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Comment by Gud

3 months ago

It’s not out of jealousy.

Many people believe investment bankers are a net negative for society.

In the case of lawyers, a necessary evil. I have respect for people, not a profession.

To be fair, the term "lawyer" is generic in the US. It can mean many different things: (1) in-house corporate counsel, (2) external corporate counsel (advise on merge/acq/deals/contract), (3) civil lawyer (sue/divorce/personal injury/intellectual property, etc.), (4) defender (public or private), (5) public prosecutor (work for attorney general office), (6) law professor, (7) judge (Can you be a judge in US without a law degree? It seems hard to imagine in 2025.). And there must be other categories that I forgot. My point: Most people will have differing views on each category. Example: Most people would view public defenders, law professors, and judges as honorable, socially beneficial jobs.

  • Indeed. And this is an interesting counterpoint to the idea that higher income (always) confers status. Because the corporate jobs will typically be higher paid but lower status.