Do some people work during 1L? Forum

[Splitter1415]

I know you're not allowed to work more than 20 hours per week. I don't want to work at all, but my spouse is uncomfortable with the idea of me not working. He thinks it's not fair. I'm currently a server and cannot imagine staying at my job. Is tutoring a foreign language or LSAT a bad idea?

[rinkrat19]

Tutoring a few hours (<10) per week would probably not kill you, but your SO is being stupid. How much money would you be making as a server and is that small number worth taking the gamble that your 1L grades aren't good and you don't get a job? 1L grades are far and away the most important thing you will take into OCI/other job-hunting.

If your 1L summer job is unpaid, is he also going to expect you work another paid job on top of it?

[whut]

Tutoring LSAT might actually help you since it keeps your MCQ skills sharp

[WokeUpInACar]

LOL at "not fair," that's so stupid. The nominal amount you could make working 10-20 hours a week pales in comparison to the longterm $ value gained by focusing on 1L grades instead. That's such a shitty thing for your spouse to say.

[Gooner91]

Aren't there ABA rules how much you can work 1l year?

[whut]

LOL at "not fair," that's so stupid. The nominal amount you could make working 10-20 hours a week pales in comparison to the longterm $ value gained by focusing on 1L grades instead. That's such a shitty thing for your spouse to say.

People love to compare it to other types of schooling. Everyone 'knows someone' who was in some other grad program with 30 credit hours a term and working 30 hours a week and having a near perfect GPA (or so I've been told by the bitties of the world)

[whut]

Aren't there ABA rules how much you can work 1l year?

I believe its all 3 years actually. Summers off not included in that of course.

[Splitter1415]

rinkrat19,

I guess that's the best option if I can get some students who don't mind my thick accent. If I work 20 hours a week at my current job, I'll probably be making $900 per week before tax. It's exhausting and I don't want to do it anymore, though. My spouse works full time and goes to school part time, so he thinks it's not fair if I stop working.


whut,

That's good to know. Thank you.


WokeUpInACar,

I have to show your post to him. Thank you.


Gooner91,

I believe you can work up to 20 hours per week.

[Nova]

Aren't there ABA rules how much you can work 1l year?

I believe its all 3 years actually. Summers off not included in that of course.

correct

[Gooner91]

Idk your financial situation but from what you have said this seems like a bad idea. I think you should have a long talk with your spouse about how the legal market is and why you are going to law school.

[whut]

I know you're not allowed to work more than 20 hours per week. I don't want to work at all, but my spouse is uncomfortable with the idea of me not working. He thinks it's not fair. I'm currently a server and cannot imagine staying at my job. Is tutoring a foreign language or LSAT a bad idea?

OP

can you take out financial living grad plus loans? It would give you MORE than if you were working.

[Nucky]

If he was a boyfriend I could understand him being uncomfortable floating bills for someone who may or may not be in his life long term... But he's your husband. His opinion is an uneducated one in the sense that he doesn't seem to grasp what law school is. Introduce him to this site and educate him on what law school entails and the importance of grades, especially during 1L. Assuming he wants what is best for both of you I think he'll come around once he learns a bit more about the process.

Either way, good luck. I hope it works out for both of you.

[whut]

Op, if you make $900 a week and your husband makes full time pay........How much money do you need?
Maybe money management is an issue you may want to look into also.

How much is his full time pay? I can't imagine you are below the poverty line.

[whut]

I know you're not allowed to work more than 20 hours per week. I don't want to work at all, but my spouse is uncomfortable with the idea of me not working. He thinks it's not fair. I'm currently a server and cannot imagine staying at my job. Is tutoring a foreign language or LSAT a bad idea?

Actually OP I think it is 15 hours. Unless they lifted it since I matriculated a few years ago.
You may want to check that.

[Splitter1415]

Gooner91,

He just wants to avoid taking loans. He's willing to contribute 20k/year, so it's not like he's being just mean. Moreover, he's the one who wanted me to major in pre-law even though I had never taken any political science class.


whut,

That's what I'd like to do if possible.


Nucky,

He's not happy that I am dead set on PI. He has a brother who went to law school, so he should have a general idea of how important it is to study hard and get good grades. I hope he can take a look at the forum and change his mind. Thank you.

[rinkrat19]

I know you're not allowed to work more than 20 hours per week. I don't want to work at all, but my spouse is uncomfortable with the idea of me not working. He thinks it's not fair. I'm currently a server and cannot imagine staying at my job. Is tutoring a foreign language or LSAT a bad idea?

Actually OP I think it is 15 hours. Unless they lifted it since I matriculated a few years ago.
You may want to check that.

