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Ok,this is hard for me to admit, but I’m a 2017 T-30 graduate who just sat for the bar for the 5th time. I know, I know. How stupid can a person be? The truth is, I was dealing with the death of a close family member, and despite doing well on the LSAT, I’m not the most efficient when it comes to memorizing large swaths of information. My brain just freezes up come test day, and I forget half of what I’ve learned. The last time I failed, it was by a single point. As you can imagine, I had a mega shit GPA in law school (sub 3.0). The past two years I’ve been doing doc review jobs to help support my spouse, and it’s ok for now. I also don’t have any student loan debt which is a plus, but my spouse has about $60,000 in debt from undergrad and grad school. We have no savings whatsoever, and live pay check to pay check. I’m insanely guilty, sad, and hopeless all the time even though things could be much worse.

I’m at a crossroads here. On one hand, I’m ready to pour myself into learning more about the area of law I’m interested in—labor and employment law—-but honestly don’t know where to start given how that particular specialty seems limited to totally out of reach mid law/boutique (and obviously big law) jobs. Is there any way I could do legal research on Labor and Employment law on my own to beef up my resume while I do doc review? Or volunteer for a L&E law state government agency once I’m barred? The only thing I’ve got going for me is that I still live in the market where my school is well respected. But that’s about it. I’m working for a way to claw myself back into some semi-intellectual and interesting career, and maybe one with some sort of upward mobility. I’m not talking about making $160,000. I just hope, that at the very least, I will be able to make $75,000 within the first five years after I land my first job. Is that salary range possible after 5 years of experience given my piss poor credentials? I feel incredibly socially isolated after hitting these road bumps...

I think it's important to get a handle on the things that are holding you back from a legal career - if you don't pass the bar this time, but you are committed to becoming a lawyer, then you should talk to someone about your test anxiety, and get a plan together so this doesn't continue to happen. If you're feeling guilty, sad, and hopeless, you should see a professional anyway - getting help with your mental health is worth the time/money. I know you're in a stressful financial situation, but you have to focus on long-term health, and that may mean temporarily adding to your debt load while you pay for therapy or whatever you need to get to a good place. And is there a way for you and your spouse to work together to improve your financial situation in the short-term, so that you can focus on more long-term career decisions in the future? Second jobs? Cutting back on expenses? Getting ANY kind of cushion/savings is going to take a load off.

Have you gotten involved in any local bar associations? Attending lunches, CLEs, etc. with other labor and employment lawyers in your area will help you make connections and learn more about the field, and shouldn't interfere with your current work. If you make the right connections with the right people, they may give you a chance at a job you wouldn't get just by virtue of your resume and transcript - networking is going to be crucial for you. But it's a long game - you aren't necessarily going to land a job tomorrow at your first networking lunch. Talking to people in your community of labor/employment lawyers for advice is going to go further than asking us here. Are there solo practitioners that need contract help? What can your school's career center do for you? Can you meet with local alumni? Does your law school have a labor/employment clinic that you can volunteer at?

Alternatively...have you worked in HR before/do you have any HR certifications? Not sure if this is a way into a legal career, but if you're interested in labor/employment, and are looking for a job that will get you to $75,000 over the next few years, then it may make sense to start working as an HR specialist rather than just doing doc review while you work on passing the bar. Then you can use your HR bona fides as a plus when applying for legal jobs...or just enjoy a career in HR.

You can do this - but you can't do everything all at once. Life is long, and you aren't going to be blocked out of a legal career forever if you need to take some extra time now to get everything else in place - it's just going to take a lot of hustle. But if you're willing to take the bar 5 times, then you're clearly resilient, so use that skill to work towards your goals.

With only 1 point away, you’re clearly capable of passing the bar. Once that’s done, employment options open up.

See if you can get help about test anxiety.

I know you already know this, but you need to pass the bar. All of your dialogue about learning about labor and employment law is great - but as someone who failed the bar, it all sounds like reasons you are avoiding and sabotaging your chances at passing the bar.

Take my word for it, once you're licensed, there will be jobs, income and plenty of opportunities to learn about the field of law you want to work in. However, none of that is accessible until you pass.

I don't know what state you are in, but there is plenty of good discussion on the bar prep thread on these forums - that is where you should be spending your time. That, and studying. Go get it done.

1) focus on passing the bar (as others have mentioned). It doesn’t matter how much you want a job in L&E if you can’t pass the bar.

2) there are state and federal government jobs that may be options (for example, EEOC / DOL generally, or the state equivalent).

3) someone mentioned HR jobs. If you can’t pass the bar for the sixth time, going into HR may be a great option. I know a lot of burned out associates end up in HR and seem to love it.