Yes, when people thinking about law school want to ask me about it, I usually tell them unless you really want to do public service for service's sake, do something else. Unless you are entreprenuerial it is a very difficult business to earn a lot of money, which is a fine goal, but most of the jobs are on the left side of the salary curve, it's not a parabola.
Discussion
One of the reasons I chose not to go to law school. But honestly this is the case for many historically respectable careers now. Everything is decaying. It's sad. I have immense respect for the institution of law and those who practice in it. The juice just wasn't worth the squeeze back when I was deciding. I reject the notion that people should pick careers based only on love or service. We *should* have both and certainly shouldn't worry about money while performing high level skills all day. It's ridiculous. But I'm just bitching now. I'm sure it'll get worse before improving.
I agree 100% my advice is really just practical. You should be able to feed your family while serving, but right now you might have to choose one or the other in the profession. Of course, some of us do really well, but it's far from a garauntee.