Emily Hayes knew what she was signing up for when she grew to become a lawyer.
Long hours, troublesome shoppers and billing pressures are synonymous with the job. Yet, for Hayes, the mental problem and the possibility to assist individuals made these sacrifices really feel worthwhile.
What she did not anticipate was how rapidly burnout would set in — or how a lot her job would overshadow different elements of her life.
Hayes, 32, graduated from Stanford Law School in 2019. She spent the following two years working at a big worldwide legislation agency in Redwood Shores, California, adopted by a place as a federal district court docket legislation clerk in Portland, Oregon.
In October 2021, she joined O’Melveny & Myers, a big legislation agency in Los Angeles, as an affiliate.
After years of shifting between jobs and cities, Hayes was optimistic about this new chapter in her profession.
Her colleagues have been supportive, the assignments have been partaking and the pay was beneficiant. By the time she turned 30, Hayes was incomes over $300,000 a yr.
Yet, beneath the floor, the grind was taking a toll.
Her “breaking level” got here in April 2023. Hayes discovered herself working extra time on a Saturday morning to arrange for an arbitration, simply hours after leaving the workplace at 11 p.m. the evening earlier than. She was getting ready for a serious trial, however her stress and exhaustion had been constructing for months.
That morning, as she stared at her laptop display, she broke down. She recollects, “I began sobbing” as a result of somebody near her was going by a troublesome time, and she or he regretted being on the workplace as an alternative of supporting them at dwelling.
“It felt like I had to decide on between exhibiting up for my job in the best way that was anticipated of me and exhibiting up for the individuals I like in the best way that I wished to,” she tells CNBC Make It. “I panicked concerning the stress between the 2.”
Hayes provides, “Working at a legislation agency could make your life so unpredictable. You can by no means depend on free time within the evenings or logging off earlier than 10 p.m. I feel you actually have to like the work you are doing to make that trade-off of your time really feel value it.”
At that second, Hayes made a silent promise to herself — that she’d discover a new job inside a yr.
Switching from legislation to tech
That spring, Hayes started reaching out to former classmates and colleagues for recommendation. Through these conversations, she discovered a few rising profession path throughout the authorized sector: product counseling.
Product counsel roles, significantly widespread in Silicon Valley, contain working in-house at tech corporations to supply authorized and regulatory steering on services.
Unlike conventional legislation agency roles, product counsel positions typically mix authorized experience with enterprise technique. “You’re rather less within the weeds with the legislation and far more concerned in enterprise technique, which I’ve all the time been actually curious about,” Hayes explains.
In October, a Stanford classmate talked about that the tech firm she labored for in San Francisco was hiring for product counsel positions.
The job got here with two trade-offs: Hayes would want to relocate to San Francisco, and the bottom wage was about $220,000 in further to an annual bonus, beginning after her first yr, of as much as 15% of her whole pay, relying on her efficiency and different firm metrics.
This represented a major pay lower from her legislation agency wage — about $150,000 lower than her present earnings of $370,000 (comprised of $295,000 base pay and a $75,000 bonus) and $200,000 lower than the $435,000 she would have earned the next yr as a fifth-year affiliate with wage and bonus will increase.
However, the function promised a extra balanced way of life: a constant 40-hour workweek, the pliability to make money working from home two days every week, and the chance to advise on cutting-edge applied sciences like AI and cloud computing.
After cautious consideration, Hayes determined the lower salary was a small value to pay for her well-being and a contemporary begin in an thrilling new area.
She utilized for the place in October 2023, acquired her provide letter in December, and began her new job in January 2024.
Her colleagues at O’Melveny & Myers have been “actually variety and supportive” of her choice, Hayes says. To facilitate a easy transition, she created an in depth record of her ongoing instances and a prompt succession plan for her departure from the agency.
Living on a tighter funds
Adjusting to the six-figure pay lower was “a lot tougher” than Hayes had anticipated.
With her earlier earnings, Hayes says she may “spend with out a lot thought or stress,” whether or not ordering takeout a number of instances every week or making important funds on her scholar loans with out worrying about having sufficient cash left for hire.
Now, making about $150,000 lower than she was a yr in the past, Hayes says she has needed to pay nearer consideration to her month-to-month spending and saving, whereas additionally holding herself accountable to a funds.
Last yr, she began making TikToks to doc her budgeting efforts and collect recommendation from different professionals in related conditions.
“I’m actually lucky that I nonetheless make sufficient to dwell comfortably,” says Hayes, who provides that her residing bills are barely increased after shifting from L.A. to San Francisco. “The greatest change with this pay lower, something, has simply been shifting my mindset round cash — I spotted I needed to suppose exhausting about my purchases even once they did not appear extravagant.”
‘Having that freedom and that stability has been priceless’
Now, as she approaches her first anniversary on the tech firm (which she has chosen to not identify), Hayes says she’s “actually glad.”
For Hayes, the $150,000 pay lower wasn’t a sacrifice; it was an funding in her well being, her relationships, and her future. In the primary 5 years of her legislation profession, she typically struggled with sleep deprivation and stress
“I could not flip my thoughts off,” she says. “I had bother falling asleep at evening and developed persistent jaw ache — however from the second I give up my previous job, all of these signs disappeared … it is loopy.”
The hardest a part of her new gig, she says, has been determining spend her all of a sudden free evenings and weekends.
“I’m spending extra time with mates on weeknights, going to Pilates, selecting up new hobbies, I purchased a stitching machine,” she says. “Having that freedom and that stability has been priceless.”
