Student Loans
- Thread starter StormHawk42
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If you are lucky enough to land an associate job at a big firm in DSM, you’re probably starting in the $80-$90k range (you’re also working a crap ton of hours). Harder to gauge the smaller firms but you probably start in the $60-70k range depending on what kind of clients you’re bringing in. Rural attorneys can make good money if they have a lot of estates to settle but you really are taking whatever comes in the door.
Considering how many hours associate attorneys work, I’m so glad I didn’t go into practice, even if it meant less $$$.
It’s absolutely out of control. Even the shitty law schools where you’ll be lucky to find a legal-related job are starting to jack up tuition costs.
Starting salary at big firms in major cities is $190k. I went to school out of state, so not entirely sure about Iowa, but I don’t think there are many firms that start off as high as $100k (I only know of one firm that does). I believe most of the “bigger” firms in Iowa start off in the 80k-90k range, but I could be wrong.
The $190k salaries are usually reserved for Harvard, Yale, UVA, etc grads. Rarely will a grad from a less-than top tier school get those jobs right out of school.
Most law school graduates can expect to find a first job salary of somewhere between $60-$90k. There are exceptions, obviously, but I think this is the general range for new associates. Public Defenders, prosecutors, etc generally make less and large firms will pay more. But they will grind you down with billable hours to justify that pay.
We have $128K in loans remaining as a result of going back to school (me: MBA at an expensive school and wife (no pic) as a result of getting her Masters in field of study). Contemplating holding off further payments until this next election cycle roles through to see stances on buying votes.... I mean paying off student loan debt.
Graduated in 1994 from a small private college with a double major, BS in Business and BS in Marketing. $20k in debt. My wife graduated a year later with a BS in Social Work, also $20k in debt. We both had zero help from our parents paying for college. Both of us worked part time during school and full time during our summers to make it work. Luckily I was on a partial scholarship to help with the cost of a private school.
We paid off our loans in the same month after about 10 years of $250/mo payments each. We would pay additional principal when we could.
I would never advise anyone to go into social work and take out any kind of student loan debt. The pay is ridiculous and the burn out rate is high. My wife lasted about 4 years in the field. She’s never made over $30k per year.
We are now two years away from my son going to college and we’ve got a nice chuck of changed saved through my Deferred Comp plan at work. We make too much and will qualify for zero in financial assistance. We are encouraging our son to look at community college for two years to get his basic courses out of the way.
We paid off our loans in the same month after about 10 years of $250/mo payments each. We would pay additional principal when we could.
I would never advise anyone to go into social work and take out any kind of student loan debt. The pay is ridiculous and the burn out rate is high. My wife lasted about 4 years in the field. She’s never made over $30k per year.
We are now two years away from my son going to college and we’ve got a nice chuck of changed saved through my Deferred Comp plan at work. We make too much and will qualify for zero in financial assistance. We are encouraging our son to look at community college for two years to get his basic courses out of the way.
I think it depends on where you wind up in social work. My wife got her masters in social work so she could become an LCSW. She is now a certified oncology social worker.
I couldn't tell you what the difference is. Before I met her, I thought social workers worked for children's services or adoption agencies. She makes over $70K a year and enjoys what she does.
The really shitty thing is that you work a crap ton of hours at little grind you insurance defense shops where the partner only bills out at 175 per hour. They really need to bring back an apprenticeship program to getting a law degree. So many students would drop out if they realized their life is going to be filled with drafting reports to adjusters and spending more time drafting their narrative on their time sheets.
Last I knew, in state tuition at UI was about $25k/year and Drake was about $40k/year. Throw in $15k/year for living expenses and books.
You’ll get more scholarship opportunities at Drake but they come with strings attached (I.e. stay in the top 1/3 of the class to keep it).
Thanks for the info. Based on the time and money it takes to get a law degree, that does not sound like the most attractive field right now.
Robert F Smith pays off grads debts.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/billio...id-class-of-2019-commencement-speaker-sunday/
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/billio...id-class-of-2019-commencement-speaker-sunday/
Same line of thinking as the social work area. If someone goes to law school wanting to be a public defender and make $45k, that’s admirable but they better be damn sure they know what they’re getting themselves into and basically setting themselves up for below-middle-class status.
Sounds really shitty, I assume the pay cranks up faster than other fields.
I think someday AI will have access to every legal case in recorded history and be able to formulate legal advice on anything.
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The amount of people who are willing to rack up debts of $100k+ to go to law school these days is staggering. Unless you are top of the class from a Tier 1 school your options of landing a high paying job are not great.
I was fortunate that I got out of law school with little debt with help from parents / scholarships but I hate to hear these stories from recent law school graduates about the debt they have and how hard it is to get a job that pays enough to get the debt down quickly.
I was fortunate that I got out of law school with little debt with help from parents / scholarships but I hate to hear these stories from recent law school graduates about the debt they have and how hard it is to get a job that pays enough to get the debt down quickly.
For DDS and BS I was down about $250k. Paid it off in 8 years. Couldn't be happier to unhook that plow.
Wow - What did you do with the newfound money in your budget after year 8? Start saving it all? Big house? Hookers and blow? None of my business...Just curious.
No kids, so vacation, bought a practice, plan on retiring early.
There are still a lot of lawyers in the market. And the profession is not really what you think it is going through law school. Most jobs are in the insurance arena (insurance defense and coverage) and that can be a grind. But if you want to learn to try cases and don't mind getting beat down by adjusters, it's a good place to hang your hat for three years and then move on. If you have the stones to hang your own shingle.
