Erin enrols at U of T in the faculty of arts and sciences. While she will not work during the school year, we will assume she secures employment each summer at minimum wage ($14-per-hour). From the University of Toronto Financial Planning Calculator, we will extrapolate her yearly expenses to be $16,020, comprised of $7,700 for tuition, $1,000 for books, and $7,320 otherwise (food, phone, health and entertainment). Subtracting her earnings from her expenses, Erin will be required to borrow approximately $30,000 through graduation (an amount typical for Ontario undergraduates).

Ryan conversely, has had enough of school, and has decided to get a job at McDonald’s, where he is fortunate enough to secure full-time hours. He, likewise, starts at minimum wage. His annual expenses are $7,320.00, and any savings are invested at 2.75-per-cent annually. If we assume that Ryan manages to earn a 50-cent raise each year (commencing at the start of his second year of employment), and saves any income in excess of his expenses, by the time of Erin’s graduation, he will have close to $100,000 saved.

Conversely, Erin decides to pursue legal education, and incurs additional, application-related expense before being admitted to the U of T. She will continue to live at home, but her non-school annual expenses will increase to $8,745.00 yearly, while her total expense will increase approximately $44,000.00 per year (extrapolated for U of T’s 2019-20 financial-aid program policies and procedures booklet). Unlike many of her law school peers, we will assume that Erin is able to find paid employment during the summers. If we assume Erin paid full-sticker price, her debt would be in excess of $140,000 upon graduation. If we assume Erin graduates with an average amount of law school debt, her debt would still be $83,000.

By the time Erin started law school, Ryan had worked his way into the management training program. If we assume his starting pay was $17.50 hourly, and that thereafter he earned hourly raises of $2.50 every year, by the time of Erin’s law school graduation, he would have close to $200,000 saved, placing his net worth significantly ahead of Erin’s. Though Ryan would still not have advanced to earning the median income for Ontario ($62,700.00 in 2017), he is well on his way there.

Upon graduation, Erin is significantly in debt. If she decides to pursue a career in law, she will be facing several headwinds. Initially, while the population of Ontario has grown by approximately 24 per cent since 2000, the number of lawyers has grown from approximately 30,000 to almost 54,000, with another 4,500 aspiring lawyers continually moving through the licensing process.