British woman dumps legal career for dog walking, claims she now makes $530 a day

Liz East, 30, spent four years working as a paralegal in criminal defence before briefly moving into consulting, People reported, citing Kennedy News and Media.

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East, who once dreamed of becoming a criminal defence lawyer, said she changed her career plans after finding the demanding schedule increasingly difficult to manage.

“Working in criminal defence was a lot, it was quite draining,” East told People.

“I did everything from admin to going to court and going to prisons and chatting with clients,” she said.

“I felt older than what I was. Every day I thought, ‘Is this my life now?’” she recalled.

East said the lifestyle associated with working in London also contributed to her decision to leave the legal profession.

“There’s also this ‘London life’ where you’re all expected to go out and have a drink and sometimes you’re not getting home until 9 p.m. or 10 p.m.,” she said. “I don’t think that’s sustainable for having a family.”

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“It’s not a life,” she continued. “There’s so much stress and people don’t enjoy it. But people stay because the money is good. It keeps you drawn in.”

East said her husband, who runs a dog-walking and dog-boarding business, inspired her to reconsider her own career.

“My husband does dog-walking and dog-boarding and he loves his job,” she said.

“So being around somebody who’s so passionate about what they did, I thought, ‘Why am I dreading work every weekend and working these long hours?’” she added.

East eventually took a job at a local pub while building her own dog-walking business.

She told the newspaper that she typically walks between 20 and 30 dogs over about four outings each day. She charges around $19 an hour per dog and said she can earn between $400 and $530 a day.

The career change has also attracted criticism from some people who believe she abandoned years of education and professional experience.

“I get some people saying, ‘You went from law to dog-walking? You did all that studying and now you’re just walking dogs?’” East said.

“Some of them were judgmental and think I just wasted six years, but I learnt a lot in those six years that I still use in everyday life now,” she told People.

East said her new career has proved financially rewarding as well.

“People presume dog walkers are low-earning, but I actually earn more now,” she said.

“I’m [making] thousands more per month than I was working in corporate, and do half the hours I used to,” she added.