Bummed out

[Miss P]

I didn't realize she was a 3L. Still, I stand by my statement that public interest is not a good idea if Chevelle wants to do patent law. It's just not a step in the right direction.

It's a better step than lengthy post-grad unemployment.  In any case, there aren't too many PI jobs that are going to be open to her with her record anyway.  It's not as if you can just waltz right in.

[,.,.,.;.,.,.]

I plan to apply to more places with grades.

I did sent an app to the Northern District USAO, but I know that many others applied to it.

[Miss P]

I plan to apply to more places with grades.

I did sent an app to the Northern District USAO, but I know that many others applied to it.

And, as I understood it, you were planning to look into federal government (volunteer positions) and then RA if that didn't work out, right?

[Miss P]

As a quick aside, no not all 1Ls get something.  About 50% or so got paid firm gigs my 1L year, but there were plenty of people without anything at all who had to do study abroad as a fallback.  Maybe it was self selection (they didn't apply for jobs they could have gotten because they only wanted jobs of a certain stature), but there were several people who didn't have jobs - paid or unpaid - 1L summer.  And this year there are several people who wanted paid firm gigs and have nothing yet.  Geography, not necessarily of the school, but where the student wants to go plays a role I'm sure. 

It is truly idiotic for people not to apply for unpaid summer work first year, especially if they're coming from a school (which your classmates are) that offers summer stipends.  Erm, not that I'm judgmental.  But seriously, there's lots of cool stuff to do, not all of it intensely competitive, and the work experience is worth so much more than taking a summer class in Beijing.

[coquita]

I guess this can be flamed b/c it is basically me having a pity party for myself. But here goes. I am near the top 10% of my class at a T4 school and do not have a job yet. I am involved in moot court and the works. I just had a callback interview for a firm a week and a half ago. The interview with all three interviewers went very well. I just got a rejection letter from them, 1 day before Christmas. So I am bummed.

I know it could be worse,and there are certainly lawyers and law students in this economy that are hurting worse than I am, but seriously could they have waited until after Christmas? So yeah, I'm bummed. If anyone else is in the same boat, feel free to vent.

I feel for the OP. There seem to be several problems at issue. With some 200 ABA accredited law schools and bar exams that merely test for competence, there is almost no barrier to entry to the profession. Law schools are cash cows for universities, so schools refuse to be upfront about the realities of the job market. Each year more and more JDs get pumped out with nowhere to go. It would be easy to say that the OP should have done his/her research before attending a Tier 4 school, but the truth is that honest information about the legal market is hard to come by. Although I go to a higher ranked school than the OP, I would be a hypocrite if I faulted the OP for making the decision to  go to a Tier 4. I too was ill informed about the job market when I started school.

I just hope that this sort of information will become more available for potential law students. They need to know that attending lower tier schools may not be the best idea.

Yes if I would have been a little wiser I would have busted my ass to transfer to a better school. At this point I am doing an internship this semester with a gov't employer and hope that will lead to something. At least if I get nothing I can still work for them after the bar and get more experience.

Sorry to all the people who are being hurt by the economy. I think it has less to do w/ my school being a T4 then it does with the economy. My school is a very strong regional school, and someone in my position a year or two ago would have little problems getting a job through OCI in their 3rd year (many of the my friends who graduated last year did this). But I guess the message is to keep trying. I am applying to a bunch of PI jobs this week and can only hope someone will look favorably on my PI background and grades.

[vap]

tag

[mae]

I guess this can be flamed b/c it is basically me having a pity party for myself. But here goes. I am near the top 10% of my class at a T4 school and do not have a job yet.

Based on your earlier posts, isn't your school second tier, not fourth?  I think generally people expect that a T4 student might have more problems finding work than a T2 student, so if a T2 student in the top 10% can't find work then that might be more unusual (if the economy didn't stink).

[chevelle]

So now I'm top 8% (up from top 12%) and still can't get any interviews. Met with the office of career services today....basically the director told me the economy is so bad there is nothing...she said it was worse than 1992 for students, which apparently was also terrible.

[,.,.,.;.,.,.]

So now I'm top 8% (up from top 12%) and still can't get any interviews. Met with the office of career services today....basically the director told me the economy is so bad there is nothing...she said it was worse than 1992 for students, which apparently was also terrible.

And yet I bet they still gladly took your tuition payment.  Never trust anyone but your parents.

[chevelle]

So now I'm top 8% (up from top 12%) and still can't get any interviews. Met with the office of career services today....basically the director told me the economy is so bad there is nothing...she said it was worse than 1992 for students, which apparently was also terrible.

And yet I bet they still gladly took your tuition payment.  Never trust anyone but your parents.

of course....and they raised it over $4000 from last year...