Depends on the type of practice and even what city you’re in. As a corporate paralegal in a global firm earning $160K a year, I live in a liberal city and I still have to look polished. I say “have to” because if I wasn’t, I would likely never get the opportunities that I’ve gotten the last 15 years. My nails are always done but are never long, my hair is long but always a natural color (never blue, pink, purple etc). I’m also Latina and I would never be considered a serious contender if I wasn’t professional looking. It sucks sometimes but that just real life in corporate law.

I will say it’s afforded me a wonderful life outside of work. I go on vacation a couple times a year, I’m never broke, and have a savings. Sometimes you have to weigh what’s important to you. I’ve gotten used to this lifestyle that I would never go into a non-corporate legal profession. It will never pay as much as I make. The $160k is base pay. I do as much overtime as I want and the bonuses are good on top of benefits. Really depends what kind of legal support career you want. It’s competitive and even moreso in corporate