I am a lawyer who has been practicing for over 20 years. The best thing I ever did - and one of the hardest - was to take a large cut in pay (over half)to quit working 60+ hours a week in a medium law firm which I hated - to become an appellate public defender - something I had always wanted to do - I have never regretted the decision. I now work for myself from home (mostly appellate work) and I teach at a law school. LAw is a fairly flexible field and, for myself, I have tried several areas until I found the ones I really liked. I am not making as much as others from my class who are partners in large law firms - but I make the house payments, feed and vet the dogs, and have a life I enjoy.