The Strong Preference for Great Experience over High Pay

• Author: John P. Box Jr.
• Pages: 93-109

93

7

The Strong Preference

for Great Experience

over High Pay

In the Amazon Original television series Red Oaks,1 David Meyers is a

college student working summers as a tennis pro at a prestigious country

club in suburban New Jersey. One of his clients, Doug Getty, is the presi-

dent of the country club and a wealthy investment banker (who, as in any

good series, is under federal investigation for insider trading). Mr. Getty

begrudgingly takes a liking to David (I say begrudgingly because, as in

any good series, David is also dating Mr. Getty’s daughter). At the end

of summer, Mr. Getty offers David a well-paying job as a junior broker

at his investment firm. David, whose true passion is videography, spends

weeks agonizing over the job offer. Should he take the security, money,

and defined path of investment banking? Or, should he enroll in an arts

program focusing on videography without any promise of a big payday

or even a job? Mr. Getty eventually corners David at the country club to

see if he will take the job.

1. Red Oaks: The Verdict (Amazon Original Series broadcast, Nov. 11, 2016).

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The Millennial Lawyer

94

To Mr. Getty’s shocked indignation, David declines the offer. When

pressed for an explanation, David explains that he would not be “happy”

doing the work.2 Mr. Getty responds:

Happy? Ok, let me see if I can explain this to you. Happy is

how you feel when you go to your kid’s dance recital, when

you see McEnroe swearing at a line judge, that’s happy. It’s

not something you expect from your work. Why do you think

they call it work? They don’t call it chuckles. Because it doesn’t

make you happy. 3

Nonetheless, David remains steadfast in his decision to turn down the

lucrative offer, and Mr. Getty then walks away, incredulous at the oppor-

tunity young David just passed up.

However, David’s story is not unique. As in Red Oaks, many Mil-

lennials are searching for more than just a big payday and a well-defined

prestigious career path. They’re looking for happiness, fulfillment, and

meaning at work and, in doing so, are redefining what it means to be

a professional. Importantly, Millennials prefer great experiences over

highpay.

Paying Your Associates More Money Ensures

Neither Happiness nor Commitment

In June 2016, the prestigious and storied law firm of Cravath, Swaine

& Moore LLP raised first-year associate salaries from $160,000 to

$180,000.4 Other big law firms quickly matched Cravath’s salary

increase.5 Considering that demand for law firm services increased by

2. Id.

3. Id.

4. Elizabeth Olson, With Competition Fierce, Even Elite Law Firms Resort to the Unusual, N.Y. T,

Jan. 9, 2017; Sara Randazzo, Law Firm Cravath Raising Starting Salaries to $180,000, W S. J., June 6,

2016.

5. Randazzo, supra note 4; Martha Neil, First-Year Associate Pay Will Be $180k at Multiple BigLaw Firms

Following Cravath’s Lead, ABA J., June 8, 2016.

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