, so I jumped at the opportunity, after consulting with a Dean, my academic advisor, and career services at my MLIS program, as well as a law librarian who taught me advanced legal research courses during law school. I was offered the job in mid-2020, amidst a pandemic, and didn't think I deserved or could get any better at this early stage of my career.

I just hope that I can maintain good terms with my current supervisor after such a short time here. One of my coworkers (who, btw, hasn't gotten a raise in 5 years) is thankfully very supportive of me and is willing to be a positive reference

This is a horrible salary let alone horrible vacation policy. On top of that you live in California and have student loans. I would look to leave immediately.

[Anonymous User]

The example of the tuition waiver was kind of an extreme one - what you pay for your benefits may be better than with a lot of private employers. Firms that pay very high salaries are notoriously cheap about health care benefits and don't match any retirement funds. Your school might be really cheap in this regard, too, for all I know, though.

Keep in mind that I suspect most people in this thread are thinking about private sector and legal practice salaries. Whether they want to live on $57k in southern California is very different from whether $57k is a competitive entry level law librarian salary. Definitely look for jobs with better salaries, but since you want to be a librarian, not practice law, you need to be comparing your salary to librarians, not practicing lawyers.

If you've been in your job a year already I don't think you're going to burn any bridges applying for new jobs. For one thing, academic hiring is notoriously slow, so you likely wouldn't leave for a while. Plus people leave jobs all the time. If you can get another job, and give the proper notice, I don't think that would burn any bridges. But if you can get another better job that's worth it to you, I wouldn't worry about burning bridges, either.

Nixy, after reading the responses here and digging a little more at your suggestion, I do believe I'd get better pay and benefits at a higher-ranked school. You mentioned the example of UC Berkeley, which publishes salaries online since they're a public institution. I just realized that the AALL Salary Survey has even more detailed stats. According to that study, apparently I earn well within the bottom 10th %ile of academic Reference Law Librarians in the LA area. So, obviously no one goes into this career for big money, but $57K is not even competitive for a newbie law librarian in SoCal.

I hate to sound elitist, but if I were an 0L in SoCal, I would never seriously consider enrolling in this law school. It's not the typical TLS elitism in me (didn't attend a T14 myself), it's the school's employment stats, low grading curve, and not-so-charitable articles/blogposts about it scattered on the web. However, it was the first academic law librarian position I was offered, so I jumped at the opportunity, after consulting with a Dean, my academic advisor, and career services at my MLIS program, as well as a law librarian who taught me advanced legal research courses during law school. I was offered the job in mid-2020, amidst a pandemic, and didn't think I deserved or could get any better at this early stage of my career.

I just hope that I can maintain good terms with my current supervisor after such a short time here. One of my coworkers (who, btw, hasn't gotten a raise in 5 years) is thankfully very supportive of me and is willing to be a positive reference

This is a horrible salary let alone horrible vacation policy. On top of that you live in California and have student loans. I would look to leave immediately.

Thank you so much for validating how I feel. White people (not ITT, but elsewhere) have called me spoiled, privileged, "rich kid", etc. for criticizing this salary. You're right. I'm getting shafted here.

[Idontwanttomakeaname]

The example of the tuition waiver was kind of an extreme one - what you pay for your benefits may be better than with a lot of private employers. Firms that pay very high salaries are notoriously cheap about health care benefits and don't match any retirement funds. Your school might be really cheap in this regard, too, for all I know, though.

Keep in mind that I suspect most people in this thread are thinking about private sector and legal practice salaries. Whether they want to live on $57k in southern California is very different from whether $57k is a competitive entry level law librarian salary. Definitely look for jobs with better salaries, but since you want to be a librarian, not practice law, you need to be comparing your salary to librarians, not practicing lawyers.

If you've been in your job a year already I don't think you're going to burn any bridges applying for new jobs. For one thing, academic hiring is notoriously slow, so you likely wouldn't leave for a while. Plus people leave jobs all the time. If you can get another job, and give the proper notice, I don't think that would burn any bridges. But if you can get another better job that's worth it to you, I wouldn't worry about burning bridges, either.

Nixy, after reading the responses here and digging a little more at your suggestion, I do believe I'd get better pay and benefits at a higher-ranked school. You mentioned the example of UC Berkeley, which publishes salaries online since they're a public institution. I just realized that the AALL Salary Survey has even more detailed stats. According to that study, apparently I earn well within the bottom 10th %ile of academic Reference Law Librarians in the LA area. So, obviously no one goes into this career for big money, but $57K is not even competitive for a newbie law librarian in SoCal.

I hate to sound elitist, but if I were an 0L in SoCal, I would never seriously consider enrolling in this law school. It's not the typical TLS elitism in me (didn't attend a T14 myself), it's the school's employment stats, low grading curve, and not-so-charitable articles/blogposts about it scattered on the web. However, it was the first academic law librarian position I was offered, so I jumped at the opportunity, after consulting with a Dean, my academic advisor, and career services at my MLIS program, as well as a law librarian who taught me advanced legal research courses during law school. I was offered the job in mid-2020, amidst a pandemic, and didn't think I deserved or could get any better at this early stage of my career.

I just hope that I can maintain good terms with my current supervisor after such a short time here. One of my coworkers (who, btw, hasn't gotten a raise in 5 years) is thankfully very supportive of me and is willing to be a positive reference

This is a horrible salary let alone horrible vacation policy. On top of that you live in California and have student loans. I would look to leave immediately.

