My experience as a lawyer in Germany: a much better paid job

Truth be told, I left Spain to find a job. It all started when I did my Erasmus placement in Germany; I had finally ended up in a good law firm, with a good job and a good salary. How many of you has this happened to? Well, let me tell you my story...

Starting my law degree with a lot of excitement:

I had only just turned 18 and, feeling very happy with myself, I signed up for the Faculty of Law at the Complutense University of Madrid thinking that, when I left, I would have job offers raining down around me thanks to my good grades. Yes, I was sure that I was going to get good grades. Law has been my passion for as long as I can remember. I have watched entire box sets like Law and Order, Boston Legal (amazing, of course), Shark and so many others that had different chapters all about different judgements.

As I was saying, I started at in the faculty with so much excitement; I wanted to learn everything about laws, constitutions, decrees, civil rights, commercial and criminal law... Protecting innocent civilisations had always been my dream, as well as sending the perpetrators to jail. My only doubt was whether I would become a lawyer or a Supreme Court judge.

I met four classmates that became my best friends. We understood each other perfectly, we exchanged notes and mutually helped each other. Until we realised that this would not be as easy as we first thought.

Law Faculty of UCM

Lawyers don't earn as much as you think, at least in Spain they don't:

What is the point in lying? I love money. What a coincidence that a profession like law can make you a lot of money, but the reality is that this is only within the reach for a few. As they explain on cuantoganaa.com, a lawyer can earn a lot or a little each month, depending on if they work in a good law firm, if they reach high public trials, or if they launch their own law firm.

However, as soon as we started the second year of our degree, our professor for Administrative Law I (who doesn't mince his words), warned us that everything is not all rosy, and that yes, there are many lawyers who take a knockout in Spain, but most of us will live on a moderately high salary. In other words, not all of us will receive the remuneration we deserve.

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Goodbye Spain, hello Germany!

As I consider myself a bit of a non-conformist, I quickly started looking for a way out, and it all started with Erasmus. In two weeks, it was clear to me that I would take the third and fourth years outside of Spain, and my favourite destination was the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, in Germany.

University of Munich

There, lawyers are paid much better, so I decided to move to that neck of the woods, make contacts and prepare the terrain for myself. On German territory it is a lot easier to get a job that earns €5, 000 a month, only based on having a little bit of talent and being a bit quick-witted.

After two years of much having a good time, new friendships and more law, I specialised in criminal law and was quickly hired by a renowned law firm. I earn 10. 000 euros a month, which is not bad to begin with, and I have won 6 out the 7 lawsuits I have been assigned to, to date.

My projection for the future is to set up my own law firm here or in the United States, and to receive an annual salary of one million euros over the next 15 years.

I hope this story will motivate you. Don't let them tell you that there is no work. That's a lie. Yes, there is, you just have to look for it.

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