I'm a female and I'll be 29 when I graduate... Forum

[JennBNYC]

As the subject says, I'm female and I'll be 29 when I graduate (currently 0L). Does anyone think that will make it harder for me to find employment? I'm by no means racing to have children, but will employers subconsciously think I'm a bigger risk to employ because they expect me to be less dedicated and want to have children asap? I know discriminating based on age and gender is a no-no, but does that seem to be an issue women face in the legal job market?

[Aqualibrium]

As the subject says, I'm female and I'll be 29 when I graduate (currently 0L). Does anyone think that will make it harder for me to find employment? I'm by no means racing to have children, but will employers subconsciously think I'm a bigger risk to employ because they expect me to be less dedicated and want to have children asap? I know discriminating based on age and gender is a no-no, but does that seem to be an issue women face in the legal job market?

I think to some extent you have the ability to control any potential negative inference about yourself in interviews.

[AreJay711]

So you'll be around 33 when you graduate law school? Eh idk even though you most likely will be taking maternity leave sometime over the next 7-8 years (if you have children) but that doesn't mean you are less dedicated. In my mind it would be a good thing since if you do happen to make partner you will already have had your children and we would know how your priorities have changed vs. the woman we hired at 25 and made partner at 33.... you know if that was allowed to enter into the decision.

[AlanShore]

I think you mean you will be 29 when you graduate? It definitely won't hurt! I don't think law firms love having 25 yr olds, fresh out of college then law school. They don't mind it and there are so many of those but they appreciate people who are a few years older, more mature, more experience actually working, etc.

Don't worry about it at all.

[NYC_7911]

FWIW, I'll be 31. (Okay, that looks weird when I write it out.) I'm really not worried about it.

[Aqualibrium]

I think you mean you will be 29 when you graduate? It definitely won't hurt! I don't think law firms love having 25 yr olds, fresh out of college then law school. They don't mind it and there are so many of those but they appreciate people who are a few years older, more mature, more experience actually working, etc.

Don't worry about it at all.

I don't agree. From everything I've seen in OCI, being old = bad, having experience = good. Those two are not one and the same.

[JennBNYC]

Sorry if I was unclear, but I'm 25 now and will be 29 when I'm done my third year. Thanks for the replies. I'm feeling better about it now .

[Kohinoor]

As the subject says, I'm female and I'll be 29 when I graduate (currently 0L). Does anyone think that will make it harder for me to find employment? I'm by no means racing to have children, but will employers subconsciously think I'm a bigger risk to employ because they expect me to be less dedicated and want to have children asap? I know discriminating based on age and gender is a no-no, but does that seem to be an issue women face in the legal job market?

Well, it definitely won't be subconscious.

[sophia.olive]

As the subject says, I'm female and I'll be 29 when I graduate (currently 0L). Does anyone think that will make it harder for me to find employment? I'm by no means racing to have children, but will employers subconsciously think I'm a bigger risk to employ because they expect me to be less dedicated and want to have children asap? I know discriminating based on age and gender is a no-no, but does that seem to be an issue women face in the legal job market?

Cut your hair short and let a rainbow braclet flash once or twice from under your sleeve.
jk
It won't hurt. my sister did the same thing without any problems. 30 graduate, 33 child, no issues.

[JennBNYC]

As the subject says, I'm female and I'll be 29 when I graduate (currently 0L). Does anyone think that will make it harder for me to find employment? I'm by no means racing to have children, but will employers subconsciously think I'm a bigger risk to employ because they expect me to be less dedicated and want to have children asap? I know discriminating based on age and gender is a no-no, but does that seem to be an issue women face in the legal job market?

Cut your hair short and let a rainbow braclet flash once or twice from under your sleeve.
jk
It won't hurt. my sister did the same thing without any problems. 30 graduate, 33 child, no issues.

LOL. Well, I WAS thinking about cutting my really long hair into a bob, hmm...... haha

That's good to hear, thanks!

[Anonymous User]

A woman at my school scored a DC V50 SA position despite being very visibly pregnant through the entirety of OCI season

[eandy]

How would they know that you don't have children already? It's not information that they can ask or that you would volunteer. Don't worry about it--you haven't even started school yet.

[wiseowl]

A woman at my school scored a DC V50 SA position despite being very visibly pregnant through the entirety of OCI season

in all honesty, why not? the timing's just about perfect.

[20160810]

The majority of my class will graduate somewhere between 27 and 30. Yer cool.

[dood]

...

[DoubleChecks]

A woman at my school scored a DC V50 SA position despite being very visibly pregnant through the entirety of OCI season

in all honesty, why not? the timing's just about perfect.

i hear kids need to be taken care of for a few yrs after they're born, esp. during the pre-toddler yrs

[sophia.olive]

A woman at my school scored a DC V50 SA position despite being very visibly pregnant through the entirety of OCI season

in all honesty, why not? the timing's just about perfect.

i hear kids need to be taken care of for a few yrs after they're born, esp. during the pre-toddler yrs

MY sister flew over a european nanny to take care of the kid in addition to the father.

[Anonymous User]

2 female friends who did OCI this year: one is sixth mo's pregnant and one has 2 young kids -- they both did fine.

[testmachine45]

depends how you look actually. dont need another fat curly haired nyuer.

[grrrstick]

A woman at my school scored a DC V50 SA position despite being very visibly pregnant through the entirety of OCI season

in all honesty, why not? the timing's just about perfect.

i hear kids need to be taken care of for a few yrs after they're born, esp. during the pre-toddler yrs

MY sister flew over a european nanny to take care of the kid in addition to the father.

TCR, kids get a nanny until they are 11-13, then it's off to TASIS.

[JennBNYC]

I'll also be 29 when I graduate, and 30 by the time I start working. I don't think it will hurt you, but I would be prepared to deal with it in interviews. I was surprised how a good deal of my interviews were so different than my male peers.

As soon as someone (usually a middle-aged duder) would start going on and on about child care, flex-time, part-time, non-partner tracks, and other inapplicable women and family stuff, I would wait for a polite pause and inform them I wasn't interested in such things and would be interested in pursuing partner track if I came to their firm. And then I would ask a question about their patent litigation practice (what I do actually care about) to get back on track. Although this was borderline too ballsy, it was surprisingly well-received, saved wasting previous interview time, and perhaps dispelled any concerns at the same time.

Ballsy, but that's great! Good for you .

[094320]

..

[ntugwater]

As the subject says, I'm female and I'll be 29 when I graduate (currently 0L). Does anyone think that will make it harder for me to find employment? I'm by no means racing to have children, but will employers subconsciously think I'm a bigger risk to employ because they expect me to be less dedicated and want to have children asap? I know discriminating based on age and gender is a no-no, but does that seem to be an issue women face in the legal job market?

Really won't matter. you're not that old.

[KMaine]

A woman at my school scored a DC V50 SA position despite being very visibly pregnant through the entirety of OCI season

in all honesty, why not? the timing's just about perfect.

i hear kids need to be taken care of for a few yrs after they're born, esp. during the pre-toddler yrs

MY sister flew over a european nanny to take care of the kid in addition to the father.

Hired a Eurpoean nanny to take care of the kid and the father. How very modern of her!

[reasonable_man]

Wait; Law firms hire women as attorneys? Where the fuck have I been?

In all seriousness, no one will care. Have no fear; you'll most likely be unemployed for entirely non-discriminatory reasons.