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Take the job:

1. WE will help at OCI
2. The economy will (hopefully) be better in 2 more years
3. The vast majority of students in the top 10% at my school all have WE. You are in a different frame of mind if you have worked a few years. It helps you gain some perspective about the importance of doing well in LS, it helps your work ethic, and it gets you out of the "college" frame of mind.

It is an enormous boost. People with it did better, people with out it were much more likely to struggle or strike out. Grades + school attended still matter more, but IMO it's clearly next most important thing and quite meaningful.

Anonymous User wrote:Take the job:

1. WE will help at OCI
2. The economy will (hopefully) be better in 2 more years
3. The vast majority of students in the top 10% at my school all have WE. You are in a different frame of mind if you have worked a few years. It helps you gain some perspective about the importance of doing well in LS, it helps your work ethic, and it gets you out of the "college" frame of mind.

This is true for my school as well. Can't speak to OCI yet, but I'll know in a few months whether it really makes a difference or not.

Also, I'm not advocating it, but about half the people I worked with as a paralegal left prior to fulfilling their full 2 year commitment.

Anonymous User wrote:Take the job:

1. WE will help at OCI
2. The economy will (hopefully) be better in 2 more years
3. The vast majority of students in the top 10% at my school all have WE. You are in a different frame of mind if you have worked a few years. It helps you gain some perspective about the importance of doing well in LS, it helps your work ethic, and it gets you out of the "college" frame of mind.

All of the above.

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I agree that gaining WE is probably the right choice. My grades would have probably been significantly lower if I had gone straight from UG to law school because I lacked maturity and perspective.

However, I will throw out a few other considerations. I took three years after undergrad to work. During that time, the median LSAT at my target schools went up 2-3 points due to an increase in applicants. Tuition also rose an average of 25%+ cumulatively during that time, while US wage inflation during that same time was non-existent.

NarwhalPunter wrote:I took three years after undergrad to work. During that time, the median LSAT at my target schools went up 2-3 points due to an increase in applicants.

This is only a concern if the economy keeps worsening and people are driven to law school as a way to weather the storm. If the economy gets much worse than it is right now, it'd probably be a good idea to avoid going 200k into debt for an ever shrinking shot at big law.

dailygrind wrote:

NarwhalPunter wrote:I took three years after undergrad to work. During that time, the median LSAT at my target schools went up 2-3 points due to an increase in applicants.

This is only a concern if the economy keeps worsening and people are driven to law school as a way to weather the storm. If the economy gets much worse than it is right now, it'd probably be a good idea to avoid going 200k into debt for an ever shrinking shot at big law.

This is partially correct. Check out how the medians skyrocketed between 2005-2008 too (the best of the boom times). There is a general trend in the workforce towards seeking specialized/graduate degrees that will not ebb until the government quits guaranteeing loan availability.

Taking a year to work at starbucks has to be different than taking a year to work as an accountant. Is it even worth talking about your time off in the interview if were like a waiter or something?

If you work at a big 4 accounting firm it's a great selling point, but even 2 years at starbucks will make you (a) more mature and (b) less 23, both of which are big pluses to most interviewers.

What about somebody who is young (23) but has worked everything from Management to Office to Retail everyday since they were 17?

Odd Future Wolf Gang wrote:Does it matter if it's not a paralegal / law-related job though? Although I was offered a paralegal position, I kind of wanted to spend the year (or two) teaching English abroad instead.

I think teaching abroad could actually be even more valuable. There are a lot of paralegals out there. Teaching abroad will make you more interesting, and still give you the developmental experience you need.

KingRajesh wrote:What about somebody who is young (23) but has worked everything from Management to Office to Retail everyday since they were 17?

It will definitely help over someone who is 23 but does not have that experience. You'll stand out. And honestly, since you don't have to put your birthdate on your resume, they may assume from your work experience that you're a couple years older than you actually are.

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