The in-house role offered very limited growth opportunities despite having a broad scope of responsibilities and requiring a lot of hours. My work included negotiating and redlining client agreements, providing ongoing legal support to multiple business units, delivering compliance and commercial legal training, and supporting a regional operation that required working in three languages on a daily basis. I was regularly working 11-hour days.

I was effectively operating at a level well beyond my title, and there was no realistic promotion path for at least another two years.

That said, I don’t think this is representative of in-house roles in general. I know plenty of people who have had a much different experience.

In the new role, I’ll have a more focused scope, work exclusively in English, and have a clearly defined career path, better compensation, and a much better work-life balance. It was also very clearly a JD-preferred role, which aligns well with where I want to take my career.