Lawyer Salaries - Help me (1 Viewer)

inJust

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Yeah, don't do law for the money. Be a teacher, make 120k a year at the age of 28.
 

Omnidragon

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IB is an equally tedious way to make $$, albeit slightly better.

There're 29 year olds out there buying $40m with their own hands (nope, no inheritance). Or 29 year olds out there with 72 houses (self-made again). If money was your goal, you should be finding out how to emulate these people, rather than emulating 45 year olds who would rather not be doing what they're doing if they had a choice.
 

Spiritual Being

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Many law grads have to volunteer for a few months or even years to get some experience. My brother who tried to talk me out of Law and his class mates are not clearing $80,000 to $90,000 after 6 or 7 years work experience. The average income for a solicitor in Sydney in say Family Law or Wills and Estates is only around $70K after many years of experience. If you want money consider Geology. Every man and his dog has a law degree so it pushes wages down. Law grads are also their own worst enemies because they do not have a union the same way nurses or other professions do so they are at the mercy of these firms. Also it is important to know that most of the people who were academically brilliant often do not have any of the street smarts that is required to practice in some areas. Some of our lecturers are advising us to consider alternatives to some of the top tier firms for Graduate roles. Many of the the grads at these firms who give 110% are burned out and leave the practice of law altogether within 24 months. Only 5 per cent of these Graduates at these firms will eventually make partner. Most of these academically brilliant Grads end up as journeymen solicitors. Sometimes its better to consider a graduate position which is going to give you experience and a better lifestyle compared with photocopying millions of pages of discovered documents for 15 hours a day.
Tell me more about geology.
 

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If you did law only for the money, you're in for a terrible surprise.

An even worse surprise if you did a Commerce degree also and learnt about concepts such as 'opportunity cost' and 'NPV'
 

Drifting95

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IB is an equally tedious way to make $$, albeit slightly better.

There're 29 year olds out there buying $40m with their own hands (nope, no inheritance). Or 29 year olds out there with 72 houses (self-made again). If money was your goal, you should be finding out how to emulate these people, rather than emulating 45 year olds who would rather not be doing what they're doing if they had a choice.
Nathan Birch? Seems familiar
 

lordfraction

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IB is an equally tedious way to make $$, albeit slightly better.

There're 29 year olds out there buying $40m with their own hands (nope, no inheritance). Or 29 year olds out there with 72 houses (self-made again). If money was your goal, you should be finding out how to emulate these people, rather than emulating 45 year olds who would rather not be doing what they're doing if they had a choice.
Most people don't have the entrepreneurial spirit or creativity to emulate them
 

Omnidragon

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Nathan Birch? Seems familiar
Yes Nathan Birch.

Although I actually don't find it that impressive as he buys pretty mediocre locations and probably has a lot of vacancies.

I know a few who had made more passive rental income than him, younger than him and got there a bit earlier at around 24-25.

Last I chatted to Nathan online (which was a year or so ago), I think I matched his rental income (from memory) with far less properties (and less headaches arguably). If yield was an issue, I'd just buy a CBD freehold and build another floor on. While the freehold might only come in at 5% yield, the extra floor will generate around 20-30% yield so you'd end up getting Nathan's 10% yield anyway but in much better locations, such as in the middle of George St or Pitt St.
 
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SuchSmallHands

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I think that by getting in with top tier firms early you really increase your chances of graduating to a high salary. I took an eight hour bus trip to Sydney to do my year ten work experience (yes, it is stupid and largely redundant but everything helps as the lovely PR manager informed me) at one of the fancy law firms on the table up there ^ (ok, so it was the one at the bottom, but it's still there!) and while I was there I got a lot of really good advice on how to get into firms like that. A lot of the administrative assistants were fourth/fifth year law students, many of whom were promised positions upon graduation. They also had a summer clerk there who, provided he didn't mess up too notably, was guaranteed a job when he graduated. What's more, I actually found that I really liked the place (whether I would after a fourteen hour day is another matter though). It had great people, swish coffee machines on every floor and was on the same street as Tiffany's, Dior, Prada, etc. (more importantly, very close to the lindt chocolate cafe on martin place). Having a place that you like and aspire to eventually get into is not only motivating in your HSC/Uni but knowing where you want to go helps you get there sooner. I'd check a few of the top places out if you could and try to 'get your foot in the door', so to speak, if it's possible.
 

