Brand new lawyers are really terrible in this regard. Out of the young lawyers I know, two are really in it because they love the law and justice. The other 95%+ are in it for money and prestige, not because they actually like doing the job.
If he's in the latter group, what he heard was "You've worked like a dog in school and now you're going to have to work 80+ hour weeks to make half as much as I do." In contrast, he's probably able to rationalize the hedge fund guy as a lottery-type combination of talent, ridiculously hard work, and luck.
Comments
Brand new lawyers are really terrible in this regard. Out of the young lawyers I know, two are really in it because they love the law and justice. The other 95%+ are in it for money and prestige, not because they actually like doing the job.
If he's in the latter group, what he heard was "You've worked like a dog in school and now you're going to have to work 80+ hour weeks to make half as much as I do." In contrast, he's probably able to rationalize the hedge fund guy as a lottery-type combination of talent, ridiculously hard work, and luck.