In April 2012, I accepted a part-time offer from a top law firm. Because the department I'm in didn't have enough billable hours to justify an associate, I was hired for part-time work. Instead of billing 1950 hours a year (which requires about 70 hours of work ea. week), I'm expected to bill 1350 hours per year (which requires about 40 hours of work). That's "part-time" in the world of BigLaw.
Of course, the part-time offer also came with reduced pay.
For most of the past year, I've been busting my ass scrounging to get billable hours from anywhere or everywhere so I can bill 1950 hours this year instead of my 1350. Then I can make the case that I should be full time and enjoy the big pay bump I'd get from that. Note that in this scenario, my firm enjoys getting the benefits of my ass-busting without actually paying for the value thereof. If I fall short of 1950 hours, then they're perfectly justified to keep me at part-time even if I've billed 1700 or 1800 -- what a great deal FOR THE FIRM. Keep moving the cheese, guys, and I'd keep chasing it.
Not any more.
Since finding MMM in May, I have liberated almost $30k annually from the maw of American consumerism. Effectively, I've given myself almost as big a pay bump as the full time pay that I was hoping to get from my firm. Once I've finished my basement renovation and rented it out, covering half my mortgage, I'll have the equivalent of full-time associate pay. I'm also working less which gives me more time for friends, family, and LIFE.
For the first time, I'm in control of the cheese. Hell yeah.
