1L stressed out about job prospects at T30 Forum

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Ystone97

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1L stressed out about job prospects at T30

Post by Ystone97 » Sat Apr 03, 2021 3:03 am

So I'm a 1L at GW at the median. I'm a GI Bill/Yellow Ribbon user and would have no debt after graduation, so this is the only peace of mind keeping me going. However, I've been getting more and more stressed about job prospects from hearing how difficult the DC market is to break into. With how this semester has been going, I don't feel like I'll be able to put myself in any better of a position class rank-wise. I did journal competition and will be doing moot court, but law review membership is based on grades, and oral advocacy is not my strong suit, so neither of these are likely. I don't necessarily want biglaw, but I'm not interested in public interest either. I just want a decent enough starting salary to live comfortably in the DC/Nova area ($80-100k), and with what I hear, this year's cycle is terrible and my OCI is this fall. I'm a first generation law student, and I don't know much at all about the legal market, so any information on where I stand and what my realistic prospects are would be much appreciated. I know I sound incredibly pessimistic. I'm just stressed.

AJordan

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Re: 1L stressed out about job prospects at T30

Post by AJordan » Sat Apr 03, 2021 9:01 am

How helpful has your vets student org been? They should be giving you a lot of help here.

Ystone97

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Re: 1L stressed out about job prospects at T30

Post by Ystone97 » Sat Apr 03, 2021 11:11 am

AJordan wrote:
Sat Apr 03, 2021 9:01 am
How helpful has your vets student org been? They should be giving you a lot of help here.
Unfortunately I'm on the GI bill as a dependent, not a vet. I'm a KJD with no real work experience before school.

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Prudent_Jurist

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Re: 1L stressed out about job prospects at T30

Post by Prudent_Jurist » Sat Apr 03, 2021 12:02 pm

I can’t speak to the DC market. Are you tied to that area? Is there a nearby smaller legal market you could go for? Sometimes firms in smaller or mid-size legal markets care more about ties than schools/rank because they have issues retaining attorneys long-term.

Shoot your shot at OCIs, but try to network (though I know that’s hard during COVID). I know plenty of folks where I’m at who struck out at OCIs but found good jobs via networking.

Have you met any attorneys, judges, or other legal professionals you could talk to? If so, leverage those connections now and try to make connections at some firms. That can land you a job or increase your chances during OCIs.

If you feel nervous about putting yourself out there, now’s the time to take the leap. Trust me— it gets easier the more you do it.

crazywafflez

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Re: 1L stressed out about job prospects at T30

Post by crazywafflez » Thu Apr 15, 2021 12:27 pm

Ystone97 wrote:
Sat Apr 03, 2021 3:03 am
So I'm a 1L at GW at the median. I'm a GI Bill/Yellow Ribbon user and would have no debt after graduation, so this is the only peace of mind keeping me going. However, I've been getting more and more stressed about job prospects from hearing how difficult the DC market is to break into. With how this semester has been going, I don't feel like I'll be able to put myself in any better of a position class rank-wise. I did journal competition and will be doing moot court, but law review membership is based on grades, and oral advocacy is not my strong suit, so neither of these are likely. I don't necessarily want biglaw, but I'm not interested in public interest either. I just want a decent enough starting salary to live comfortably in the DC/Nova area ($80-100k), and with what I hear, this year's cycle is terrible and my OCI is this fall. I'm a first generation law student, and I don't know much at all about the legal market, so any information on where I stand and what my realistic prospects are would be much appreciated. I know I sound incredibly pessimistic. I'm just stressed.
You are in 0 debt- go ahead and finish out. I went to a peer school to GW (maybe even a bit worse, hah) and I struck out at OCI. I felt like shit. I ended up cold emailing associates and different folks and got some interviews (I think I sent out 50, got maybe 5-10 responses and 3 interviews- only 1 offer). I then networked with some folks from my high school and UG back in my hometown and faired a lot better back in my home state (my school is in the same region, i.e. the South- think Emory/W&L/W&M/SMU etc) than I did with firms in other states/cities. I had 3 interviews back home and got 2 offers. I think none of the firms back home even asked for my transcript or gpa?
However, many of my friends didn't have gigs lined up and got things after graduating and passing the bar- which is stressful as hell, but it happens. Keep at it and don't be discouraged! 0 debt with a GW degree ain't even close to the worst thing in the world.
And agreed with the above advice as well- DC is ultra competitive, reach out to other areas- isn't Baltimore pretty close? Or parts of NOVA/MD or other things nearby like Philly or DE? Branching out to other areas will only help you- you only need 1 person/firm to say yes!

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Prudent_Jurist

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Re: 1L stressed out about job prospects at T30

Post by Prudent_Jurist » Thu Apr 15, 2021 12:45 pm

crazywafflez wrote:
Thu Apr 15, 2021 12:27 pm
You are in 0 debt- go ahead and finish out. I went to a peer school to GW (maybe even a bit worse, hah) and I struck out at OCI. I felt like shit. I ended up cold emailing associates and different folks and got some interviews (I think I sent out 50, got maybe 5-10 responses and 3 interviews- only 1 offer). I then networked with some folks from my high school and UG back in my hometown and faired a lot better back in my home state (my school is in the same region, i.e. the South- think Emory/W&L/W&M/SMU etc) than I did with firms in other states/cities. I had 3 interviews back home and got 2 offers. I think none of the firms back home even asked for my transcript or gpa?
However, many of my friends didn't have gigs lined up and got things after graduating and passing the bar- which is stressful as hell, but it happens. Keep at it and don't be discouraged! 0 debt with a GW degree ain't even close to the worst thing in the world.
And agreed with the above advice as well- DC is ultra competitive, reach out to other areas- isn't Baltimore pretty close? Or parts of NOVA/MD or other things nearby like Philly or DE? Branching out to other areas will only help you- you only need 1 person/firm to say yes!
Just to +1 with my personal experience. I never even did OCI. I go to a regional school in the T24-30 range and knew I wanted to end up in a non-major market where I grew up. 1L winter break I reached out to an attorney I knew at one of the best firms in that market and met up for lunch (when that was a thing). 1L summer I reached out to him again asking about whether they'd have a SA program for summer 2021. That turned into an interview last summer after 1L. After a two-hour interview, they gave me an offer.

I think the key for those of us going to regional schools (those outside the T20 or thereabouts) is to set our sights lower. If you kill it 1L year, sure, shoot for competitive markets/firms. But if you want a job, you can have your pick if you leverage geography, personal connections, etc. That's what practices in non-major markets want: someone who is going to stick around because they lose money training you for the first 2-3 years. Who's going to stick around? Someone with ties to that place.

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