4 ms·

"In economic terms, the worst outcome (forever making $40,000 while trying to “fight the good fight” while trying to stay on top any of various loan forgiveness

"In economic terms, the worst outcome (forever making $40,000 while trying to “fight the good fight” while trying to stay on top any of various loan forgiveness programs) can be pretty brutal." Interesting - when did making 40k a year become "brutal" ? There's people doing fine on much less. Sounds more like a case of "hey I made a big scary decision - so now I'm going to blog about it so that people can validate my decision for me. In the process I'm also going to point out how even in the worst case I'd be better off than 75% of the worlds population is. ".. come on...

milesskorpen 14y ago
I think 40K could be pretty brutal when you've given up years of potential wages for law school to take on 150-200k of debt. And then most of your classmates are making at least 4-5x your income. A lot of studies have found people's perception of wealth is relative, right? Making 25% what your pee/friends make would really suck.
- greedo 14y ago
  It also depends on location. $40K in the midwest is livable, while on either coast, not so much.
- milesskorpen 14y ago
  Edit: ... what your PEERS/friends make ...
anonlaw123 14y ago
I try and keep perspective that there's way, way worse things than having over 200k debt and making 40k a year while working and living in a modern, Western, industrialized country. I think the 40k number is worth emphasizing though, not as some terrible torment but as a data point that casts light on the financials of attending law school. In terms of objectively looking at the merits of law school as an investment, a 40k salary outcome is pretty awful. The opportunity cost and direct costs (in loans) are enormous and the risk of getting the low-end outcome is pretty high. There's way, way less risky ways to make 40k, and way less costly ways to position oneself to one day have a chance at a six figure salary. "Just getting by" and "the only way you can afford your loan burden is by taking advantage of government income-based repayment and loan forgiveness programs" is not the outcome most people expect going to a decent law school, so it's important that people hear that this happens.

milesskorpen 14y ago

I think 40K could be pretty brutal when you've given up years of potential wages for law school to take on 150-200k of debt. And then most of your classmates are making at least 4-5x your income. A lot of studies have found people's perception of wealth is relative, right? Making 25% what your pee/friends make would really suck.

greedo 14y ago
It also depends on location. $40K in the midwest is livable, while on either coast, not so much.
milesskorpen 14y ago
Edit: ... what your PEERS/friends make ...

anonlaw123 14y ago

I try and keep perspective that there's way, way worse things than having over 200k debt and making 40k a year while working and living in a modern, Western, industrialized country. I think the 40k number is worth emphasizing though, not as some terrible torment but as a data point that casts light on the financials of attending law school. In terms of objectively looking at the merits of law school as an investment, a 40k salary outcome is pretty awful. The opportunity cost and direct costs (in loans) are enormous and the risk of getting the low-end outcome is pretty high. There's way, way less risky ways to make 40k, and way less costly ways to position oneself to one day have a chance at a six figure salary. "Just getting by" and "the only way you can afford your loan burden is by taking advantage of government income-based repayment and loan forgiveness programs" is not the outcome most people expect going to a decent law school, so it's important that people hear that this happens.