What do you do that you earn six figures?

r/financialindependence • u/fidgit86 • 9d ago

It seems like a lot of people make a lot of money and it seems like I’m missing out on something. So those of you that do, whats your occupation that pays so well?

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u/stopkeepingscore 9d ago

In-house attorney

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u/Cat_With_The_Fur 9d ago

Same. It’s the best of the attorney jobs but still wouldn’t recommend. Law is a crowded field and I’ve spent years feeling like a pedigree dog trying to get the “right” stuff on my resume.

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u/Ohigetjokes 9d ago

There's another "don't become a lawyer like me" thread too... ever think about leaving it behind? Do you feel kinda stuck in it?

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u/Cat_With_The_Fur 9d ago

I think about quitting every day.

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u/[deleted] 9d ago

[deleted]

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u/Epicetus2021 9d ago

Attorney here in private practice. Pretty happy at my firm but constantly getting offers to go in-house and may consider that in a few years.

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u/[deleted] 9d ago

[deleted]

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u/FuzzyJury 9d ago

Have you always worked in-house since graduating law school? I was under the impression that it was more or less expected to be with a firm for a bit before transitioning to in-house. Does it depend on the practice area?

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u/agnikai__ 9d ago

I am wondering the same. I'm a corporate lawyer in big law and I don't know a single person who went in house straight out of law school. The assumption is that companies do not have the resources to train baby lawyers, they want you to already be trained at a law firm for 2-4 years first.

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u/Lawnotut 9d ago

Some government jobs take on graduates and some big insurance firms do in my country (uk) - the idea is to indoctrinate you in to there way of doing things from the start I think.

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u/PablosDiscobar 9d ago

Not the OP but I am an in-house baby lawyer (<1.5 yrs). Very torn on whether I hit the jackpot in that I got to skip the grueling years in private practice or if I am missing out on essential training. Talking to some firms now but the ”oh you don’t have to work EVERY weekend” sounds so-so appealing.

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u/a1non12 9d ago

All the training you need will come on the job. - in house lawyer of 8 years, straight from school.

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u/agnikai__ 9d ago

Im curious to hear, is it true that people have some work life balance in house? If you dont mind me asking, what hours do you typically work?

I literally closed a deal at 5am this week and I am losing my mental sanity.

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u/PablosDiscobar 9d ago

Yeah, I work like 40-45 hours a week with some odd hours with overseas teams here and there. Normal day is maybe 8.30-6.30. I never work weekends. Pay is ~160k plus bonus and equity. I’m very happy in regards to the WLB/pay ratio but worried about whether doors will be closed in the future without a law firm on my resume.

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u/AnjunaUnnie 9d ago

I went in-house straight out of law school. Basically through excelling in the interview and seeming more mature than my age. Been here 4 years now and love it. Not experiencing any of the gripes lawyers usually complain about, except the 6 figure loans of course.

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u/agnikai__ 9d ago

That is awesome! what hours do you work if you don't mind me asking? I am trying to choose if I should switch to litigation and go to government OR stick it out in big law for 3 years and go in house.

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u/AnjunaUnnie 9d ago

8-5 weekdays, no pressure to stay any longer and I absolutely do not touch my laptop on the weekends lol. Fully transactional/compliance stuff. My company is on the small side though although now rapidly growing. Pay isn't quite 6 figures but close. I'd imagine a larger company with more competitive pay might have a greater demand to care after 5 pm.

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u/agnikai__ 9d ago

That sounds awesome, thank you for sharing! I think my ideal balance is low to mid six figures + down to work 50-60 hours a week (i.e. 8am to 8pm and 1 Saturday a month), rather than a big law salary + 80 hours. Not sure if that job exists haha.

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u/HabeusCuppus 9d ago

IP attorneys will sometimes start in-house straight out of law school, especially if the Company has a smaller legal team and contracts with firms for litigation.

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u/agnikai__ 9d ago

I could see that!

