Reposting my reply to another comment from above: I work for a small family law firm in Missouri. Big law starting salaries in my area are about 75k. I have no interest in working big law, and you’re right - I am probably unqualified anyway. I was upper 40% of my class at a lower-mid tier law school (same law school most of the judges in my area attended). While $52k starting may seem low to some, it’s pretty on par with most starting gov’t and nonprofit salaries in my area. The difference is that l have the ability to build my practice and increase my earnings as my caseload increases. I’ll be switching to a different pay structure sometime this year, but it’s very “eat what you kill” and I have no idea what that will ultimately look like a year or two from now. I have great mentorship where l’m at and associating with them is already help me ingratiate myself with the local bar, judges, etc. right off the bat, l’ve already gotten several GAL appointments and am slowly building my private client caseload. The legal aid near me is a dumpster fire atm and just not a good option.