A fourth year of clerking??? Help! Forum

[Anonymous User]

I never intended to clerk. I always wanted to delve right into a career in public interest after law school. However, after graduating from a T-14, I ended up clerking for a year with a state trial judge. I then took on a two year term clerkship with a fed. d.c. judge, and, quite frankly, I'm bored.

However, I've been offered a third year by my judge and would qualify for a js-14 salary, which, in my district would translate into a six figure income.

I am tempted to go this route. A six figure salary is more than I'll earn for at least a decade in my intended public interest career route. However, I worry that a fourth year of clerking will look odd to employers and hurt my chances of landing the permanent position of my dreams.

Help me TLS!!!!!

[mjb447]

Have you applied to any places you'd be interested in working, i.e., that fit better with your career goals? My initial impression is that an additional year of clerking isn't worth it: having the extra money would obviously be nice, but you're already bored of the work, it would further delay starting your career, and you run the risk of appearing that you're not interested in doing anything besides clerking. However, turning down an additional (and well-compensated) year for a position that doesn't actually exist might be a different story. (I'm also assuming that you're in an okay position financially and the extra money would just be good to have for the same reasons that extra money is always good to have; if you're in immediately dire financial circumstances it might be different.)

[Anonymous User]

The way government, public interest hiring works in my state for clerks is you apply around now, and don't hear back until July/August. In other words it is and always will be a crap shoot, with nothing certain until the last minute.

Edit: I'm not in sure financial straight, but it would be nice to be able to pay off my car loan and save up for a down payment. I dunno. There's pros and cons either way.

[BlackAndOrange84]

Unless you want to be a career clerk for your judge—and if so you should ask the judge if he'd take you on that basis rather than just for a third year—no, with this caveat:

However, turning down an additional (and well-compensated) year for a position that doesn't actually exist might be a different story. (I'm also assuming that you're in an okay position financially and the extra money would just be good to have for the same reasons that extra money is always good to have; if you're in immediately dire financial circumstances it might be different.)

[mjb447]

The way government, public interest hiring works in my state for clerks is you apply around now, and don't hear back until July/August. In other words it is and always will be a crap shoot, with nothing certain until the last minute.

Edit: I'm not in sure financial straight, but it would be nice to be able to pay off my car loan and save up for a down payment. I dunno. There's pros and cons either way.

Yeah, if the money (sounds like the only meaningful pro to me) would just be "nice," I'd probably look for a different job.