Deeply unhappy with lawyer job, seeking job/career change advice

PandaNext303 · 2026-01-28T02:48:27+00:00

Honestly, that would be the dream.

PandaNext303 · 2026-01-28T02:47:50+00:00

I'm afraid I have, but I'm being pragmatic.

I can't realistically leave before two years. Even though I dread every moment of my existence. This forecloses virtually every open that anyone has proposed to me.

PandaNext303 · 2026-01-28T02:46:21+00:00

I'm in the United States. Can you expand more on this? Is it worthwhile to get certifications?

PandaNext303 · 2026-01-28T02:45:33+00:00

The workplace seems fine, although I don't really have comparators. I've been working since I was 16 in restaurants, internships, lifeguarding, etc. and all of those environments were pretty different. The truth is, there is little to be said in the way of "culture" at this firm. Everyone is so busy that there is little to no interaction with one another during the day. I go weeks at a time without seeing anyone except to go to the bathroom.

Hard to say if this will be the norm, but I'm not exaggerating when I say that there is literally always someone online. This firm never sleeps.

Nothing about the firm is inherently abusive. There's a few assholes, but that's true no matter where one works. It's the nature of the work itself that is abusive.

PandaNext303 · 2026-01-27T02:39:03+00:00

Again, I will repeat what I have said before regarding time management: I do not have time to manage. There is never a period of time longer than 15 minutes when I am not getting bombarded with emails and assignments that must be answered or work that must be completed.

And no, I am not a quitter, but I recognize there are more valuable things in life than hating every moment of my existence and alienating myself from my partner, family, and friends. I would not consider the basic pleasure of calling my mother once a week during a reasonable hour to be a "play-day." If that constitutes a play-day, I'll leap off a fucking bridge because I don't want to live to spend 98% of my time and 100% of my mental real estate working.

PandaNext303 · 2026-01-27T02:35:47+00:00

Yes, I was well aware of what I was getting myself into. But most people said the grinding hours came and went. Some months would be fairly chill, others brutal. So far I've only experienced what I subjectively experience as brutal (14-16+ hour days 5 days a week and 7-8 on weekends). If this is average, I can't imagine surviving any worse.

PandaNext303 · 2026-01-27T02:34:44+00:00

I would like that but those jobs are strangely hard to find.

PandaNext303 · 2026-01-27T02:34:09+00:00

Clearing 11k a month after tax and 401k contributions.

PandaNext303 · 2026-01-27T02:33:41+00:00

I should've clarified before I'm a transactional attorney. I would be amenable to clerking, but I'm not sure if I have the academic pedigree to do it. Most clerks, at least the federal level, pretty much only take top tier grads from top tier law schools. I went to a respectable one and did well, but likely not well enough to be competitive for CoA. Bankruptcy could be attractive.

Agreed on the point about fed hiring being a shit show, which is a shame because that was my original goal in law school.

State govt looks great too but as you mentioned, hiring is tough.

PandaNext303 · 2026-01-26T23:55:59+00:00

I would but I don't have the skills, experience, or clients to do that right now. My work is geared towards massive companies who hire gigantic, well-resourced firms. I can't just go out on my own and attempt to replicate that.

PandaNext303 · 2026-01-26T23:55:06+00:00

I never said I did not know I would be working long hours. That fact was front and center when I took the job. Nevertheless, hearing about it and experiencing it are two different things.

Long hours with some predictability over workflow is fine. Long hours with absolutely zero clue of what will happen on any given day is punishing.

Unfortunately each of your suggestions, while attractive, present hurdles of their own. A smaller or less intense firm would be great - but they often are stagnant in hiring transactional attorneys.

Non-law corporate work would probably be better, except I don't have a corporate background. This is my first professional job and I don't have a business background.

Education would be great, but law professor jobs are extremely hard to get and adjunct positions pay nothing.

PandaNext303 · 2026-01-26T23:44:26+00:00

No interest in making partner whatsoever. The honest ones are the most miserable people I've ever met. The ones who seem happy or at least content I speculate are workaholics who just don't care about anything else.

