Why do people here prefer Law over tech for $$$?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm a lawyer for a tech startup. More career longevity and I get some of the pay structure that makes tech so appealing.

I didn't go into tech as a high school/college kid because I didn't know how to code and even by the time I was 17 the attitude was "if you don't know how to do this yet it's not for you." I think that's changed with a lot of coding camps/exposure for kids now, which is nice.

Most lawyers aren't going into big law or working for tech startups.

Top paying jobs are all in engineering/CS, and you need to spend more $$ to earn a law degree. CS/engineering degrees don't need advanced degrees to earn a lot.

As to longevity, lawyers burn out faster than those in tech. Tech people don't have to worry about billabe rates.

[Anonymous]

I find this a pointless thread. The assumption that "anyone" can do a CS/engineering degree and waltz into a FAANG job with a six figure income right out of college is ridiculous. When I was in college 25 years ago, CS degrees were already starting to get desirable and I had classmates studying CS and I listened to them talk about their classes and glanced at their textbooks and my eyes immediately glazed over. Not for me. Brain very firmly said nope, no thank you. I wouldn't have lasted a year. I'd only have gone into "tech" in a non-tech role.

To do well in "tech" as a programmer or designer, you do need a special kind of brain attuned to the demands of the work. These kids are lucky to have the right brain and right interest at the right time in history.

There are many routes to success. Tech isn't the only one.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm a lawyer for a tech startup. More career longevity and I get some of the pay structure that makes tech so appealing.

I didn't go into tech as a high school/college kid because I didn't know how to code and even by the time I was 17 the attitude was "if you don't know how to do this yet it's not for you." I think that's changed with a lot of coding camps/exposure for kids now, which is nice.

Most lawyers aren't going into big law or working for tech startups.

Top paying jobs are all in engineering/CS, and you need to spend more $$ to earn a law degree. CS/engineering degrees don't need advanced degrees to earn a lot.

As to longevity, lawyers burn out faster than those in tech. Tech people don't have to worry about billabe rates.

Why are you comparing "most" lawyers to "top paying" tech? Apples to oranges. I was in big law for 12 years, now in tech - no burnout and no longer bill my hours. If you want to compare people who aren't doing well in law and tech, that will be a depressing race to the bottom (contract lawyers vs. tech support?), but that's not the point OP seemed to be pursuing.

[Anonymous]

First thing comes to mind when told of people's profession.

Lawyer: uneasy feeling, a-hole
Software engineer: he's smart

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Law requires a lower IQ and hence is easier to do

Idk. I’ve known a few engineers from very good engineering schools who went to law school and every single one failed out or barely passed. It’s just a different skill set.

I’m an IP attorney - BS EE from a top school, then top 20 law school. Hands down, engineering, CS, math, physics exponentially more mentally challenging vs law degree from a top tier law program. There is reason kids don’t pursue STEM education - it’s damn rigorous!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:First thing comes to mind when told of people's profession.

Lawyer: uneasy feeling, a-hole
Software engineer: he's smart

No, most people think douchebag tech bro for software engineer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Law requires a lower IQ and hence is easier to do

Idk. I’ve known a few engineers from very good engineering schools who went to law school and every single one failed out or barely passed. It’s just a different skill set.

I’m an IP attorney - BS EE from a top school, then top 20 law school. Hands down, engineering, CS, math, physics exponentially more mentally challenging vs law degree from a top tier law program. There is reason kids don’t pursue STEM education - it’s damn rigorous!

But what was your class rank at your T20? Don't gloss over the fact that forced curves are what make law school hard. Passing a law school class at a T20 is not impressive. Consistently being at the top end of the distribution is.

[Anonymous]

Your numbers on this other person don’t quite make sense. Sounds like family chipped in. Lots of mommies and daddies in this area so that. That said, there’s a reason why law is called the miserable profession.

[Anonymous]

I’d advise any young person to do what they love. Both DH and I are in tech and I HATE it. I’m 45 and dream of retirement on the daily. The ONLY upside for me is money. It is true we got on the property ladder very early, started a family very early and have one kid off to college already. He is a math major. Why? Because he loves math and physics. He will one day figure it out and I hope it brings him happiness. I think it’s foolish to chase money. I didn’t particularly chase money, I just happened to stumble into tech in 2000 when I graduated college. It was a time of incredible growth and opportunity.

