Working professionals and applying to law school

[jwd03]

My job is interesting in that even if they knew, I would still have job security(military) but that everyone "in the front office" would totally look down on me which in turn would impact my ability to pursue law school down the road.  I will not be able to attend LS for at least 2-3 years so yeah, I am keeping my mouth shut.

[Skipper]

This is a question for full-time working professionals applying to law school.

Are you openly telling your employer you're applying to law school?

or are you keeping quiet until you get accepted (to avoid getting fired or something)?

I work for a fortune 30 company and there's not a chance I'm telling my boss.
Though, surely IT has caught on.

[jer]

i just got a very nice promotion at work, but the guy i replaced had been here 25 yrs.
he retired at one pay grade above my current level (after the promotion).
so, i have 1 promotion left that i can expect, aside from that i'm looking at 3-5% pay raises per year.

i may take a pay cut for my first gig as a lawyer, but my earning potential after that will be greater than if i stay here.

one of my coworkers has incredibly poor office ettiquette and walks right in my cube and looks over my shoulder all the time, so he has seen some LSAT prep stuff in my cube and asked about it.

we have 2 law schools nearby with part-time programs, so there is the very real possibility i would have to attend one of those and keep my job in order to afford law school.

i haven't discussed it with my manager.
i don't even have my lsat score
a lot depends on how well i did on the lsat

[smack]

I am a paralegal at a law firm, so maybe its different.  All of the attorneys I work with know that I am applying, as well as my co-workers.  I am not worried about being fired in the interim.

[dusya4]

Im keeping very quiet. What if I get rejected everywhere then I get some super promotion at my job?

I'll be given sh*t work for the next few months if i tell im sure.

That was my concern exactly so I'm keeping quiet as well. I had to tell my boss that I'm thinking about it but might go part time. I only did it because I needed an LOR from him. Otherwise I'd keep it quiet until about 1-2 months before leaving.

[Vick]

I'm keeping it very quite.  My supervisor knows that I'm considering law school "sometime in the future."  I think they expect me to be here for a few more years, though. 

[RedWine]

Most of my co-workers know, and I got an LOR from my boss.  I've also been talking to another co-worker who actually does what I want to do eventually, and lots of people here have connections that could be very helpful.  They've already said that they'd like me to keep working here a few hours a week while I'm in school, and there are a lot of structural changes happening here, so this gives them the opportunity to figure things out while the changes are actually going on.  I'm not worried about adverse effects from it, and if I don't get into law school I will probably look for a job somewhere else anyway...I love where I work but I'm tired of working this hard and still being poor, and a lot of people in the field I'm in job-hop for this very reason.  After 3 years here, I don't think a change in employment would hurt me (average in the field is ~15 months).  So I really don't think I have anything to lose by it.  If I did, then it would be under wraps.

[juliemccoy]

Most of my co-workers are aware of my plans, and my superviser wrote me a wonderful LOR. I know I won't be getting any more raises b/c they know I'm leaving and they have no incentive to incentivize me... but right now I make good money and I'm trying to "live like a student" (in varying doses) so I can save and get used to not having much of an income.

[dbmuell]

My supervisor is aware (good friend of mine) but since she has literally NO authority to grant me part time status, I will very soon have to sit down with her boss and lay out my plans.  My plan is to lay it out as "I am going to law school.  I would very much like to continue here part time while going to law school part time" rather than "may I go to law school and work part time?"  They're very understanding and I think he will approve it but the beauracracy here is astounding, so it will likely go through months of HR buck-passing before I know for sure.  I almost feel bad bringing it up now since they just promoted me yesterday 

[LT_Eagels_1]

I have been very careful with not doing anything law school-related at work, I don't even dare to go to the LSAC website while at work, it's too risky.

I agree, if they find out, and the company is not doing so well, then you're the first one out the door, I need that paycheck until law school!

And second, if they decide to keep you, you're going to be doing sh*t work, have a miserable time, and probably be treated a whole lot differently...

I guess that's the great thing about being a paralegal, the company won't get mad at you if you decide to go to law school. 

I go back to what one person told me, if my employer was planning to lay people off, they would'n't gve us a 10 month advance, so why should we?

As of today, I am aiming for the Monday after next year's July 4th to call it quits, right before I take advantage of all my personal days! Haha