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Just joined the in-house legal team of a large conglomerate as a trainee associate, Here's my actual dilemma, and I think a lot of final years/freshers might relate: through college, the goal was singular, get a good job. Now that's done, and I realize I don't actually have a framework for what comes after. No clear sense of where I want to be in 3, 5, or 10 years.
Some things I do know: I want to keep growing and working on genuinely interesting/hard problems, not just clock years. Money matters to me, want to build toward a strong earning trajectory, not just "comfortable." I'd like to eventually do an LLM abroad, but not sure when makes sense, right after a couple of years, or later once I have more seniority.
And I don't know if I should stay in-house long-term, aim to move to a different type of company altogether, or go back to firm life at some point.
Questions for people further along:
1. How did you actually figure out your 3-5-10 year plan after your first job, was it deliberate, or did it just emerge from doing the work?
2. For those in-house at large companies, did you stay long-term, or use it as a stepping stone? What made you decide either way?
3. On LLM timing, is there a real advantage to going 3-5 years in versus right after 1-2 years, beyond just admissions/scholarship optics?
4. If "good money" is a real priority (not the only one, but a real one), which paths actually get you there fastest from an in-house starting point, staying in-house and climbing, moving to a different sector, going back to a firm, or something else?
Would appreciate hearing from people who've actually navigated the "job secured, now what" phase rather than generic career advice.
Thanks 🙏