Thank you so much for validating how I feel. White people (not ITT, but elsewhere) have called me spoiled, privileged, "rich kid", etc. for criticizing this salary. You're right. I'm getting shafted here.

You are definitely getting shafted. Go find something better and don’t look back

[Anonymous User]

The example of the tuition waiver was kind of an extreme one - what you pay for your benefits may be better than with a lot of private employers. Firms that pay very high salaries are notoriously cheap about health care benefits and don't match any retirement funds. Your school might be really cheap in this regard, too, for all I know, though.

Keep in mind that I suspect most people in this thread are thinking about private sector and legal practice salaries. Whether they want to live on $57k in southern California is very different from whether $57k is a competitive entry level law librarian salary. Definitely look for jobs with better salaries, but since you want to be a librarian, not practice law, you need to be comparing your salary to librarians, not practicing lawyers.

If you've been in your job a year already I don't think you're going to burn any bridges applying for new jobs. For one thing, academic hiring is notoriously slow, so you likely wouldn't leave for a while. Plus people leave jobs all the time. If you can get another job, and give the proper notice, I don't think that would burn any bridges. But if you can get another better job that's worth it to you, I wouldn't worry about burning bridges, either.

Nixy, after reading the responses here and digging a little more at your suggestion, I do believe I'd get better pay and benefits at a higher-ranked school. You mentioned the example of UC Berkeley, which publishes salaries online since they're a public institution. I just realized that the AALL Salary Survey has even more detailed stats. According to that study, apparently I earn well within the bottom 10th %ile of academic Reference Law Librarians in the LA area. So, obviously no one goes into this career for big money, but $57K is not even competitive for a newbie law librarian in SoCal.

I hate to sound elitist, but if I were an 0L in SoCal, I would never seriously consider enrolling in this law school. It's not the typical TLS elitism in me (didn't attend a T14 myself), it's the school's employment stats, low grading curve, and not-so-charitable articles/blogposts about it scattered on the web. However, it was the first academic law librarian position I was offered, so I jumped at the opportunity, after consulting with a Dean, my academic advisor, and career services at my MLIS program, as well as a law librarian who taught me advanced legal research courses during law school. I was offered the job in mid-2020, amidst a pandemic, and didn't think I deserved or could get any better at this early stage of my career.

I just hope that I can maintain good terms with my current supervisor after such a short time here. One of my coworkers (who, btw, hasn't gotten a raise in 5 years) is thankfully very supportive of me and is willing to be a positive reference

This is a horrible salary let alone horrible vacation policy. On top of that you live in California and have student loans. I would look to leave immediately.

Thank you so much for validating how I feel. White people (not ITT, but elsewhere) have called me spoiled, privileged, "rich kid", etc. for criticizing this salary. You're right. I'm getting shafted here.

You are definitely getting shafted. Go find something better and don’t look back

Thank you! I made up my mind and will continue aggressively applying to higher-ranked schools.

[Anonymous User]

The example of the tuition waiver was kind of an extreme one - what you pay for your benefits may be better than with a lot of private employers. Firms that pay very high salaries are notoriously cheap about health care benefits and don't match any retirement funds. Your school might be really cheap in this regard, too, for all I know, though.

Keep in mind that I suspect most people in this thread are thinking about private sector and legal practice salaries. Whether they want to live on $57k in southern California is very different from whether $57k is a competitive entry level law librarian salary. Definitely look for jobs with better salaries, but since you want to be a librarian, not practice law, you need to be comparing your salary to librarians, not practicing lawyers.

If you've been in your job a year already I don't think you're going to burn any bridges applying for new jobs. For one thing, academic hiring is notoriously slow, so you likely wouldn't leave for a while. Plus people leave jobs all the time. If you can get another job, and give the proper notice, I don't think that would burn any bridges. But if you can get another better job that's worth it to you, I wouldn't worry about burning bridges, either.

Nixy, after reading the responses here and digging a little more at your suggestion, I do believe I'd get better pay and benefits at a higher-ranked school. You mentioned the example of UC Berkeley, which publishes salaries online since they're a public institution. I just realized that the AALL Salary Survey has even more detailed stats. According to that study, apparently I earn well within the bottom 10th %ile of academic Reference Law Librarians in the LA area. So, obviously no one goes into this career for big money, but $57K is not even competitive for a newbie law librarian in SoCal.

I hate to sound elitist, but if I were an 0L in SoCal, I would never seriously consider enrolling in this law school. It's not the typical TLS elitism in me (didn't attend a T14 myself), it's the school's employment stats, low grading curve, and not-so-charitable articles/blogposts about it scattered on the web. However, it was the first academic law librarian position I was offered, so I jumped at the opportunity, after consulting with a Dean, my academic advisor, and career services at my MLIS program, as well as a law librarian who taught me advanced legal research courses during law school. I was offered the job in mid-2020, amidst a pandemic, and didn't think I deserved or could get any better at this early stage of my career.

I just hope that I can maintain good terms with my current supervisor after such a short time here. One of my coworkers (who, btw, hasn't gotten a raise in 5 years) is thankfully very supportive of me and is willing to be a positive reference

This is a horrible salary let alone horrible vacation policy. On top of that you live in California and have student loans. I would look to leave immediately.

Good news! I got an interview at a MUCH higher-ranked school.