Well Paid Jobs with Work Life Balance

[Anonymous]

So we all know the route to serious income is Big Law firms with their partner track income.

But there have been a number of threads with folks with part time jobs paying $100k and a flexible low-stress job where the PP manages to telework and have time to work out but makes $140k.

Can some one elaborate on what career fields offer such well balanced paths for work-life balance and decent income?

TIA!

[Anonymous]

I guess it depends on what you mean by well paid. A friend of mine works as an attorney for the MSPB - she gets to telework 3 days a week which I consider flexible and gets paid around 100K, which I feel is certainly terrific given the benefits and demands of her particular job. Another friend of mine works as an attorney for HUD - she gets to telework one day a week, but gets to "flex" (meaning she can start anywhere within a 2 hour window, and end 8.5 hours later) her other days. She is eligible for comp time and credit hours and makes $140K. To me, that seems like a great deal as well.

[Anonymous]

Escort

[Anonymous]

Television and movie film actors seem to make good momey and have lots of time for activities other than work.

[Anonymous]

IT. I telecommute 100% of the time and I make $100K for a lower level position (I'm still early in my career so I will be working my way up to higher salary).

[Anonymous]

I work 30 hours a week as a lawyer for an association. $140k. 50% time from home.

[Anonymous]

$210k.

Wfh 3 to 4 days a week.

I do analytics (excel monkey).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So we all know the route to serious income is Big Law firms with their partner track

If you believe this you haven't lived in NY, CA or any money center throughout the world. I know a lot of sales people and even realtors who make more than big law partners.

[Anonymous]

Project manager / consultant

[Anonymous]

Former sales rep here. Was making $250K when I was 25, and while it was flexible and out of the home, I was on the road a lot, which is really hard with little kids, and then it's hard to be home and functional in the office with around the house.

Burned out eventually... But the nest egg we were able to build up has given us a lot of options, and consulting is an option for me now as well.

[Anonymous]

accountant -3 days a week $145k

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So we all know the route to serious income is Big Law firms with their partner track

If you believe this you haven't lived in NY, CA or any money center throughout the world. I know a lot of sales people and even realtors who make more than big law partners.

Top tier professional incomes:

Biglaw partners: $5 million
Investment bankers: $50 million +
Tech and hedge fund executives: $100 million +

And biglaw partners are always bitching about the gap because they work every bit as hard, but they're essentially the hired help. For a smart and educated cohort, you would think that they would update their business model from charging $1k/hr for legal advice. That model is dying.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So we all know the route to serious income is Big Law firms with their partner track

If you believe this you haven't lived in NY, CA or any money center throughout the world. I know a lot of sales people and even realtors who make more than big law partners.

Top tier professional incomes:

Biglaw partners: $5 million
Investment bankers: $50 million +
Tech and hedge fund executives: $100 million +

And biglaw partners are always bitching about the gap because they work every bit as hard, but they're essentially the hired help. For a smart and educated cohort, you would think that they would update their business model from charging $1k/hr for legal advice. That model is dying.

Divide these numbers by 5, and it is more representative. Point remains though.

[Anonymous]

Govt attorney, $130, 3 days a week at home, fairly flexible otherwise. I don't doubt it is well-paid, but it is 1/3 the amount I was making before I switched to the flexible job.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So we all know the route to serious income is Big Law firms with their partner track

If you believe this you haven't lived in NY, CA or any money center throughout the world. I know a lot of sales people and even realtors who make more than big law partners.

Top tier professional incomes:

Biglaw partners: $5 million
Investment bankers: $50 million +
Tech and hedge fund executives: $100 million +

And biglaw partners are always bitching about the gap because they work every bit as hard, but they're essentially the hired help. For a smart and educated cohort, you would think that they would update their business model from charging $1k/hr for legal advice. That model is dying.

Divide these numbers by 5, and it is more representative. Point remains though.

The numbers are for the top of the profession rather than a representative figure. It seems that if you made a faustian bargain to trade your youth, life, health, relationships with loved ones in exchange for money, the legal profession would not be even close to the best place where it would pay off to do this. I don't know how many biglaw folks servicing a-hole clients (i was one of these clients) for 80-100 hrs a week do it for the love of the law.

Seems like the IB/PE/Tech crowd wants to work hard to cash out and retire early while the lawyers match their lifestyle to their income and stay on the treadmill forever. Few amass enough to be able to stop working and continue to live as they've become accustomed to. Lawyers also tend to get trapped by the trappings of their profession.