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u/insulsus37 9d ago

This is mostly right, at least in big tech companies. I have been in-house for the vast majority of my career, but started out at a firm. I would say that 90%+ of the lawyers I work with started out at a firm.

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u/Gil_T_Azell 9d ago

Not OP but I’ve worked in-house for a healthcare entity since graduating law school. I worked there part time through law school and the legal department had just begun to expand. It was basically just a right place-right time situation. I was cheaper than an attorney with more experience and already familiar with a lot of the work so they gave me a shot.

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u/Achieng- 9d ago

Lol! The corporate bullshit is very amusing and entertaining.

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u/inkyblinkypinkysue 9d ago

Do it. Best decision I ever made and I will NEVER go back to BigLaw.

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u/frnoss 9d ago

What was your path? Total comp?

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u/dinosupremo 9d ago

Government lawyer

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u/[deleted] 9d ago

[deleted]

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u/Duck4202 9d ago

If you can make good relationships with the insurance companies, it’s not a bad gig at all to set up your own small practice. If you can get in good with a few small insurance companies, they will feed you cases that will mostly settle anyways. I just started a job a firm like this. There are 3 attorneys being myself, an older associate that leaves by 2 everyday, and the partner who started the firm and works whenever he wants. As long as you maintain your relationships with the companies, you don’t need to go searching for clients, you don’t have a lot of the negatives big law has, and you can make pretty stupid money doing it.

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u/Desblade101 9d ago

How would you say your job compares to being an out house attorney?

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u/Brief_Association363 9d ago

Doesn’t stink as much

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u/StepfordMisfit 9d ago

I used to work with a public defender who referred to himself as outhouse counsel, as opposed to the fellow inmates who were in-house counsel (and his clients seemed more willing to listen to.) RIP Joe.

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u/Emma-nz 9d ago

Same!

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u/RandomRavenclaw87 9d ago

My partner makes $200k-$250k per year as an attorney in private practice.

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u/two40tom 9d ago

You work from home?

....wait, you can do that?

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u/TheJuanfrom 9d ago

Any good tips to get into the job and what are the exit opportunities or side ventures an in house can do?

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u/justanotheralt4this 9d ago

If you're looking for exit opportunities and side ventures, law is not the right field for you. Law school is expensive and a ton of work. Many corporations don't hire right out of law school, so you're in a firm or government etc. first. Baby lawyers work a ton of hours for less money than you'd expect, and the most feasible "side venture"-- board membership-- requires a ton of networking and experience.

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u/TheJuanfrom 9d ago

Thank you for your input, is it advisable to get a CFA so I can get into corporate stuff and M&A ?

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u/curatedcliffside 9d ago

The people on r/financialcareers can better advise you on this. The CFA is good but takes a lot of time and work. Finance is a tricky field to break into, I assume bc it's crowded.

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u/Em-Beezee 9d ago

Could help, but not necessary at all

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u/mmorgan_ 9d ago

How was law school? I’m getting my masters in social work which can pull in some good money if you pick the right job but I always thought about switching to law. My memory is trash tho I’m afraid I’d suck.

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u/alwayscomplimenting 9d ago

One thing I wish I’d known is that the most important factor in determining your job prospects as a lawyer is where you go to school. Specifically, getting into a top 10/15 school (or the top school in your geographic region if staying local). Second most important factor is grades.

Sounds dumb but the worst student at Harvard or Stanford will have better job prospects than even the best students at lower-tier schools. I was fortunate to get into a good school and was later shocked to see how differently people were treated during the hiring process based on that one single factor.

Good luck with your journey, wherever it takes you.

