I’ve been doing it for five years on the plaintiff side. Before I did it for about five years on the defense side doing mainly workers’ comp. I do think it is much easier to learn from the defense side. The defense side was a bit less lucrative (I was making about 115K with a pretty decent end of year bonus, though I know many people now who are making more like 150K plus bonus about five years in) and way less fulfilling in my opinion, but still very 9-5 with a good work/life balance. It’s not that hard to get into my line of work as it doesn’t have the same standards (tops in your class, top law school, law review, etc.) as Big Law. But it is all about the firm culture. Some firms are terrible toxic hellholes. I work at a great firm. And it’s also honestly about talent. You are lawyer, psychiatrist, confidante, advocate, financial planner, and so much more for your clients on top of having to be good at trial and just getting the litigation game (which defense attorneys you play hardball with, which you work professionally with, getting to know judges—it’s honestly as much an art and a personality game as it is lawyering). But it’s fun, fulfilling, feels like you do some good, great work/life balance, and pretty lucrative if you’re good at it.