Does anyone work right now?

[carrie]

Does anyone go to law school AND work right now?

If so, what kind of work do you do?  How many days/hours do you work a week?

and... are you a full-time student?

[fansill]

Carrie, I am a full time student (days) and I own my own businesses. I work 3-9 hour days and go onto my office on Sundays for about 4 1/2 hours so I am working about 31 + hours. I manage our rental real estate properties and I own a travel agency. I am a 1L student and I admit that I am burning the candle at both ends. I am trying to stay as organized as possible in school - keeping everything - outlines, notes etc in the laptop to avoid duplicate work (handwriting to computer) I do try to study in between classes in school so I can minimize the time spent at home because I do need some down time with my significant other. I will let you know how it goes when I collapse this summer...LOL!!!

Bleary-eyed in Masachusetts

[zemog]

Work around 50 hours a work in the IT industry and attend PT evening school.  Very difficult to balance life, work, school, and family obligations and very difficult for me to have to chose one over the other (because law school is not and cannot always my first priority). 

[carrie]

Wow, don't know if I could do it.  I'd like to keep some dough coming in but I don't see how I could do both.  I do real estate and that's a pretty busy on-going profession.

[rapunzel]

I think you could do real estate part time if you carefully limited the amount of clients you took on.  A girl in my class (full-time) is doing it.  Your time management skills would be critical.  Also you would have to figure out how to keep exam time free.  I think I would keep a very careful schedule and plan certain times of the week when you could take appointments/show houses and stick to that.  When making an appointment instead of saying, when is good for you? say I could meet you tommorrow at 5 or at 7, which works for you?  That is a little thing, but in fact a useful and effective trick.

I run a small business with my husband and manage rental property.  Part of the reason it works is that I can delegate to him when necessary and I have flexibility in my schedule.  Maybe in your 1st year you should only accomidate existing clients, until you get the feel for law school and then go from there.

[carrie]

I'm thinking of part-time but I can't imagine a life if I do.

I think you could do real estate part time if you carefully limited the amount of clients you took on.  A girl in my class (full-time) is doing it.  Your time management skills would be critical.  Also you would have to figure out how to keep exam time free.  I think I would keep a very careful schedule and plan certain times of the week when you could take appointments/show houses and stick to that.  When making an appointment instead of saying, when is good for you? say I could meet you tommorrow at 5 or at 7, which works for you?  That is a little thing, but in fact a useful and effective trick.

I run a small business with my husband and manage rental property.  Part of the reason it works is that I can delegate to him when necessary and I have flexibility in my schedule.  Maybe in your 1st year you should only accomidate existing clients, until you get the feel for law school and then go from there.

[rezipsa]

I work 40+ hours a week in a civil engineering company and then attend law school at night.  I agree with Zemog that it is difficult to balance life, work, school, and family (my wife is "due" within the next two weeks - DURING FINALS).  However, I have great support from my work and family.  I think it is vital to have this support while attending law school.

Working in real estate and going to law school will be very beneficial to you and your employer.  At my current job, I work with residental and commercial developers designing projects and guiding them through the maze of governmental approval.  I have used my knowledge of the law (and how to find it) several times and it has greatly benefited my clients. 

Also...After you graduate, you may be able to take the real estate brokers exam (depending on which state you are in).  As you know, the brokers make the money!

[carrie]

Hi-

Thanks for your post.  I would like to do both but I don't know if I can handle it.  Where would the studying come in?  I mean forget about the social life because that will be non-existent.

I work 40+ hours a week in a civil engineering company and then attend law school at night.  I agree with Zemog that it is difficult to balance life, work, school, and family (my wife is "due" within the next two weeks - DURING FINALS).  However, I have great support from my work and family.  I think it is vital to have this support while attending law school.

Working in real estate and going to law school will be very beneficial to you and your employer.  At my current job, I work with residental and commercial developers designing projects and guiding them through the maze of governmental approval.  I have used my knowledge of the law (and how to find it) several times and it has greatly benefited my clients. 

Also...After you graduate, you may be able to take the real estate brokers exam (depending on which state you are in).  As you know, the brokers make the money!

[duvimom]

Remember that the ABA rules say you can't work more than 20 hrs/wk if you are going to school full time.

[Bored_3L]

Working part time is easier the further along in law school you are.  I wouldn't recommend trying to do it the first year simply becuase the work load can be overwhelming and so much is riding on first year grades.  During the second and third years it is much easier becuase school just doesn't take up as much of your time.  Even though your credit totals are the same, the work required is usually less.  

My second year I worked about 20-25 hrs a week part time for my post-1L summer employer (a state gov't agency) and I didn't have any trouble balancing school, work, and a social life.