Here are the basics of my situation:
-I just graduated law school in 2014.
-I obtained an associate position at a very good but small firm in a low COL area in Ohio.
-I really like the work I'm doing, the flexible hours, and the people I work with, but...
-My salary is only $47,500 per year.
On top of all that, I graduated with about $150,000 in student loan debt. I have this down to $145,000 and feel like I'm making great strides on reducing my debt (my goal is to target specific high interest rate loans be down to $135,000 by the end of the year).
In my previous posts, many people have suggested to increase my income via a second job or lateraling to a new firm in a market that pays higher (Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Columbus). This sounded great to me, so I started doing a lot of research on nearby firms, what it takes to lateral, side jobs for lawyers, other miscellaneous second jobs, etc.
Unfortunately, I've come to the realization that this has negatively affected my attitude at work. I am less efficient at work because I am always reading about nearby firms. I am constantly thinking about second incomes (construction work, landscaping, etc.) and haven't been able to focus my time and attention towards my files and my clients (I actually completely missed a hearing a couple weeks ago...luckily the defendant didn't appear either and it wasn't a big deal). And most importantly, this has resulted in a slight reduction in billable hours.
Thus, today, I am committed to focusing on just doing a great job now and be grateful that I have a job (I'd guess that only 60% of new graduates actually obtain a job). I ordered four books on Amazon about being the best young lawyer possible, and all of these focus on essential lawyering skills (legal writing, client development, building a practice, and the keys to becoming a partner). I feel like this is step one to start investing in myself to hope to see long term results.
After all this rambling, I guess my question is this: am I better off investing in myself by working as hard as possible at my current firm and educating myself about being a great lawyer; or, given my substantial debt, should I still continue to look for side money?
I feel like investing in myself is a long term investment that could pay off enormously in the future. But, at the same time, this debt is taking away almost 50% of net income every month and is drastically restricting my ability to save for retirement.
So, what do you think? Invest in my career or second income?