It depends. One problem though is there an extreme oversupply of JDs.

In general, there is an oversupply of menial jobs, an undersupply of specialized talent, and an oversupply of under-differentiated semi-skilled workers.

It makes logical sense that industries lacking enough specialized workers (i.e., fabs) ought to collectively invest in the education pipeline and outreach to attract workers 5-10 years from now. And they can't just throw money at the situation, they must find mentors and industry ambassadors to become Youtubers, TikTokers, and volunteer for high-school and young adult outreach.

Also, another problem is that real wages for average Americans have been in free-fall for decades while productivity has skyrocketed. Most American workers are working for almost nothing and most have a worse standard of living than their parents.

Yale in particular has a bimodal distribution. I’d say that any Yale JD can get a job for $200k+ if they want it. But a large percentage choose public interest, clerkships or government, which pay less.

By comparison, Harvard and Columbia grads had the same median starting salary last year, $215k.