Part time job while studying for the bar? Forum

[glitched]

Title says it all. I need some cash for the summer. Anyone do this?

[mirage1287]

I wouldn't risk it. The stress you're going to be under is already going to be high enough, and will only be multiplied if you lose 20 potential study hours out of the week. You're also going to be a whole lot shorter on cash if you fail the bar and end up delaying your ability to be able to practice as an attorney for 1 year. Take a bar loan if you need to for money (I did), it's worth it.

[FlanAl]

I wouldn't risk it. The stress you're going to be under is already going to be high enough, and will only be multiplied if you lose 20 potential study hours out of the week. You're also going to be a whole lot shorter on cash if you fail the bar and end up delaying your ability to be able to practice as an attorney for 1 year. Take a bar loan if you need to for money (I did), it's worth it.

I'm with you, but struggling to get the bar loan. Did you put your student loan cost of living as your income when you applied or did you just put $0 income.

[bdubs]

Anyone have thoughts on when it makes sense to quit working if we already have a job? I was thinking end of May for the July bar.

Is 2 solid months enough? I will probably do some half assed studying during May too.

[Anonymous User]

Anyone have thoughts on when it makes sense to quit working if we already have a job? I was thinking end of May for the July bar.

Is 2 solid months enough? I will probably do some half assed studying during May too.

No one is going to be able to answer that question of whether 2 months is "enough." It'll be enough if you pass. If you don't pass, it wasn't enough. Again, quit after graduation is over and when your bar prep course starts. The extra week or two of work isn't worth it and your employer should understand the reason why you need to stop working.

Also to OP, I put $0 income, because that was my income at the time.

[Zindras]

I'm doing this--worked full-time through law school (evening program) but will scale back to 20 hours a week and do BarBri in the mornings.

I'll let you know how it goes...

[JenDarby]

I will be working some during bar prep, but very flex hours.

[A. Nony Mouse]

I know people who worked part time, and they all passed. It probably depends on how much is part time, what kind of work, when you stop working before the bar, and how good you are at these kinds of tests. I think you could work through the end of June without any problem if your school has a good bar passage. I would probably not work after the 4th of July. But there's only so much time you can spend memorizing the elements of battery and so on.

If you don't have to work, or you know yourself enough to know that working means you won't study the way you could/should, then don't. And maybe if you're doing California or a similarly tough bar, you'd want to work less or not at all. But it's not impossible.

Probably the biggest reason I would give for *not* working is that in the three weeks before the exam, when you're certifiably insane and convinced you don't know anything and will never pass, if you've been working, you can self-flagellate some more with "OMG why did I work this summer that was so stupid if I hadn't worked I'd have definitely studied 10 hours a day and I'd know this all and now I don't and I'm going to FAILLLLLLLLLLLL." But everyone I knew was crazy and convinced they were going to fail in the three weeks before the exam; you'll likely feel that way if you don't work, too.

(Barbri will tell you that you'll be studying at 8 hours a day 6 days a week. Barbri is full of crap.)

[glitched]

Thanks for the replies. Ima just open up a 0 percent apr cc.