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I'm a recent law school grad with a couple of questions.

First, what is the shortest amount of time you (or someone you know personally) have spent working at your first job, whether it was a firm, clerkship, or public sector job? What was the reason for leaving? Low pay, rough work conditions, personal issues, etc?

Second, is there any real consequence to working at your first job for less than a year when applying for your second job? Pay and work conditions can be very rough for a first-year associate at many firms, and I find that many stay much longer than they would like to because of a lack of options or because the firm name is just prestigious to have on a resume. IMO, requiring 200 billable hrs per month from an associate while paying them ~55k per year is pretty unreasonable.

All opinions on this topic are welcome.

Ok, let me start off by outing myself as not having a law job yet, but I think I have some real-world experience that is comparable. This is not a flame post, but don't take it as gospel truth.

First-year jobs are bastards. There is no career field out there without a 'bitch' position that first-years enter into. My first one ended badly for me, as I suspect it did for quite a few young graduates who were starry-eyed and full of vim and vigor. There's good news and bad news about not making it on that first job.

The good news is that, long-term, it won't matter too much unless you pissed off someone extremely powerful who has a lot of say. You'll likely be able to find a job in that field afterwards.

The bad news is that, yes, it does affect your career, and people will look down at you as 'not being able to handle the pressure'. I'm dead certain that my former boss called me a whiney bitch behind my back, and would have given me a really bad review if I had stayed in the same city. Any new job you get will want to know why and will likely call your former boss about why you left.

That said, many Americans do not like their bosses and do not like their jobs. It's a fact. Many Americans, like me, no longer have jobs. And I can tell you this: a shitty job is still lightyears ahead of no job. Think long and hard about whether you really want to leave, and if you decide you absolutely have to, have another job lined up immediately afterwards. Don't make my mistake of stepping off the deep end. I know people who did, and it was the biggest mistake of their life.

As a side-note...do not leave a judicial clerkship. For any reason.