Going to Law School Part Time - Full Time Work - Have a Baby?

[ayimazte]

Just wondering if you can share your opinion on whether this is doable? I am currently working full time on a good paying job. I really don't want to give it up, because I have build some seniority and earn very good money. However becoming a lawyer has always been something I wanted to do ever since I was young, so is having a family. I do want to have a baby sometime in the next two years.

So given the work load in Law schools, do you think it's possible to raise a baby, keep my full time job and study part time law?  Would you say it's even doable?  Thanks a bunch.

[rhapsody]

It's doable, but you will have to make a lot of sacrifices!  Best of luck.

[onehandedreader]

it's not doable.  if you want to have a kid, devote yourself to that.  rhapsody said you'll have to make alot of sacrifices, but most of them will affect your child more than you, and that's not fair to the child.  you won't have time to raise a kid, and to me there's nothing more upsetting than people who have kids and then don't want to give up the time to raise them.  just my 2cents, but i think you should decide which you want more.

[zemog]

I say go for it.  It's going to be hard, and you will probably need alot of family support but life is busy, and that's how life is. If you put one off until later, you might regret it. 

[slp]

I have a baby under one year of age.  I decided to wait until he was two and go for law in fall of 2006.  Then the option is to go part-time work and part-time school if I want to ever see my baby.  I would say have the baby first and see how u manage full-time work and the baby before adding law school to the mix.  Anotehr option is just attend school part-time and not work at all and put your baby in part-time daycare so u will have time to study.  I thought about going to work full-time and school part-time with a baby.  Once you have a child and you are gone 40 + hours on the job and then you are gone about 3 or 4 hours four nights a week, you will not see much of your child.  He will be asleep when u are home and I hvent even included study time into the mix.  Realistically, if you just want to have an offspring and have someone else in the family do most of the upbringing, then it is feasible.  If you think you will become sad that you never see your baby while other mothers out there are spending time with their kids, then rethink it. There really is no trued ideal way ...you do what works for you and your family.  I just think you will ahve a better idea of what to do if you have the baby first and then decide if you want to do law school/work fulltime.  Some would say working full-time andhaving ababy is crazy enough. 

[zippy_zaboo]

It's all in the details. 

-If you're very smart--good enough to attend a top 25 school, say, and do well--and you go to a part time t4 you will have very different issues than if you try taht at a t1.   I know people who have pulled it off at lower ranked schools; the work load is simply lighter (or easier, which is essentially the same thing in practice).

-If you are willing to change your life to accomodate kids, that helps.  A lot.  If your job isn't one at which you'll stay post-grad, then focus on commute time (huge issue) and job flexibility (can you take off when your daycare provider is sick without getting fired?).

-Commute time to school is also important.  Many people spend upwards of10 hours a week in the car.  Hell, as a 3L I probably average 10 hours a week of study-and I'm doing quite well.  but when I was working and losing those 10 hours, my family life started to suffer fast.

IN summary, you can do it, but you have to be dedicated and willing to suck it up on all other fronts.  OTOH if you don't mind living in Worcester and going to WNE (random example), you can make it work.

[Wild Jack Maverick]

No, No NO.

Think about the various things for a minute. The baby doesn't just magically appear. Consider the 9 months of pregnancy without complications: morning sickness, doctor visits, tiredness--and the time spent at the hospital and recovery. A healthy baby that cries at night, needs fed half a dozen times per day, and diaper changes a dozen times per day. Then more doctor visits.
Consider the cost. Is there medical insurance to cover the costs of doctor visits, tests, sonogram or amniocentesis, hospital for mother and baby? Consider the cost of clothing, feeding, toys, and accessories that babies need. If considering family members as the daycare option, discuss it with them first.
Consider the cost of pregnancy complications: Forced to quit work and school? Additional doctor visits and possibly additional hospital costs. If baby isn't healthy or normal, then the additional cost of extended hospitalization, and the worries about the baby. Consider costs of raising a deformed, retarded or handicapped child.

Not to mention the hormonal changes that mommy experiences. Baby becomes all important, school and work become secondary or non-existent.

School first, then the baby. The law school education will provide a better standard of living.

[sharmaine73]

Figure out how to make it work and do it.  My Son will be nearly 2 when I start law school.  No I will not be able to see him as much because I have a full-time job (I  plan to cut back a few hours so I have more time to study though - just a couple hours a day), I will be attending the evening program at my school.

Thus far the plan is, he will remain in daycare, I cannot afford to quit my job so I am not going to.  I will drop him off at Daycare in the morning as usual.  I will go to work from 8-3 then drive up to campus to study and attend classes.  My Husband will pick him up after work, and take care of him until I get home.  I get Wednesdays and Weekends  off.  That will have to be when I spend some time with my Son other than in the mornings.  He may be asleep when I get home at night.

If you already work full time, then you know that you can't be with your child 24/7.  Yes, someone else will have to watch your child when you can't.  No he will not forget who are you are or love you any less.  Really I think this is the best time to go to school because they are so little and are not likely to remember this time (if you're worried about that...I'm really not).

You see, I know that my future earnings will make things a lot easier on my family.  I want him to go to private school and have all the things I didn't.  With a law degree that's possible.

My Son means everything in the world to me.  He doesn't come second.  I'm going to law school because my Son comes first.  Yes it will be difficult but many people do it.  In fact the school I am attending was intended for people who have jobs and families and lives.  So go to an evening program.  You'll be fine.  So will your kid.

[rhapsody]

My Son means everything in the world to me.  He doesn't come second.  I'm going to law school because my Son comes first.  Yes it will be difficult but many people do it.  In fact the school I am attending was intended for people who have jobs and families and lives.  So go to an evening program.  You'll be fine.  So will your kid.

I think sharmaine73 wrote some great advice.  What's most important in making a decision like this is determining what your (and your husband's) values are, and reordering your priorities in line with those values.  This will help you focus how you spend your time to achieve your goals.  Most importantly, tune out the judgemental comments that so many (somewhat well-meaning) people will make.  You are a unique person with unique talents and circumstances -- nobody but you and your husband can judge what the best course will be.

[Danielle]

I have two children (5 and 3, both with very recent birthdays).  I am going to LS this fall, after being a homemaker for 5 years.  I have decided to attend a PT program because I have all the responsibility for the home and children.  My husband travels 5 nights/week 50 weeks/year.  Here is what my thoughts are about combining pregnancy, parenting an infant and law school.  Don't do it.  Have the baby, get through the newborn and infant stages before immersing yourself in law school.  Pregnancy is unpredictable.  You may be sick.  You may be exhausted.  You may have complications.  Parenting a newborn, even a perfectly healthy one, is exhausting.  Sleep deprivation is quite normal, for the parents.  It just doesn't make sense to add the stress of 1L to this already stressful time. 

Now, you may be fabulously wealthy and can afford top notch live-in Nanny and maid service.  Then, I would be more inclined to say go for it.  But, you would lose the opportunity to bond with your own baby, so I don't know that my advice would change.