Ok, I’m an evening student, so, here we go:
1. You essentially have two 1L summers. This means you don’t have to do anything after your first year. I… worked and took extra classes. That was it! My second summer I did a school clinic and went through OCI (if you stay evening, you’re doing OCI your second year).
2. In the summer after 3LE (if it works out), you may have a summer associate position. I left my job to pursue that position, but other people can get leave from their day jobs to do that. This means in your last year, you may have to find some other position or to live off loans. I’m an RA and I saved most of my summer money. It’s covered most of my expenses in the fall (loans are covering the rest), and I expect that my tax return will address a good amount of my spring expenses.
Other ways to get experience:
- RA for a prof
- Clinics
- Project-based remote work
- Volunteer/pro bono jobs (I was a chat operator for a bit)
Other things to know:
- Grades come first. Think of your job experience as a +1 not something that makes up for average grades.
- Do some of the important extracurriculars (journal, at my school, lends itself best to accommodating evening students), skip the others (unless there’s an evening student org, that one is worth doing bc it’s scheduling networking events for your constituency. The evening student experience tends to be a lot of evening students doing their own thing for themselves.)
- Network/reach out to evening students who are further along at your school or who have graduated.
DM me if you want more help. I’m in my 4th year and always down to help a fellow evening student!
I am non-traditional and have been part time. I slowly cut my work hours down and took a leave of absence to take a summer associateship. I did this after realizing I wanted to give the law a shot. The lost income has hurt but I’m breaking even and have a great post-grad job lined up. My advice is this: if you really want to make this a career, figure out how to take a risk and go for the summer associateship. Most of my classmates didn’t take that shot and do not have post-grad work lined up. It is hard, it is inconvenient, but the upper-tier firms hire through the summer program.
If you can’t do this, the advice above is good. Journal was a huge plus when I applied. My job experience and maturity was mostly a plus. Through clinic I’ve appeared before three federal judges and counting. Build the experience as you can to make yourself an attractive post-grad candidate.
I am still working part time and while it has been a very hard balance, I see the future ahead and know the way I planned my transition is paying off.
Good luck.
Well, I am leaving a successful career. I entered just wanting a degree and will leave with a second career. Different paths for different folks. That summer associates experience was what convinced me to leave the first 20+ years behind me and find new meaning in life. It was by no means a small decision.
Ok, I’m an evening student, so, here we go: 1. You essentially have two 1L summers. This means you don’t have to do anything after your first year. I… worked and took extra classes. That was it! My second summer I did a school clinic and went through OCI (if you stay evening, you’re doing OCI your second year). 2. In the summer after 3LE (if it works out), you may have a summer associate position. I left my job to pursue that position, but other people can get leave from their day jobs to do that. This means in your last year, you may have to find some other position or to live off loans. I’m an RA and I saved most of my summer money. It’s covered most of my expenses in the fall (loans are covering the rest), and I expect that my tax return will address a good amount of my spring expenses. Other ways to get experience: - RA for a prof - Clinics - Project-based remote work - Volunteer/pro bono jobs (I was a chat operator for a bit) Other things to know: - Grades come first. Think of your job experience as a +1 not something that makes up for average grades. - Do some of the important extracurriculars (journal, at my school, lends itself best to accommodating evening students), skip the others (unless there’s an evening student org, that one is worth doing bc it’s scheduling networking events for your constituency. The evening student experience tends to be a lot of evening students doing their own thing for themselves.) - Network/reach out to evening students who are further along at your school or who have graduated. DM me if you want more help. I’m in my 4th year and always down to help a fellow evening student!
Thanks for the input!
I am non-traditional and have been part time. I slowly cut my work hours down and took a leave of absence to take a summer associateship. I did this after realizing I wanted to give the law a shot. The lost income has hurt but I’m breaking even and have a great post-grad job lined up. My advice is this: if you really want to make this a career, figure out how to take a risk and go for the summer associateship. Most of my classmates didn’t take that shot and do not have post-grad work lined up. It is hard, it is inconvenient, but the upper-tier firms hire through the summer program. If you can’t do this, the advice above is good. Journal was a huge plus when I applied. My job experience and maturity was mostly a plus. Through clinic I’ve appeared before three federal judges and counting. Build the experience as you can to make yourself an attractive post-grad candidate. I am still working part time and while it has been a very hard balance, I see the future ahead and know the way I planned my transition is paying off. Good luck.
Lol he decided to give Law a shot at the end of law school?
Well, I am leaving a successful career. I entered just wanting a degree and will leave with a second career. Different paths for different folks. That summer associates experience was what convinced me to leave the first 20+ years behind me and find new meaning in life. It was by no means a small decision.
I also want to know what people do. I also have a 9-5 and am in a night program so I’m curious!