Top Law Schools

Hey guys,

I am trying to make the right decision between two internships. I am a 1L at midwestern school (T30... with average/perhaps below median grades)

Location is important. It helps to intern in the job market you seek as early as possible.

I am picking between a relatively good Federal Government internship in DC (my desired market and my area of interest) and a paid in house job at Fortune 100 ( in NYC, not my market of interests and I have no connections with NYC)

Should I consider giving up the paid position to be in DC and take the federal position?

PS- if you are all just going to take turns bashing grades from my first semester, then you can do that somewhere else. At the end of the day, both internships said they wanted people in the top 15%-30%.

People are going to tell you to take the paid position. That's what I would do.

I mean, how much are they paying you? Surely not a typical SA amount ($3,077/week). Considering COLA, is the money enough to override your opportunity to establish credibility in your claim that you want to practice X in Y market? Depending on the agency, though, although a 2L summer might be offered, a permanent position is not automatically offered. From what I understand, though, same goes for in-house internships.

If you're serious about being a fed in that practice and market, I would take the gov't position.

They pay 1k a week.

Thanks a lot for the insights. I see your reasoning.

Not to be an ass, but with below median grades from a Midwestern T30 you are likely going to find it very challenging to get to DC either way, and you might want to think about whether you would be willing to go to NY instead as there are significantly more jobs there, and they tend to be less grade snobby than DC employers.

That being said, if you can get some kind of funding for your DC job then you're really not looking at a huge difference between the two jobs for this summer.

Thanks for the info.

Well, its too soon. Grades may go up (may fall) granted, 1st place is out of the picture, so I dont want to make decisions based on my class rank situation just yet.

Neither is a long-term option because they aren't looking to hire you after graduation. Unless you have a desire to be a PD or work in government, go with the in house position. You won't make that much after you account for rent in NY and taxes. It's still better than going with an unpaid position and rent in DC.

You also won't gain an advantage by working in DC this summer. DC is ridiculously competitive. Spending 3 months there won't push you over the edge

Kikero wrote:Not to be an ass, but with below median grades from a Midwestern T30 you are likely going to find it very challenging to get to DC either way, and you might want to think about whether you would be willing to go to NY instead as there are significantly more jobs there, and they tend to be less grade snobby than DC employers.

This is probably wrong. While TLS is right that there are many more big law jobs in NY, OP is probably not getting big law. Thus, there may or may not be so many great opportunities in NY either.

OP: if you want to go into government (whether in DC or in some state) or anything that is more PI related, the government position makes more sense. I'd take the in-house job only if either, I had not idea what I wanted and just wanted a paycheck, or I was really set on trying to work for a corporation (which does not seem like a great place to start, but possible). The above poster is also right to suggest trying to apply to get funding from a school or school-related problem, if available. Also, lastly, 1k a week in NYC will more than break even with COL, but its not crazy lucrative either. NYC COL is crazy (its probably like 10-12k total, not including NY tax, and to pay rent 2.5x is probably going to cost like 6-8k; unless you have some other kind of arrangement of course)

Although if it just too financially difficult to work all summer for free and live in DC … thats valid

Kikero wrote:Not to be an ass, but with below median grades from a Midwestern T30 you are likely going to find it very challenging to get to DC either way, and you might want to think about whether you would be willing to go to NY instead as there are significantly more jobs there, and they tend to be less grade snobby than DC employers.

That being said, if you can get some kind of funding for your DC job then you're really not looking at a huge difference between the two jobs for this summer.

Not true about DC. I work at a federal agency that is too small to hire many interns, but we do have at least 4 a summer. Let me tell you, it's very strange but they don't care at all if you're a T30 or T5. Or maybe they do, but all our interns have ended up being between T15-T50.

That being said, getting to DC Biglaw or Big Gov (i.e., DOJ) will be difficult--as it is for anyone.

Do what interests you.

Whats your school offer as a stipend?

1K a month is pretty good. If your school offers $5K+ for public interest work, the differential after tax is marginal enough that it should go off interest in the work.

If you would go totally unpaid vs ~8K after tax, Id go with the paid gig.

Anonymous User wrote:

Kikero wrote:Not to be an ass, but with below median grades from a Midwestern T30 you are likely going to find it very challenging to get to DC either way, and you might want to think about whether you would be willing to go to NY instead as there are significantly more jobs there, and they tend to be less grade snobby than DC employers.

That being said, if you can get some kind of funding for your DC job then you're really not looking at a huge difference between the two jobs for this summer.

Not true about DC. I work at a federal agency that is too small to hire many interns, but we do have at least 4 a summer. Let me tell you, it's very strange but they don't care at all if you're a T30 or T5. Or maybe they do, but all our interns have ended up being between T15-T50.

That being said, getting to DC Biglaw or Big Gov (i.e., DOJ) will be difficult--as it is for anyone.

Do they hire after graduation though? I was only speaking to long term employment prospects, not 2L summer.

^^ Not sure. The interviewer did tell me they are looking for more than just people to work there for the summer. She mentioned that they want to see if "you are employable".

I am going to take that with a grain of salt.

One of the good things in my opinion is that this is a huge corporation. And perhaps, upon graduation if things work out well and I meet the right person they could transfer me to an office in a market I seek to be in. But thats just me getting ahead of myself and I do not know if that is common.