The actual average salary for a lawyer in the United States is a little bit tricky to mention because most lawyers, after graduating from law school, often open up their very own private practice. If you are considering a career change, law is one of the most lucrative careers you can think of, especially during this present global financial crisis. After earning a law degree (not necessarily a Harvard law degree) you will discover that there is a whole lot of employment opportunities. So if you are an aspiring law student, it is very important that you know what kind of money you would be making each year as a lawyer.
Like many jobs that require that you get a college or university degree, a lawyers starting salary is pretty high, say about $57,000 per year but remember that as the years go by and you keep gaining lots of experience you will definitely earn more than that.
These days, law schools are producing more and more law graduates each year and the competition to become gainfully employed in a prestigious law firm is becoming more intense. In order to get ahead of the pack and really maximize your law degrees earning potential, you need to specialize is a specific legal field and immediately make your mark in a firm that really needs your expertise.
3 Different Categories of Lawyers and Their Average Salaries
1)The First Category
This category of lawyers earns the highest salaries among other lawyers who practice law. These lawyers are known to work with different companies and enterprises (in their management fields). What they basically do is to provide legal counsel to different types of manufacturing or electronic companies.
An average salary of these attorneys is pretty close to about $130,000 per year.
2)The Second Category
These second categories of lawyers that earn the second highest income per year are the lawyers who are hired to work for the United States Federal Government and the governments legal services. These lawyers earn an average salary of over $100,000 per year.
Please note that the lawyers who work for the state or local government do not earn as much as the lawyers who work for the Federal Government.
3)The Third Category
This category of lawyers are self-employed, they decided to open up their own private practice after graduating law school or after working briefly in a law firm. The income earned by these lawyers primarily depends on the following:
-Geographical location of the firm
-What areas of law they specialize in
-The experience of the lawyer
For instance, a law firm located somewhere in a rural area and specializes in real estate and probate laws is definitely not likely to earn more money than a law firm that specializes in personal injury or medical malpractice law (and is located in a top urban area).
As a rookie lawyer, you must understand that it is very important that you enjoy your job because lawyers are known to undergo a lot of physical and emotional stress because they have to work pretty long hours especially if they are working a really big case.