During the time they're making that much money they're basically trapped working insane hours at one firm. Most lawyers don't even make six figures. Also, they can get disbarred if they make a mistake.
Software engineering allows for higher earnings for your entire career (though the ceiling might be lower on earnings), is less stressful and doesn't demand as many hours (in general) doesn't have a regulatory body that can take away your right to work if you get in trouble.
But I agree with your basic premise. Sure, making partner at a white shoe New York law firm is not a bad gig if you're into it and have been OK with the insane hours to get there. I did some work for one of those firms once and got pretty well paid for it (expert witness work).
But, you could also say that being an English professor can be a pretty good gig--if you're tenured at an Ivy League college. Which doesn't mean it's actually a great career choice given you're more likely to be teaching as an adjunct at a couple different community colleges or in a public high school with your expensive PhD.
[1] "Disbarment is quite rare: in 2011, only 1,046 lawyers were disbarred." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disbarment [2] https://www.rocketlawyer.com/blog/getting-disbarred-is-harde...
That kind of risk just doesn't really exist in software engineering beyond regular criminal background checks.
Then there's the work itself. I was in litigation, handling lawsuits between enormous corporations. The first few years of my career were spent in doc review 'dungeons', going through millions of pages of documents to find 'relevant' and 'hot' docs. Then as I became more senior, I was bombarded with one discovery motion after that were often filled with toxic attacks against the other side ("those bastards hid these documents! blah blah blah"). It didn't change much once I began doing 'substantial' work: litigation, by its nature, is intellectual combat. Being immersed in that kind of knife-fighting 24/7, week after week, wore me down.
Now I'm a software engineer and I love it. Work is interesting, hours are humane, and I genuinely enjoy collaborating with my colleagues to build new things.
Sure, I don't make as much as I did in law. But the evenings and weekends I can spend with my family, my mind at rest, are priceless. Plus, software engineers make plenty of money.
If you're early on in your career, I'd recommend the free only Computer Science degree (DIY route -> https://github.com/ossu/computer-science) and eventually getting a Master's if you want to go into management (or alternatively just load up on certs)
As a software developer I bring home more than some attorneys I have met. I am not working a FAANG making buckets of cash either.
Either you're an entrepreneur, and your hourly wage has to pay for all kinds of costs, including time not spent working, getting clients, equipment, training blablabla. Or you're an employee and your take-home pay can be completely detached from the pricing to your clients.
When I started my career in a legal/financial firm as a junior my hourly rate was $200 and my hourly pay was about $15, for example.
In those days I also worked a lot of overtime and chargeability requirements will drive you mad. Also in many firms you quickly specialise leading to sometimes boring work. On the one hand every legal matter is different and has its own quirks, challenges and interesting unique aspects. On the other hand, when you specialise in a certain field, you also constantly work on similar cases with similar references and jurisprudence, and you indeed often end up filling in templates for standard letters, contracts, motions etc, because the bulk of the substance will be the same over and over. Point being, the $15 an hour also came with mind-numbing work with unhealthy workhours and poor work/life balance.
That's just one of many stories, of course and all jobs have their issues. Some lawyers have a great job/life. But there's also plenty of people who may enjoy programming much more.
- the lawyer doesn't receive the full 250, half of it(?) goes to business/partnership
- afaik many lawyers under-bill their hours, i'm not sure why (beyond "competition") but it's a common practice
- the job itself may not be enjoyable at some point and you may desire more creative pursuits
- Many Lawyers under bill for fear of losing/surrendering their license [1] or squeeze in their Model Rule 6.1 hours [2]
- I'm seeing more lawyers amass some wealth, get burnt out, and then jump over to more creative or altruistic endeavours with less stress; can't blame them.
[1] https://www.thelawforlawyerstoday.com/2019/12/4739/
[2] https://www.americanbar.org/groups/legal_education/resources...
And keep in mind there are a lot of people who enter fields like law because it's the "default" thing to do if you're a good student who doesn't know what they want out of life yet.
Lots of lawyers out there who are at best bored, and at worst filled with revulsion about their day job. That's not a dig on law, but societal expectations.