Have you ever wondered whether your law school tuition dollars were a good investment? Tried to calculate what your return on investment is? Having spent more than eight years in Big Law after graduating from the University of Florida, I find myself and my fellow GenY law graduates asking and looking for answers. The questions stem from the broader national conversation occurring about the record levels of individual student debt. Lawyers who recently passed the Bar exam face more student debt than any generation before. And the trend is likely to continue.

Nationally, law students typically accumulate $120,000 in debt from a private university and about $80,000 for a public one. U.S. News & World Report reports the following average debt incurred for Florida law school graduates in 2014: Florida Coastal, $162,785; Barry University, $149,175; St. Thomas University, $140,808; Ave Maria University, $132,236; Florida International University, $89,815; University of Florida, $82,410; and Florida State University, $80,375.

With an average of $30,000 in debt from undergraduate studies, the average law student likely cannot obtain a law degree for less than $100,000 in long-term debt.