Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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).

I'm undecided if I should pursue a Masters in IT or comp science? Fulfilling the IT requirements will be shorter in time than the CS requirements. Then I have people telling me I should just go to commuinty college and get a certificate that will landme the same job. My undergrad was in Economics and I have spent too long of a time contemplating an IT degree or law school. Which one has best ROI in this economy?

Anonymous wrote:I make 150K as a consultant to nonprofits on government relations and I can telework if I don't have in person meetings. The downside is that it feels a bit unstable- like could lose a client if they lose funding.

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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.

Run of the mill investment bankers (advisors) do not make $50million. Traders maybe but not IB.

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.

Very astute observation. I think issue is that most in big law are strivers but not risk takers or smart enough to be entrepreneurs.

Investment bankers aren't really risk takers either, they play with other peoples money.

Anonymous wrote: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 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.

This is a joke. Do you know how few of the mud reds of bankers or HF guys make what you posted? Few. Maybe the heads or too managing partner and that's it.
As for tech corporates, don't confuse ESOP, stock option or sweat equity with income. Ppl get the $150-500k salary (income) and the rest is performs e and upside related. Often illiquid.
Lawyers? Looks right, is all cash or rolled into partnership llc.

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.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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.

I wish I could telework. All I do is sit in front of a computer every day, anyway.

Anonymous wrote: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.