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u/Extension_Ad4537 9d ago

This is 100% true

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u/lorage2003 9d ago edited 9d ago

This is largely true but a caveat needs to be added: you need to take advantage of the resources that going to a top law school provides. I know a criminal prosecutor that works in a much less desirable district than me (with significantly less pay) in the same state as me (Colorado) that went to Harvard. I went to Wyoming for law school for comparison. Long story short: graduating from a T-14 law school alone isn't going to magically confer better lawyer skills on you and get you a job in Big Law. If you don't network, intern/extern/otherwise participate in experiential learning, do extracurriculars, pass the bar on your first (or at the very least second attempt), and get good grades (much less important at one of those schools though), you're not going to just get handed a lucrative job just because you went to an Ivy League school. Of course, most of the people who get into those schools are going to maintain the gunner mentality in law school that got them there in the first place, but the ones who don't might as well have graduated from Directional-Flyover-State School of Law. They'll have the exact same experience in the job search.

Edit: a word

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u/Duck4202 9d ago edited 9d ago

One thing I’d like to add to this is that what I’ve found is that the school you went to pretty much only matters for your FIRST job. They don’t really care too much after that if you’re good at your job. Experience, experience type, and results go much further than the school you attended after that first job. That being said, you have to survive and thrive at what will likely be a low tier first job before you gain access to the better jobs instead of making 6 figures+ out of the gate

Edit: source - I went to a law close that closed its doors a year after I left. Slogged through a few 1099 document review jobs during the pandemic after passing the bar first try before landing a partner-track gig a smaller insurance defense firm that runs like at a well oiled machine with great work-life balance as far being an attorney is concerned. Thank god I took the full ride scholarship over going to ND if I’m being honest.

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u/noorofmyeye24 9d ago

For the most this is true. But there are lawyers that graduated from law schools like Southwestern and are making 6 figures.

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u/alwayscomplimenting 9d ago

That’s true, but the odds of success are pretty grim for roughly the same cost/amount of debt. The top 1-2 students at southwestern would qualify for big law firm jobs, while 100% of the top schools’ students qualify. If someone isn’t interested in working for a big firm - maybe a boutique, or starting their own practice - the chances of success are much higher.

It’s brutal, and I wish I’d known that going in. I also find it weird that it follows us throughout entire careers. Even hiring for senior in-house positions, the places I’ve worked will only focus on people with top schools on their resumes.

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u/noms_the_word 9d ago

100% true. I was in the top 5 at my lower tier school, and I can't even get a biglaw interview. One of the summa cum laude grads couldn't even get a biglaw job.

I'm at a firm, and my salary is good but nowhere near biglaw pay. I'm still resentful and wish I had transferred out. lol.

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u/alwayscomplimenting 9d ago

Unsolicited advice, but if you have any interest in privacy law I highly recommend getting a CIPP certification and looking for jobs in that area. There’s enormous demand, both in house and at firms.

An alternative is to get a CIPM certification and go the route of privacy program management, which would let you go in house straight away and would utilize your law degree but in a different fashion. Again, there aren’t nearly enough qualified people for these jobs and most pay 6 figures. Experienced people in this area in Silicon Valley are making $200-500k with bonus + stock. You can even serve as a company’s Data Protection Officer.

I’ll likely be moving to a different country soon for my spouse’s job and I’m going to take this route since my law degree/experience won’t transfer to an attorney role.

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u/Vesper0213 8d ago

This! I’m an attorney in Biglaw but I recently earned my CIPP certification and am going to go for a CIPM too because after 3 years you can get an ABA certification as a Privacy Law Specialist. Helpful for my career whether I stay in private practice or go inhouse, I hope.

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u/eatdeadpeople 9d ago

If it’s any consolation, find your path. Whether it be lifestyle or money. I stumbled onto a path that gave me both, fortunately. My first job out of law school I made 40k. I’ll make 10x that this year my 10th year out. I chose to be a trial lawyer. It was hard, and scary, but made me ridiculously marketable. Several big raises and job offers later I started my own law firm. Wouldn’t change a thing looking back.

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u/noorofmyeye24 9d ago

I’m not talking about straight out of law school though. I’m talking about a couple of years afterwards. I worked in the legal field in LA for several years and met many attorneys making 6 figures that graduated from Southwestern, Whittier, etc.

