Given the relationship between employment and the ability to make student loan payments, we were curious of any associations between expected debt and expected employment setting. As a general proposition, jobs in large law firms tend to pay more than jobs in government and non-profit and in small firm or solo practice. Therefore, job expectations, which are by no means perfect predictors of jobs opportunities, could nonetheless have implications on the ability of students to manage their debt.
In 2011 and 2015, respondents who expected more than $80,000 in debt were least likely to expect to work in large law firms—the highest paying sector. Conversely, respondents who expected no debt or less than $40,000 in debt were most likely to expect large law firm jobs. Expectations of jobs in government and non-profit sectors were more balanced, but respondents expecting no debt were noticeably less likely to expect to work in these sectors. No definitive conclusions can be drawn from these trends alone. But they provide useful insights into student expectations and possibly can help portend job trends. [i]
[i]. Employment Expectations by Expected Debt Level
2006
| Gov’t/Non-profit | Firm-Large | Firm-Medium | Firm-Small | Solo | |
| 0 | 27% | 19% | 22% | 15% | 3% |
| $1-$40K | 30% | 18% | 22% | 16% | 2% |
| $40,001-$80K | 31% | 15% | 23% | 17% | 2% |
| $80,001-$120K | 29% | 15% | 25% | 19% | 2% |
| > $120K | 28% | 19% | 25% | 17% | 2% |
2011
| Gov’t/Non-profit | Firm-Large | Firm-Medium | Firm-Small | Solo | |
| 0 | 28% | 15% | 18% | 17% | 3% |
| $1-$40K | 33% | 13% | 19% | 17% | 2% |
| $40,001-$80K | 34% | 11% | 20% | 18% | 3% |
| $80,001-$120K | 35% | 9% | 19% | 18% | 3% |
| > $120K | 35% | 9% | 17% | 19% | 3% |
2015
| Gov’t/Non-profit | Firm-Large | Firm-Medium | Firm-Small | Solo | |
| 0 | 29% | 17% | 20% | 16% | 3% |
| $1-$40K | 34% | 15% | 18% | 17% | 4% |
| $40,001-$80K | 35% | 12% | 18% | 18% | 4% |
| $80,001-$120K | 34% | 10% | 19% | 20% | 4% |
| > $120K | 35% | 12% | 17% | 19% | 5% |