I posted on 24 June on the plight of young lawyers as the earnings bubble bursts, leaving them with their student loans.

Few non-lawyers will shed tears for lawyers complaining of dashed hopes, but my heart was pierced by Amy Schley's comment on Richard Epstein's confirmation that the era of super earnings is largely over:

"I know that law school was, bar none, the biggest mistake of my life.  If I could have the bank repo my degree & credentials in exchange for the debt, I'd do it in a heartbeat.  What little success I have in life is due to my skills as a saleswoman of shoes, and my law degree has actually been a hindrance in searching out any kind of work outside that field.  Had I no debt, my modest earnings would be plenty to start a lower-middle class family.  As it is, I'm barren physically because I'm barren financially."

Later in the thread she anwers a query:

"My college educated husband and I have a combined income of around $40K and combined student loan debts over $200K.  We simply cannot afford to make payments on that with just the two of us, much less afford health insurance or the children I want so badly.  Our ten year anniversary is next month, and we are now further away from starting a family now than we were then."