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u/CaliforniaGiraffe 9d ago

Those are the ones that survived. When I managed a bar in LA I would get resumes from graduates of those law schools. Even some LMU grads.

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u/noorofmyeye24 9d ago

Well, there were a lot of them so ppl making it seem like going to a non-t14 law school is going to be a career ender are wrong...

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u/CaliforniaGiraffe 9d ago

Oh for sure. I went to a way worse ranked school than Southwestern and even I graduated making six figs. But that’s not a typical result.

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u/noorofmyeye24 9d ago

Once again, I’m not talking about straight out of law school lol. I said this in one of my previous comment. A couple of years after...

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u/alwayscomplimenting 9d ago

I think this goes towards my comment about going to a school that’s well-known in a local geographic area. For the LA area, Whittier, Southwestern, Pepperdine, USD, etc are all workable for top students. They’d likely have a harder time cracking the market in New York though, I imagine.

It feels arbitrary and is extremely frustrating, I hate that part about law. All the unique talents someone brings to the table are ignored in lieu of a school’s name and reputation.

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u/noorofmyeye24 9d ago

A lot of them weren’t top students though lol. They told me they were mid/lower half...

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u/eatdeadpeople 9d ago

This may be true if If all you want is big law. I went to the ~90th best school and make a lot of money in private practice. Have had plenty of job offers. There’s a business to law that is more valuable than just your pedigree. I saw that as a new lawyer and now with my own law firm. In my mid 30s.

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u/alwayscomplimenting 9d ago

You’re absolutely correct, the comment was geared specifically towards big law. The legal world is huge and full of different opportunities and niches to carve out, and many of them pay really well. It’s great to hear you’ve found yours. :)

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u/inkyblinkypinkysue 9d ago

Plus your first year grades are literally all that matter. I found law school incredibly easy compared to my engineering background so I got straight As my first year, which set me up at a big time law firm in NYC, which got me great experience and now I’m doing 100x better than I ever thought I would - all off of the strength of that one year. Smarter friends who didn’t start taking things seriously until second/third year will never catch me.

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u/nopeisweartwasntme 9d ago

I'm not from the US.

My memory isn't great, too, so I have to compensate for it by working hard.

When I was job hunting as a newbie, a surprising number of big law firms had an unofficial rule: they only accepted honor graduates, and they had to be from the top school(s). Some of my former classmates who ended up in those firms often worked 100 hour weeks, or until they got physically ill, or both.

I have had bad dreams that I'm either still in school or I'm studying for the bar exam again. Law school where I'm from uses the Socratic method of teaching. Essentially, the professor gives you a reading assignment for the next session, but instead of lecturing on the topics for the day, he/she will randomly (or purposely) select students for recitation (an oral quiz) on the topics for the day--this is 1/3 of your grade, the remainder being mid-terms and finals. The bare minimum passing grade was 75/100, and we had to have a weighted average for all subjects around 79 or 80--this meant that if all your teachers gave you a 75, yes you passed, but you would be in danger of getting kicked out because of the required average. It felt to me more like a job, but not really a school.

The bar exam was another hurdle. Imagine compressing 4 years worth of knowledge into an exam (where I'm from it's 4 years).

If I could do it again, I most likely wouldn't choose law school. But that's just me. YMMV.

Best of luck!

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u/lorage2003 9d ago

I wish this had existed (and someone had shown it to me) before I decided to go to law school. Oh well. Them's the breaks.

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u/nopeisweartwasntme 9d ago

LMAO that's great

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u/lordrenovatio 9d ago

Most lawyers make the same as an LCSW. I have to believe the life of an LCSW is more enjoyable than the stress of law practice.

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u/Achieng- 9d ago

Me too! I love it!

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u/cloudsoundproducer 9d ago

Another in house attorney here, former biglaw at top amlaw firm. Maybe I’m lucky but my job is great.

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u/7DaysANeek 9d ago

Wouldn't it be easier to be an attorney in court, too?

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u/RockstarAgent 9d ago

Imagine the out-house attorneys?