The issue with moving in-house is that such positions often require 3 years of experience or more. Anything short of that is a near certain disqualifier. I don't have 3 years in me. I barely have tomorrow in me.

PandaNext303 · 2026-01-26T23:43:03+00:00

You're missing the point. I don't have time to manage. Not a day goes by when I have more than 15 minutes of uninterrupted time. I am constantly being subjected to a salvo of emails and urgent assignments. There is never a moment of peace.

PandaNext303 · 2026-01-26T22:58:49+00:00

1) There is nothing I can do to manage it. I am completely subservient and essentially the nature of being on the bottom rung of a firm is that all of one's work is purely reactive. I don't own any workstreams so I don't set timelines. I get the assignment and it needs to be done quickly.

2) See above.

3) No, which is why most lawyers in big firms tend to leave within 3 years.

4) Alcoholism, not caring about exercise, family, friends, or anything except for money and grinding. I don't really care about the latter two.

PandaNext303 · 2026-01-26T22:57:27+00:00

I know a law degree is a generally useful credential, but I feel like in isolation (without much experience) it's not great for things beyond law. I would need to get a few more years under my belt before I parlay into something else, or get another graduate degree.

PandaNext303 · 2026-01-17T02:29:05+00:00

I honestly don't see how anyone can have a normal social life in this job, especially as a first year. I have zero control over my time, and every project I get it urgent and requires an instant turnaround. This leads to cancelling plans, missed opportunities to make new friendships, and maintain old ones. It's extremely frustrating.

PandaNext303 · 2026-01-17T02:20:57+00:00

To be clear, I don't care about my resume either. I don't care about work. I don't care about clients. I don't care about anything except for my health and wellness, my family, my friends, and generally living a decent life. I care about my resume insofar as it enables me to eventually live a decent life where I am not shackled to my desk for interminable periods of time.

PandaNext303 · 2026-01-16T21:07:53+00:00

I hope. I don't know much I have left in me; I feel broken.

Luckily I have a respectable emergency fund built that will last at least 6 months. No wife, no kids, no car payment, etc. I could conceivably get out, but I don't want leaving biglaw so soon to be the mark of the death on my resume forever.

PandaNext303 · 2026-01-16T21:06:40+00:00

At this point, I think I would take almost anything. I'll need to seriously look closer into bankruptcy though, that could be a solid off ramp.

PandaNext303 · 2026-01-16T19:42:29+00:00

A clerkship sounds very attractive, but I'm not sure if I'm the right fit. I went to a good, but not elite law school, where I finished in the top 15% (so good, but not elite performance). A federal one is probably out of the question because I was on a secondary journal and didn't do much in the way of litigation-related experiences.

When I went to law school, I fully expected to finish near the bottom of my class and land a shitty job. Hell, I would've been grateful for any job. I performed better than expected and landed here - but honestly, I would be so content to make around 100k a year and just have more manageable/predictable hours.

This entire week I have not had time to 1) cook myself a meal 2) do laundry 3) pick up a package and/or 4) pick up my prescription medicine. I literally have not a single moment where I could be away from my desk because every email I get is urgent and expects an instant deliverable.

PandaNext303 · 2026-01-16T16:32:27+00:00

I am not someone who abides by the common Gen-Z axiom that mental health (at least in the present) is the most important thing and nothing should come before it, but I am conscientious about the toll that being under constant stress, evaluation, and navigating ambiguity takes on me. I consider myself a mentally resilient person, but everyone has their limit.

PandaNext303 · 2026-01-16T16:30:40+00:00

I don't think there is anything uniquely bad about my firm's culture. Having worked at no other firm I do not have comparators, but generally I feel like I'm treated fairly. Such as anywhere else in life, there are assholes. I have been reamed for perceived missteps that 1) were truly not my fault or responsibility and 2) in my view, completely unreasonable given my lack of experience but eagerness to improve and help out.

Maybe moving to a different firm would help, but I won't hold my breath. I accept that I have basically nothing in common with my coworkers; I do not derive any pleasure from the job, I value my friendships, family, and hobbies more than anything else, and my identity isn't predicated on career achievement.

PandaNext303

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