Working Part-Time During School Year

[SLJ0720]

Those students who are working part-time during the school year, how many hours a week do you work, how many days?

[mstiger]

As a 2L, I tried working part time during school this year for about 8-10hrs/wk on campus and absolutely hated it.  I didn't realize how precious those 1-2 hours between classes are, and not being able to study nor being able to take a break during the day, and going full speed all day long was exhausting.  Additionally, I just plain hated my job duties.  I realized that I was getting stressed out and it really wasn't worth the extra change in my pocket at the end of the day.  If I had to work again part-time, I would schedule my work hours to be at the end of the day (after 4-5pm since after that time I am just too exhausted to study, but not too exhausted for mindless work).

[L.C.]

I'm a 1L and work about 10-15 hours per week. I was a litigation paralegal for seven years prior to starting law school and was very fortunate to be able to continue in that capacity at my firm on a part time basis. I was told I'd have a tough time working during my first year of law school, but so far it hasn't been a big deal. One bonus for me is that my employers are extremely flexible -- so if my workload gets to be too much, I can ease up on my work schedule without much trouble. Also, staying on at my firm keeps me visible -- hopefully it'll turn into a job offer down the road.