Law School Discussion

Check out the library at your school's career office.

I don't know about the Navy specifically (what I say below has to do with the Army Reserve) but with all our military actions nowadays, one weekend a month and two weeks a year is a thing of the past. I really wouldn't recommend joining any Reserve or National Guard unless you're prepared to lose over a year of your life to deployment sometime during the eight years of your service. And not on your schedule: be prepared to leave, with extreme short notice, at the very worst time, such as two weeks before finals, during OCI, two days before starting your 2L summer job, a week before the bar exam, etc. I'm serious about this -- I knew a guy who got deployed to Iraq (I'm pretty sure it was Iraq) while he was at law school.

Even when it was "one weekend a month and two weeks a year", it wasn't really. You have to always keep in mind that when it comes to the military, you have to do exactly what they say, but the military basically can do almost anything they want with your time. The weekend can be a Friday-Sunday sleepover away from your home base; the two weeks can be longer than two weeks, and not in the summer. Be prepared to go through hoops, possibly with no success, if you can't do the scheduled training. For any scheduling conflict between you and your training, if you can't get excused, your training will always come first. You'll also be doing all sorts of administrative and preparatory tasks on your own time and at your own expense, such as cleaning your uniform and polishing your boots, or getting required doctor's notes for minor injuries that prevent you from doing certain physical tasks.

Another thing to keep in mind is that the standard enlistment contract is eight years, with six years "Active Reserve" and two years "Inactive Reserve". Perhaps you can sweet talk them into less active and more inactive time, but probably not. Six years is a long time. You'll have graduated and you'll be working as a lawyer and still doing your contract. So consider how much of a hassle this will be, not only during school, but while you're working too. (Will you really need the extra couple hundred bucks a month after you graduate? It's irrelevant to the military -- they have you either way.)

My advice is this: if you need extra money during school, take out extra loans. If you're really desperate, get a job waiting tables or something. At least then, you know exactly what your hours are and when you're off the clock, you're really off the clock. If you're patriotic and really want to serve your country, maybe consider JAG or JAG Reserve after you graduate. At least then you'll be an officer and doing something relevant to your civilian career. Reserve duty during school is, at best, an inconvenience that isn't worth the money; at worst, it's a very serious interruption to your education and career.

Luigi -- have you checked the Restatements of Torts?

The money your parents are spending on your food and electricity is money that your parents could be spending on your siblings or putting into their retirement fund.

Even if we're not talking about straight mooching but rather some sort of interest-free loan, the interest you are saving is being paid for by your parents, because they could be investing their money at interest rather than giving it to you.

The room you are living in -- instead of giving it to you for free, your parents could rent it to a boarder, use it to store their stuff, or they could downgrade entirely into a smaller place and save on their rent or mortgage.

There ain't no such thing as a free lunch. By the time you're in your mid-20s, you should recognize this and you should feel some duty that all of your "lunches" ultimately get paid for by you. Keep in mind that your parents are winding down to retirement while you're winding up to the most economically productive years of your life. Who is really in a better position to pay for your expenses?

As for the whole argument about what a time-saver it is for your parents to do your cooking/cleaning/grocery shopping: if that's the real argument, then this discussion really is about growing up.

Are you sure your ideas to travel etc aren't just daydreams coming out of hating 1L so much? If that's what it is, then there's a good chance they'll pass, and you wouldn't want to make any hasty decisions.

I mean, think about it -- you went through an almost year-long application process to get into whatever school you're going to, and only now, a few weeks before exams, you're struck by a sudden desire to join the Peace Corps?