albertcamus

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I think that by getting in with top tier firms early you really increase your chances of graduating to a high salary. I took an eight hour bus trip to Sydney to do my year ten work experience (yes, it is stupid and largely redundant but everything helps as the lovely PR manager informed me) at one of the fancy law firms on the table up there ^ (ok, so it was the one at the bottom, but it's still there!) and while I was there I got a lot of really good advice on how to get into firms like that. A lot of the administrative assistants were fourth/fifth year law students, many of whom were promised positions upon graduation. They also had a summer clerk there who, provided he didn't mess up too notably, was guaranteed a job when he graduated. What's more, I actually found that I really liked the place (whether I would after a fourteen hour day is another matter though). It had great people, swish coffee machines on every floor and was on the same street as Tiffany's, Dior, Prada, etc. (more importantly, very close to the lindt chocolate cafe on martin place). Having a place that you like and aspire to eventually get into is not only motivating in your HSC/Uni but knowing where you want to go helps you get there sooner. I'd check a few of the top places out if you could and try to 'get your foot in the door', so to speak, if it's possible.
LOL
 

Spiritual Being

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I am graduating from UWS and I have already started my legal career before I have even completed my HSC.

I am on my way to the 'big bucks' and certainly not on my way on a bus trip to 'centrelink' with a UWS piece of paper.

To make good money in law, you have to be:

Manipulative
Know what you are doing
Make yourself well known
Work for the right clients
Work in the right field

Pretty much, be the devil. (OD)

Weird how this is my 666th post, providing validity to the information presented herein.
 
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Aerath

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Jesus Christ, the amount of misinformation in here is amazing.
 

Omnidragon

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I think that by getting in with top tier firms early you really increase your chances of graduating to a high salary. I took an eight hour bus trip to Sydney to do my year ten work experience (yes, it is stupid and largely redundant but everything helps as the lovely PR manager informed me) at one of the fancy law firms on the table up there ^ (ok, so it was the one at the bottom, but it's still there!) and while I was there I got a lot of really good advice on how to get into firms like that. A lot of the administrative assistants were fourth/fifth year law students, many of whom were promised positions upon graduation. They also had a summer clerk there who, provided he didn't mess up too notably, was guaranteed a job when he graduated. What's more, I actually found that I really liked the place (whether I would after a fourteen hour day is another matter though). It had great people, swish coffee machines on every floor and was on the same street as Tiffany's, Dior, Prada, etc. (more importantly, very close to the lindt chocolate cafe on martin place). Having a place that you like and aspire to eventually get into is not only motivating in your HSC/Uni but knowing where you want to go helps you get there sooner. I'd check a few of the top places out if you could and try to 'get your foot in the door', so to speak, if it's possible.
From your brief description there, I actually think you'd fit in really well at top tier firms.
 

Omnidragon

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I am graduating from UWS and I have already started my legal career before I have even completed my HSC.

I am on my way to the 'big bucks' and certainly not on my way on a bus trip to 'centrelink' with a UWS piece of paper.

To make good money in law, you have to be:

Manipulative
Know what you are doing
Make yourself well known
Work for the right clients
Work in the right field

Pretty much, be the devil. (OD)

Weird how this is my 666th post, providing validity to the information presented herein.
Why go through all that trouble when you can just sit at home, collect rent, and sip latte and look for the next buildings to buy?
 

Spiritual Being

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Why go through all that trouble when you can just sit at home, collect rent, and sip latte and look for the next buildings to buy?
On my way to the riches.

Oh, look; a guy with a 99.95 ATAR? Tell me more about how you want to do law and make the big bucks. Enjoy the rat race, kiddo.

Also, not to mention that I am am going to Hong Kong very soon; to get my favourite drink. I will also ponder as to my next project, and how to build my investment soon-to-be-hotel portfolio.
 

Drifting95

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Yes Nathan Birch.

Although I actually don't find it that impressive as he buys pretty mediocre locations and probably has a lot of vacancies.

I know a few who had made more passive rental income than him, younger than him and got there a bit earlier at around 24-25.

Last I chatted to Nathan online (which was a year or so ago), I think I matched his rental income (from memory) with far less properties (and less headaches arguably). If yield was an issue, I'd just buy a CBD freehold and build another floor on. While the freehold might only come in at 5% yield, the extra floor will generate around 20-30% yield so you'd end up getting Nathan's 10% yield anyway but in much better locations, such as in the middle of George St or Pitt St.
When you say you matched his rental income, are you talking gross or net? I too sometimes don't understand some of his purchases, check on PropertyInvesting.com and you'll see some of his previous purchases, one which was a Cairns apartment for under 50k, in a dying tourism market, high vacancies and historic high strata fees in the regions.

I think the reason why he is so hyped up is because his investment strategy has relatively cheap entry points. If i was him however with the current equity he has (around $3-5 mill i think), i would seek better locations like you stated, no point sticking with these risky rural type properties with second class tenants in all honesty.
 

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