Did I make the right choice quitting my job?
I am a lawyer. I worked at a firm for the past year. I liked the people. The area of law was interesting. I was overall a good fit.
But the pay sucked ass. I made $57,000 and no benefits. I asked my boss for a raise a few weeks ago. Fortunately she did, but it was an additional $3,000 pear year. So it was only a 5% increase. That barely covers cost of living. Also, I am not salaried. I am paid by the hour. So, my pay amounted to $28.50 per hour to start, then I was bumped up to $30 per hour. This amounts to roughly $175 take-home pay per day. This is not enough to pay living expenses by myself (fortunately my partner works so we can split).
I talked about pay with my other coworkers and discovered that the highest paid attorney, who has been there about 20 years, makes only about $70,000. And he doesn't get any benefits either. The pay is shitty all around. The assistants start at $12 an hour. They have to work their way up to $15. One assistant makes $20 an hour after working there 5 years.
To supplement my income, I do freelance legal work. I end up making more per hour with that than with my day job. For example, I can make $100 with a one-page brief. That takes me roughly an hour. I can make $500-$700 for more complicated briefs. That takes roughly half a day. My side gig is easy, pays better, and I can do it from home.
Also, our boss refuses to sign employment contracts, even though we have contracts with all our clients. I emailed my boss the verbal agreement we made so I had something in writing. I knew this was a bad sign, but I accepted the job because I was desperate for work at the time.
The final straw for me is how little of the percentage of the contracts I bring to the firm I get to keep. If I bring a client to the firm, my boss gives me 5%. I know she has business expenses, but fee splitting should be closer to 50%. It especially rankled me when she didn't want to pay even that small amount for the clients who were referred by existing clients but came to the firm because they were happy with my work.
I decided to quit so I could focus on my side gig and also open up my own firm. Why the hell do I feel guilty about it? I should feel relieved. I am doing what's best for me.
PS, my boss discourages us from discussing pay but I flaunted that rule because it is straight up illegal. No, I don't want to report her. I figured it was just one of many red flags that I should not make a career out of this place because I would probably be screwed.
TLDR Boss underpays me. I quit for an opportunity to make more money for less work. I feel guilty and idk why.