Applied Research Project

Britton Anderson

Attorney Working in Washington

DC and Los Angeles

Conclusions
The monthly cost of living in DC is
$4,522.61, which is less than the
$5,178.34 it would take to live in Los
Angeles
However, since attorneys currently
make $3,028.75 more in Los Angeles
per month, the smarter financial
decision would be Los Angeles

Law School vs. No Law

School

Law School

A year of Law School at

Wake Forest = $43,424
(3
Years)*(43,424)=$130,2
72 in student debt
Lawyer Starting Salary=
$82,330
Approximate 5-year
Income after paying off
Law School

Bachelors
Degree

If I choose not to
attend Law
School, I would
work as a
paralegal, with a
starting salary of
$43,350
Approximate 5year Income

Median
$216,750
Salary:

Median

Salary:
$281,378
$159,180
$68,260
Given this information, if I wanted to work in the legal
field, the smarter plan would be to go to Law School, as
I would have a higher gross income as a lawyer after 5
years, even when accounting for graduate school costs.

Possible Positions with a Law School

Education

Law Professor- $109,980 annually

Divorce Lawyer- $56,000 annually
Judge- $155,756 annually
Real Estate Attorney- $134,909
annually
Managing Attorney- $188,895
The bottom line is that there are many different occupational
opportunities after law school, with many even unrelated to the
practice itself, meaning the skills acquire during these three
years are transferable to many different career paths.