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Ok, so I have an offer to work for a non-profit in a doing work that is very close to the type of work I would ultimately like to do in business law, but the offer isn't what I thought it would be. I thought the job would be very legal and 20-40 hrs a week, when in fact the offer is marginally legal and is actually only 10 hours a week. I am still waiting for a few other things to come in that I am very interested in.

Well, today I had a meeting w/ my con law professor about RA-ing for him over the summer. I applied for the position b/c I really want a clerkship after law school and I thought he would be a great connection plus I would do a lot of writing. He is fairly big time (publishes the textbook, regularly cited in scotus opinions, really involved in the civil rights era) and the research he is looking to do seems like it would be fascinating. He told me that he'll make a decision by Friday, so I am trying to figure out if this is what I should do over the summer. There is still the possibility that I could work w/ him part of the summer and find another job (probably closer to home and my GF). I am actually very interested in con law, but more in a hobby way than a career way (mostly b/c I'm not top 10% at a t-6, and thus precluded from con law jobs).

My question is, is RA-ing for the purpose of working for a professor who I really like and doing research on a topic that I am really interested in, but in a field that I will not pursue as a career, a bad idea? I've heard being an RA is looked down on, for some reason. Will this hurt me for OCIs? Thanks

If you have the grades to get jobs from OCI and you can manage an interview without throwing up, being an RA will not keep you from getting a job. It's not the greatest thing in the world, but most 1Ls will do something that qualifies as "not the greatest thing in the world."