Why “Every Job Sucks” Is Bad Advice for Lawyers Who Hate Their Jobs

“There’s a reason they call it a job.” “If it was fun, everyone would do it.” “The grass isn’t always greener.” Lawyers who hate their jobs hear some version of this all the time from people outside of the legal profession, usually when they are trying to explain just how miserable their work has become. There is a kernel of truth in the idea that every job involves some amount of work, frustration, and things you would rather not do. The problem is that every job does not suck in the way that being a lawyer can suck. For lawyers who have tied suffering to working hard or doing a good job, that distinction can be especially hard to see. In this episode of The Former Lawyer Podcast, Sarah Cottrell talks about why “every job sucks” is bad advice for lawyers who hate their jobs, what can make legal work uniquely unpleasant, and why believing that suffering is simply part of having a job can make it harder to imagine something better. 0:30 - Hearing “there’s a reason they call it a job” from people outside the law 2:01 - The kinds of misery that can make legal work uniquely unpleasant 3:02 - Why every job does not suck in the way being a lawyer can 4:42 - When lawyers start believing work is supposed to involve suffering 5:49 - Questioning whether worthwhile work can exist without mental and emotional suffering 6:25 - Using therapy to unpack the belief that suffering is part of working hard 7:46 - You do not have to suffer in your job 8:23 - Exploring what might be a better fit despite what other people say Mentioned In Why “Every Job Sucks” Is Bad Advice for Lawyers Who Hate Their Jobs First Steps to Leaving the Law