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<p>No, but it probably does count contract attorneys, who have no job security, potential for advancement or benefits, and people volunteering in an attempt to gain some kind of marketable experience. It may even include paralegals.</p>
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<p>Did all of the 79% report salary information? In a lot of these surveys, only a minority of grads reporting employment status also report their salary (generally the ones with higher salaries). And is this an average or a median? The average starting salary is usually higher than the median, skewed by a handful of high salaries. It’s pretty safe to say that the median University of Mississippi grad makes well under $60K a year. Anyone who considers taking on significant debt ($40K is significant when you earn less than $60K, or when you can’t find work at all) to attend should keep that in mind. I don’t think that’s such a terrible thing to suggest. </p>
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<p>Encouraging them to be skeptical instead of blindly optimistic? Getting them to reconsider potentially disastrous decisions? The people who simply tell you that you can do anything you put your mind to, and that you should always follow your dreams are not going to be there to pay your loans if you can’t get a job.</p>