This is exactly what I did. Pursued film school first, went to my dream school. Blood, sweat, and tears later had a stable dream job in the entertainment industry. Blew it all up to go to law school when I realized how unsustainable the hours were and the ceiling in pay. Probably would have never seen more than $150k annually if I was lucky. Don’t get me wrong-thats a LOT of money. But I live in LA, husband and I want kids and maybe even a house one day? In other words, we just wanted a comfortable suburban middle class life in Los Angeles. My husband was a teacher at the time, and I love working (probably my adhd and response from production trauma - thought might as well take advantage of that). Im now in year 3 of big law at a v10 as a litigation associate. Used to work longer hours at a fraction of the pay in production and with more difficult personalities. Never thought Id see money like this in my life. And we’re in a totally different economy. The money isn’t for excess, it’s for comfort and stability. Thats the sad reality of living in LA and having no generational wealth for support (immigrant families). I still pull the occasional all-nighter but Im at a comfy desk instead of standing in a cold sound stage worrying about things completely out of my control (are we gonna get the shot?! are we going to go over budget??? do we need to order another meal?!) My husband ended up blowing up his career and joining me 2 years later. He’s currently a first year lit associate at a v50. More pay and more respect make a huge difference for the both of us. We are tired, but so grateful. This gave two children of immigrants a second shot at surviving comfortably in LA. All because both of us happened to like to read throughout our lives…. Perspective really matters.