Lawyers

Surprise! Surprise! Lawyer Named High-Paying Miserable Job

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By Teresa Lo

Posted on April 10, 2017

Summary: Time Magazine said that lawyer is one of the most soul-crushing, high-paying jobs out there.

There have been numerous studies that found lawyers turn to drugs and alcohol because their jobs suck. Now Time Magazine is joining in on the lawyer-bashing party train, and they listed the profession as one of the five worst high-paying jobs in the country.

First-year law associates at big firms can earn anywhere from $160,000 to $180,000 per year, and even big city attorneys who don’t land these coveted positions can still take home a low-six figure salary. While the money is obviously nice, it doesn’t correlate to happiness. With those fat paychecks come long hours, competitive environments, and decreased social interaction, leading to a miserable, anxiety-filled existence which leads to the aforementioned alcoholism and drug use.

Time said that lawyers also suffer from mental health issues. In a study conducted by John Hopkins University, they found that lawyers have the highest depression rate out of 100 professions, including dentistry which is notorious for its members taking their own lives. According to the study, attorneys are 3.6 times more likely to get depressed compared to those with other jobs.

Besides attorneys, dentists, physicians, sales managers, and junior investment bankers were named the other most miserable money makers.

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Dentists were unhappy, Time said, because they graduate with around $200,000 in student loans and their jobs are viewed as less prestigious as their physician friends, who are apparently feeling wretched too.

Physicians earn on average $150,000 to $500,000, depending on their location and specialty. While they are generally well-respected by the community, unlike lawyers and dentists who get shit on by bad jokes, physicians are morose because of the administrative red tape, something that ironically gives depressed healthcare attorneys job stability. That feeling of dissatisfaction leads male doctors to commit suicide at a rate of 70% more than other professions, according to a study by the American Society for Suicide Prevention.

Next on Time’s list are junior investment bankers, who make great salaries with potential to earn millions down the line. While money is obviously a motivator for these folks, they’re becoming disenchanted with their profession because their work has started to feel in vain.

“The banks had this social contract with young people: Give us two years of your lives, don’t see your friends, chain yourself to your desk, but we will give you this glorious life where you’re making many times what you could ever imagine,” author Kevin Roose said. “But now that contract is being broken.”

The fifth most miserable high-paying job on Times’ list is sales manager because “being in sales is hard.” The average paycheck for a sales manager is $123,140 a year, but they can’t enjoy their money because of the boredom, pressure, and emptiness that being in charge brings.