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I used to work in the legal field, and never met an attorney who didn't take work home. Hell, I was just a paralegal, and I did.
FYI, nonprofit, Legal Aid firm...not at all low stress, clients often in life-or-death crisis (many homeless, mentally Ill, disabled individuals in exploited situations, refugees, etc...very high-risk populations). Our minds were on clients and their wellbeing all the time...grocery store, home, etc.
I used to work in the legal field, and never met an attorney who didn't take work home. Hell, I was just a paralegal, and I did.
FYI, nonprofit, Legal Aid firm...not at all low stress, clients often in life-or-death crisis (many homeless, mentally Ill, disabled individuals in exploited situations, refugees, etc...very high-risk populations). Our minds were on clients and their wellbeing all the time...grocery store, home, etc.
I suppose it just depends on where you work. I was just going to post about a friend that works for a firm very similar to what you do who works from 9-5, rarely brings work home, more often than not goes into work late, leaves early, during the day has clients cancel so has plenty of down time, has about 2 months of PTO (and still complains ).
Some of that is what secretaries are for. Not too many people should have your email address. And so much depends on the nature of the job. If you're a staff lawyer for a non-profit, your work is going to be more laid back and your schedule 9-5, and you won't have people emailing you much, and you won't be thinking about your work when you're at home. If you do litigation, your mind will be on your cases and your arguments even when you're driving to the grocery store. There are different kinds of lawyer jobs. Same with engineers. Those who are good at their jobs and are confident don't stress out very often. They enjoy the challenges they know they can meet. A certain amount of lawyer work is paper-pushing, anyway.
I know some very successful lawyers. They have secretaries, and they're still constantly working, even at home. The phone calls/emails probably aren't from random people, but all their clients, opposing lawyers, judges, etc. Obviously they're rewarded for their long hours, but I wouldn't recommend becoming a lawyer for someone who wants a life.
I know some very successful lawyers. They have secretaries, and they're still constantly working, even at home. The phone calls/emails probably aren't from random people, but all their clients, opposing lawyers, judges, etc. Obviously they're rewarded for their long hours, but I wouldn't recommend becoming a lawyer for someone who wants a life.
Again, not all lawyer jobs are the same. All the lawyers I know have lives. Their clients don't email them, they contact them at the office the old-fashioned way: by phone. The only one who brought work home was striving to make partner, which he did at a young age, so the rest of his career he worked a 9-5 schedule. If you don't care about making partner, or if you work independently, or if you're working as an in-house lawyer for a business or organization, you live a normal life, and nobody's hounding you 24/7.
At the law firms I know, if you don't get on the track to make partner, you basically get shown the door. I don't doubt that there are some easy law jobs where you work 40 hours a week, but what's the point of going $150-200k in debt for that type of low pay? Regardless of lifestyle, the entry-level law job market is oversaturated now, so law school is a bad idea.
I am a Human Resources Director and for the most part it is a business hour job. Of course I get the night and weekend calls (I work for a 24/7 medical facility) when someone screws up but that's the exception not the rule.
I used to work in the legal field, and never met an attorney who didn't take work home. Hell, I was just a paralegal, and I did.
FYI, nonprofit, Legal Aid firm...not at all low stress, clients often in life-or-death crisis (many homeless, mentally Ill, disabled individuals in exploited situations, refugees, etc...very high-risk populations). Our minds were on clients and their wellbeing all the time...grocery store, home, etc.
Not the type of non-profit I had in mind. That's just one type among many.
At the law firms I know, if you don't get on the track to make partner, you basically get shown the door. I don't doubt that there are some easy law jobs where you work 40 hours a week, but what's the point of going $150-200k in debt for that type of low pay? Regardless of lifestyle, the entry-level law job market is oversaturated now, so law school is a bad idea.
Not everyone goes into debt for law school. Some people work after undergrad, and go to law school later in life, when they can pay for it with their savings + part-time work. If you're married and your spouse makes good money, a basic law job pays just fine. Some firms are too big for everyone to make partner, it's not realistic or expected. Those at the top don't want to share the revenues with too many partners, anyway. The field isn't all about making partner in someone's firm. It's not unusual for lawyers to set up an independent practice after putting in a few years at a firm, or to work as in-house legal counsel for a corporation. Or to start a small firm with some friends or colleagues. Some lawyers become judges. There are many variations to this profession.
Im looking for either a major or career where you can leave work at work.
Law Enforcement and lawyer is 24/7
Health care is 24/7
I am neither a lawyer nor a doctor but there are 3 lawyers, 4 doctors, 2 vets and 1 dentist in my family. One can choose the type of law or healthcare work which does not require to be 24/7. For example, one of my sisters decided to have her own law office handling wills, estates etc. so that she has control over her time. One of my brothers chose to be an emergency physician so he is not on call and can do whatever he wants in his free time. The other brother switched from family practice to dermatology for the same reason. The dentist job rarely requires to be in contact with the patients off hours.
Then you have the opposite case where one's job is not required to be 24/7 but one does so because he/she is a workaholic or committed to the job. My other lawyer sister is a patent lawyer for a corporation. She has her work laptop with her all the time!!!!. My daughter is a vet. She does not have to be on call 24/7, and is not required to be in contact with the owners of her patients. However, when I was on a vacation with her last October, she called the owners to check up on her patients. We thought that it was wonderful that she cared for the animals in her charge.
For other types of jobs/careers held by myself and other family members (scientists, engineers, accountants, programmers), again they vary with the nature of the jobs, personal preference, and the 24/7 commitment can be just periodical. I don't think that one can be valued at work or advance well in one's career without willing to work 24/7 sometimes when needed.
Bottom line is that there are variations in job commitment based on the nature of the job and your preferred work habit. If you are not cut out to be a 24/7 person, you may be limited to certain type of jobs but not certain careers or fields of work.
Last edited by BellaDL; 03-13-2015 at 01:31 PM..
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