should I quit my job to prepare for LSAT? Forum

[runwithit2020]

Hi there, lurker in this forum for a long time I’m asking for you help.
I’ve graduated from an university for many years. I didn’t have a impressive working experience at all, changed jobs frequently and most of them are not the “fancy” jobs, dishonored my degree really. After so many years hesitations, doubting myself, financial issues, now I have determined that I want to be a lawyer, no doubt about that.
I hope to get a decent LSAT score and apply next year. This is the most difficult exam I’ve ever took. However my job is quite demanding and it’s not related to the law area at all and I’m not interested in it neither. I have enough savings. The only question is, if I quit my job to prepare for LSAT, there will be a long time unemployed record in my resume, will that hurt my application?
Thank you guys so much in advance!

[dvlthndr]

Yes, it will hurt your application. Your employment record/resume is a "soft factor" in admissions. It's not as important as your LSAT and GPA, but it still influences things on the margin, and a big gap is a possible "red flag."

I suggest you start by studying on nights/weekends (or signing up for a prep-course that meets during "off" hours) and seeing if you actually need the extra prep time.

[objctnyrhnr]

Yes, it will hurt your application. Your employment record/resume is a "soft factor" in admissions. It's not as important as your LSAT and GPA, but it still influences things on the margin, and a big gap is a possible "red flag."

I suggest you start by studying on nights/weekends (or signing up for a prep-course that meets during "off" hours) and seeing if you actually need the extra prep time.

I disagree with this. I would even go so far as to say it’s straight up bad advice, provided that you’ll be in okay financial shape if you quit.

Quit the job and devote all of your time to the lsat. Even a one or two point improvement (above which you would have otherwise improved if you had continued working) would justify quitting your job.

Is employment a soft factor? Yes. Is it so soft that, when compared to hypothetical lsat improvement it doesn’t really matter? In most cases, yes.

Is English your second language (Some weird grammatical stuff going on in your post)? If so, you have a long road ahead of you. If not, but if your post was how you actually write, you will similarly have a long road ahead of you.

If you have a good demanding job, are you sure you want to quit to do the Lsat?

[The Lsat Airbender]

The other huge problem with quitting your job is: what are you going to do if you don't get the LSAT score you need? I would not quit. Unless you're working 80-hour weeks or more then it should be possible to find time to study. If you hate not having any free time then the solution would be to switch to a less demanding job/role, not to quit entirely. Spending more than 15-20 hours a week on the LSAT (really any test other than the MCAT or a bar exam or something else with a huge knowledge component) is nutty, and 10 is plenty.

[LSATWiz.com]

Anything more than 3 hours a day is overkill. The LSAT is about developing skills and the way to develop a skill is consistency over time. There is quickly a point of diminishing returns. How much does your job pay? I'd be reluctant to suggest anyone forego guaranteed employment in this economy for possible future employment. It's also much butter to be furloughed if you're earning $50k a year as benefits likely outweigh one's salary at that point.

[CSKLawz]

Do not quit your job. I had a gap in my resume after I graduated from college because a job opportunity fell through. Took me months to land as I worked retail to cover the bills. Afterward, I worked for multiple years in a job that firms valued, but I still had to explain my gap in every single interview. It was definitely a red flag. At least I had an explanation that the circumstances had been outside of my control.

If you quit your job to study for the LSAT, admissions officers and later, employers, will wonder why you couldn’t figure out how to balance both. Law school, and then being a lawyer, requires constant balancing of responsibilities. The LSAT is arguably the least challenging step in pursuing a legal career, even if it seems insurmountable now.

The short-term sacrifice of giving up a Saturday afternoon to study for the LSAT is nothing compared to the readings you will be doing in law school at 11 pm or the last minute fire drills that lead to a 14 hour work day where every thing you produce needs to be perfect. I would think of the LSAT as an opportunity to start building the habits that will help you get through the next few phases of your career.

Do not quit your job.