Oh and to the PP who says people who work in tech are dorks and don’t read books? I’m currently reading The Great Alone, just finished Deamon Copperhead, and before that read Circe. I also enjoy non fiction. I wish I could read more, but only get in about one Brooke very 2 weeks when I’m not on vacation . I might be a dork who knows. I haven’t really thought about dorks and what a dork is since 7th grade🤷🏻‍♀️

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Lawyers aren’t smart enough to do tech

Lol. You've never met anyone in the tax or banking law worlds.

Yes I have.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Lawyers aren’t smart enough to do tech

Thr former tech lawyers I know are barely smart enough to do law in many cases. One former Stanford electrical engineer I went to a T10 law school with graduated in the bottom of our class, got a summer job anyway, got no offered, and now doesn’t practice.

This is something I have been hearing about STEM vs Poly Sci/History/English degrees. The STEM kids take a mid-level History class thinking they will walk into an A because their avg class requires lots of busy math work then there is a real chance of gettin a D or F (because of how the professor tests more than anything). Where the History class requires a couple papers that the STEM kid gets a C in because they dont know how to write (both on basic structure level and a support a thesis college level). But the history professor is much less willing to fail a paper that has an opinion aspect/(s)he has to subjectively judge than a STEM test where there is a right or wrong answer.

This resonates.

My STEM child can do absolute mind blowing math and physics. In high school he had to commute to George Mason for math his senior year in high school because he tapped out with calc 3 by 11th grade. He has a great very well laid internship this summer at some sort of high compute finance company that does some crazy trades based on math. I don’t even understand what it is.

But oh my god this kid’s writing is ATROCIOUS. Only reason he did well on the English SAT is because grammar is simply patterns. He does indeed love history, but when he writes it’s pretty bad. I’m very grateful he has grammerly and chat GPT to help prompt him.

He works as a math tutor at school, but he spends an equal amount of time getting help at the writing center.

I’d like to hope kids go into fields they are good at and that interest them. My son will absolutely never be a writer of any sort. Nor have a career that requires writing. I don’t really understand what the problem is because he’s a voracious reader.

Everyone has different talents. I’m so glad we are as a species intellectually diverse! We survive because of specialization.

[Anonymous]

I went into tech because I was always good in math/CS and not so good in English/humanities. Now fast forward some 25 years and I wish I were a lawyer. And by that I mean a law firm partner Although what I make is probably similar to big law, I find the law firm work fascinating and just interesting.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I went into tech because I was always good in math/CS and not so good in English/humanities. Now fast forward some 25 years and I wish I were a lawyer. And by that I mean a law firm partner Although what I make is probably similar to big law, I find the law firm work fascinating and just interesting.

I work in the tech industry though I’m not technical other than I can regurgitate talking points. I have to work often with legal and it looks to me to be THE WORST MOST DULL job on this earth. I can hardly keep my eyes open with the lawyers start to babble. Boring.

[Anonymous]

i would never.....law is the most soul robbing "profession" around. Don't give rats a$$ what it pays. 95% of the lawyers I know hate their jobs...and this includes a few earning over $1m.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My friend’s son graduated college at 22 with an undergrad degree, paid off all student loan debt by 23 with his 6 figure starting salary, then bought a house at 25 making 200k by then. He’s 30 now and makes around low 300’s in software engineering and has locked in a low interest rate on his house and benefitted from the past 5 years of appreciation.

My kid went to law school and is making less money, along with over 100k in student debt and now will have a much harder time getting on the property ladder since he waited to start his career. Seems like tech can’t be beat for how much you earn at a young age which gives you another 5-10 years to invest money early and get on the housing ladder. I guess big law can make 7 figures but most people won’t ever make that, and tech has similar or even better upside.

Law firm partner…I make $2.3m , plus opp to co-invest in my Pe clients deals.

Make must more on those investments than any tech engineer