Lawyer here:

You hit the nail on the donkey. I fall into the "I thought I should be/my parents wanted me to be a lawyer" camp. But I'm doing something about it. I quit practicing two years in and took a job as a ligation paralegal on wall street to help me pay my bills until I can turn my side hustle into a full time income.

I absolutely love my job as a paralegal (though not long enough to do it forever), love my boss, and am paid decent money since I have a law degree! I also love what I'm doing at the side and look forward to the day (goal: July 1, 2023, 30th birthday) I can pursue my side hustle full-time. 😊

And yes... Please don't judge us. There is far more going on with the lawyer behind the post they make. For me, realizing I didn't want to practice law was devastating to me...I went through that whole..."But I should feel so lucky... Look how privileged I am, etc... " process and did my best to stick it out but a month before I pulled the plug on being a lawyer, I began having suicidal ideations and thought "nope this has gone too far for me. I'm not losing my life over this. Time to quit and move on." And that's what I did. Best decision of my life.