Tell me I'm [expletive] crazy

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lukethedrifter
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Re: Tell me I'm [expletive] crazy

Post by lukethedrifter »

a_smith wrote:Another thought for you would be to get trained as a paralegal. I have no idea what they make in St louis, but the ones at my wife's law firm make close to 100k with bonus at the end of the year.

I would echo what GeddyWrox says and add a teaching gig is pretty good for family life. Yes it it is amazingly hard work, but you can be there to spend time with your kids around after school and in summers.

Law is not known for family friendly hours.
Nurse practitioner is similar in that it can be really great pay with much less time and money invested than MD.

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Smith Corks One
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Re: Tell me I'm [expletive] crazy

Post by Smith Corks One »

a_smith wrote:Another thought for you would be to get trained as a paralegal. I have no idea what they make in St louis, but the ones at my wife's law firm make close to 100k with bonus at the end of the year.

I would echo what GeddyWrox says and add a teaching gig is pretty good for family life. Yes it it is amazingly hard work, but you can be there to spend time with your kids around after school and in summers.

Law is not known for family friendly hours.
Not sure where you are, but when I Google average paralegal salary St. Louis, I get between $43,000 and $53,000 depending on the site. Not sure how accurate that is. You also mentioned with bonus, so maybe that's just base salary; it's something worth looking into.

Lots of good advice and opinions here from all, so thanks. The thing that's appealing about the SLU evening program option is that it's a relatively low-risk option, especially if they would pay a lot of the tuition, since I would keep my teaching job the whole time and still get my current loans forgiven before I finish the program. A lot of things to think about still.

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heyzeus
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Re: Tell me I'm [expletive] crazy

Post by heyzeus »

a_smith wrote:Another thought for you would be to get trained as a paralegal. I have no idea what they make in St louis, but the ones at my wife's law firm make close to 100k with bonus at the end of the year.

I would echo what GeddyWrox says and add a teaching gig is pretty good for family life. Yes it it is amazingly hard work, but you can be there to spend time with your kids around after school and in summers.

Law is not known for family friendly hours.

It is not. Yesterday I was working from 8:30 am to 11:20 pm.

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Tim
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Re: Tell me I'm [expletive] crazy

Post by Tim »

lukethedrifter wrote:
a_smith wrote:Another thought for you would be to get trained as a paralegal. I have no idea what they make in St louis, but the ones at my wife's law firm make close to 100k with bonus at the end of the year.

I would echo what GeddyWrox says and add a teaching gig is pretty good for family life. Yes it it is amazingly hard work, but you can be there to spend time with your kids around after school and in summers.

Law is not known for family friendly hours.
Nurse practitioner is similar in that it can be really great pay with much less time and money invested than MD.
Physician's Assistant better than a NP IMO

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a_smith
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Re: Tell me I'm [expletive] crazy

Post by a_smith »

Smith Corks One wrote:
a_smith wrote:Another thought for you would be to get trained as a paralegal. I have no idea what they make in St louis, but the ones at my wife's law firm make close to 100k with bonus at the end of the year.

I would echo what GeddyWrox says and add a teaching gig is pretty good for family life. Yes it it is amazingly hard work, but you can be there to spend time with your kids around after school and in summers.

Law is not known for family friendly hours.
Not sure where you are, but when I Google average paralegal salary St. Louis, I get between $43,000 and $53,000 depending on the site. Not sure how accurate that is. You also mentioned with bonus, so maybe that's just base salary; it's something worth looking into.

Lots of good advice and opinions here from all, so thanks. The thing that's appealing about the SLU evening program option is that it's a relatively low-risk option, especially if they would pay a lot of the tuition, since I would keep my teaching job the whole time and still get my current loans forgiven before I finish the program. A lot of things to think about still.
in chicago, but google list the same paralegal salary for chicago and st louis

That is the average salary. That includes the ones at [expletive] mom and pop lawfirms and the nicer salaries at the big law firms. It also throws all paralegals into the same bunch. They work they do varies as does the pay. The ones that are skilled get paid more.

I didn't think to mention this before, but a lot of scholarships will only work for full time students (evening students and part time students get the shaft). Be sure to look into that.

Also, even if you only want to go to SLU night program, apply a few more places so that you can use other aid packages as leverage. Financial aid packages are not fixed in stone. If you have a good LSAT score you improve the school's stats and the more desirable you are.

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pioneer98
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Re: Tell me I'm [expletive] crazy

Post by pioneer98 »

If you really do like teaching, that's a big plus. It's hard to put a dollar value on that. Everything has a price I guess but that's a pretty big deal - to be in a profession that you like.

I am almost the same age and I'm also having thoughts of changing careers. But for me, money is not the issue, it's that I don't find my job very fulfilling and I don't have any ambition to climb the ladder. If I don't like it now, taking on more responsibility would be even less fulfilling, and the pay increase is not enough for it to make it worth it (my view of this is very similar view to your view of teaching administration).

The other difference is that I already have 3 kids, so taking a pay decrease would be extremely hard. In order for me to make it work, my wife would probably have to find a job with better pay than she has now, and also actual benefits (mainly health insurance). That way we could live off her insurance while I either went to school or worked on growing a business. It would be way too expensive to buy health insurance for a family of 5 elsewhere. Soon our youngest kids will be in grade school, so that will decrease our daycare bill, which would help. If around that time my wife could also find a better job, that would be the time for me to take the plunge. Maybe. I also think about these things because with all the changes happening in the economy, I might have to find a new job soon, anyway. Things are not looking real great in my sector of the ol' economy.

I guess I would say if you really do like teaching, stay with it until you are 100% certain that you want to have a family and will need a pay increase. It's extremely hard these days to make a living doing something you actually like.

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Radbird
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Re: Tell me I'm [expletive] crazy

Post by Radbird »

Well, you’re definitely not crazy and not too old either. I wish I had acted on a contemplated change 20 years ago. There are two considerations - income and the satisfaction of doing something you are passionate about. I was directionless and basically fell into my corporate career. I’m good at what I do, have made good money and enjoy the relationships developed over the years. But have never loved what I do, never felt the level of fulfillment that a career shift in my 40s could have provided. Considering today’s corporate environment, I’m amazed to have survived the axe for this long. I took a position 5 years ago that no one in their right mind would want but has provided me the security to stick around until retirement. Pathetic but necessary.

So while you are considering this change, project ahead 20 years at which path you take now will have provided a higher level of satisfaction and you may have your answer.

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