I racked up ~$25,000 during my undergraduate, conferred in 1986 BS in Biology/Psych. Paid that off over 10 years or so. Interest rates were 5-10% annually on the balance, which sucked.
Racked up another $40,000 pursuing my Master's in Accounting, conferred in 2000. I think I still have ~$8,000 balance left, but I'm not in a hurry to repay it as I refinanced all my student loans in the early 2000s at 1.0% rate. I largely had to take loans out for grad school as we had two young kids and a mortgage to pay, and my T.A. job wasn't going to cover all of that and my education expenses.
Racked up another $40,000 pursuing my Master's in Accounting, conferred in 2000. I think I still have ~$8,000 balance left, but I'm not in a hurry to repay it as I refinanced all my student loans in the early 2000s at 1.0% rate. I largely had to take loans out for grad school as we had two young kids and a mortgage to pay, and my T.A. job wasn't going to cover all of that and my education expenses.
I made it through college with no loans. I worked like hell in the summer, 2 jobs. I worked a night shift during the school year. About 3 nights a week. I was an RA and eventually the Head Resident of our dorm. That was big due to room and board. And I got out of there in 4 years.
My kid on the other hand went to a private school. I ate most of it. I took out loans because the interest was 3% and I love cheap money. That was based on him earning his degree in 4 years. Otherwise no money from daddy. And my boy knows who's his daddy.
My kid on the other hand went to a private school. I ate most of it. I took out loans because the interest was 3% and I love cheap money. That was based on him earning his degree in 4 years. Otherwise no money from daddy. And my boy knows who's his daddy.
This is HROT. We are independently wealthy and our parents paid our college
My parents helped me financially through college. Something I didn’t understand at the time but now know that they saved me a huge load of debt.
I had 8,000 in student loans when I graduated. I moved back home and took on two jobs and threw as much money as I could every month.
I’ve been college debt free for like 7 years.
I had 8,000 in student loans when I graduated. I moved back home and took on two jobs and threw as much money as I could every month.
I’ve been college debt free for like 7 years.
The impact of parents helping their children cannot be understated.
For those fortunate enough to get help from their parents, I hope you pass it on.
For those fortunate enough to get help from their parents, I hope you pass it on.
Yeah, I didn't get any help from my parents. Not that they didn't want to, just no money. I will never forget them coming to see me, taking me out to a nice dinner and then buying me some groceries though. Amazing to have a fridge full of food back in those days. I lived off Ramen and peanut butter and jelly on toast.
Worked full time and sometimes 2 jobs over the summer. Still finished with 25k in debt in 2004. I have worked in personal finance most of my career, so 2008-2010 were some tough years for me. Had to defer some of my student loans. Currently still owe about 10k, but it is at 2.8%, so not concerned about it, at all.
Worked full time and sometimes 2 jobs over the summer. Still finished with 25k in debt in 2004. I have worked in personal finance most of my career, so 2008-2010 were some tough years for me. Had to defer some of my student loans. Currently still owe about 10k, but it is at 2.8%, so not concerned about it, at all.
A lot of lawyers around here....I for one have already advised some youth to learn a trade out of h.s., i.e. learn from one of the best electricians in your community. Work for a while, then hang your own shingle. By the time your body can't take it anymore, you'll be employing other young people to do the labor. There is absolutely no reason to start your adult life in 100K in debt. Obviously if you are a genius, go to school. But if you are simply looking to make money and retire at an early age with a modest lifestyle, the easy bet is to avoid burying yourself in debt.
I'm very involved with a group in Georgia focused on destimatizing the idea of skipping college in favor of a trade. We employ a lot of skilled labor positions in the commercial and multifamily real estate sectors and it's getting harder to recruit every year. We're focusing now on high schools throughout the state as well as establishing service training academies at our state and local apartment associations.
I get sick of the mentality that everyone needs to go college. Just think about how many people you know that went to college because they were told they needed to; but yet are now in jobs that they could have had anyone without the student loan debt.
I started out owing $200, two years later I got a bill from the university for $200 and I paid it.
I could have graduated debt free but the university would allow you two $100 credits during your senior year. Why not take interest free money.
Things have changed since 1971.
I could have graduated debt free but the university would allow you two $100 credits during your senior year. Why not take interest free money.
Things have changed since 1971.
Maybe it’s different elsewhere but I do think the narrative is changing somewhat, albeit slowly. Most college grads and/or professionals I know agree college isn’t for everyone and I suspect they’re passing that mentality down to their kids but idk. In addition to being taught basic finance, HS students should be required to be shown the true costs of a degree and the rate of inflation for college costs.
I "took a year off" after 2 years at U of I. I had used up all the money I saved and was at a real crossroads, changed majors twice (Engineering/Computer Science). A manager at Hy-vee told me if I took an Assistant Manager Job at Hy-vee, that it would be as good as getting a Associates Degree. He was absolutely correct. Most employers prefer a work history to a degree.
After doing that and taking the year off I went on to be a Store Manager at another retail store. I transitioned that to being a Fleet Manager for a trucking company, and now I manage an Recycling business. While my biggest regret in the world is not getting my degree, to be honest, I didn't need it. I've done better than most of my peers who did get a degree. I've felt I could of had more freedom of choices if I had a bachelors, but wouldn't trade being debt free for anything.
After doing that and taking the year off I went on to be a Store Manager at another retail store. I transitioned that to being a Fleet Manager for a trucking company, and now I manage an Recycling business. While my biggest regret in the world is not getting my degree, to be honest, I didn't need it. I've done better than most of my peers who did get a degree. I've felt I could of had more freedom of choices if I had a bachelors, but wouldn't trade being debt free for anything.