It's 20 hours for all law students, unless a specific school has a stricter limit.

(f) A student may not be employed more than 20 hours per week in any week in which the student is enrolled in more than twelve class hours.

Whut, you're as bad at this as you are at politics.

[A. Nony Mouse]

Some schools ban 1Ls from working at all. Obviously if the school doesn't know about it, they can't enforce it, but it gets across the importance that law schools place on first-year students spending all their time on their school work.

One thing that's different about law school than about most other grad programs is that law school has absolutely nothing to do with what you did in undergrad (even if you did some kind of prelaw major, it's not the same), so the learning curve is extremely steep. If you go to grad school in a field that you studied as an undergrad, the transition can still be tough, but it's different from law school in that you actually have a relevant base of knowledge.

Also, in a lot of other graduate programs, grades aren't importants, in the sense that there is no curve and everyone can (and usually is expected to) get As. You obviously still have to do the work, but it's very different from law school, where everything is graded on a curve, and your class rank has a huge influence on your chance at a getting a good job.

In any case, I do think it's extremely unfair for your spouse to expect you to work just because he thinks it's "unfair" that you don't. If the money was going to make a difference between survival or not, that's one thing (though that hasn't been mentioned). You'll be working extremely hard, and this a short-term situation intended to better both of your lives in the future.

[Splitter1415]

whut,

I'm going to check on that. He has a good job and still is in undergrad at an Ivy. We help his mother pay her mortgage and it's been a big financial burden on us. I'm really happy that he's getting a raise soon.

[whut]

Gooner91,

He just wants to avoid taking loans. He's willing to contribute 20k/year, so it's not like he's being just mean. Moreover, he's the one who wanted me to major in pre-law even though I had never taken any political science class.


whut,

That's what I'd like to do if possible.


Nucky,

He's not happy that I am dead set on PI. He has a brother who went to law school, so he should have a general idea of how important it is to study hard and get good grades. I hope he can take a look at the forum and change his mind. Thank you.

He'll be less happy if you fail.

[whut]

whut,

I'm going to check on that. He has a good job and still is in undergrad at an Ivy. We help his mother pay her mortgage and it's been a big financial burden on us. I'm really happy that he's getting a raise soon.

This will sound nuts but can you live with his mom if you are paying her mortgage?

[whut]

I know you're not allowed to work more than 20 hours per week. I don't want to work at all, but my spouse is uncomfortable with the idea of me not working. He thinks it's not fair. I'm currently a server and cannot imagine staying at my job. Is tutoring a foreign language or LSAT a bad idea?

Actually OP I think it is 15 hours. Unless they lifted it since I matriculated a few years ago.
You may want to check that.

It's 20 hours for all law students, unless a specific school has a stricter limit.

(f) A student may not be employed more than 20 hours per week in any week in which the student is enrolled in more than twelve class hours.

Whut, you're as bad at this as you are at politics.

Reading comprehension
second half of my post
Reading comprehension

[rinkrat19]

I know you're not allowed to work more than 20 hours per week. I don't want to work at all, but my spouse is uncomfortable with the idea of me not working. He thinks it's not fair. I'm currently a server and cannot imagine staying at my job. Is tutoring a foreign language or LSAT a bad idea?

Actually OP I think it is 15 hours. Unless they lifted it since I matriculated a few years ago.
You may want to check that.

It's 20 hours for all law students, unless a specific school has a stricter limit.

(f) A student may not be employed more than 20 hours per week in any week in which the student is enrolled in more than twelve class hours.

Whut, you're as bad at this as you are at politics.

Reading comprehension
second half of my post
Reading comprehension

It wasn't 15 then either, sparky. Unless it was your school.

[suzige]

Your husband needs to be informed of what professional school is about. You are learning, preparing, studying to become a lawyer, not just getting a degree. Grades matter more than anything. Law school, particularly 1L, is a very stressful, very tiring, very draining experience. You will be lucky to make time for your actual relationship (i'm talking everything about a relationship), let alone a job where a boss doesn't give a shit if you have reading for torts to do.

Sure, everybody knows someone who worked during 1L. Good for them. The rest of the 99.99% don't work. Why?

1L is chaotic. You have no real "schedule" aside from classes despite what many people try to tell you. You try to estimate how long reading takes, and you end up spending double the time in a night. You try to guess how long that memo will take you to write given that you've never written one or done legal research before, and you triple the time you estimated. The reality is you don't know what the hell you're doing and you're just trying to figure it out half the time during the first semester. You will be a nightmare to schedule for any boss--especially a restaurant. I've missed many parties/holidays/evenings out w/ non law school friends this past school year bc school came first--as it should. You need to have a serious talk with him bc he is going to have to be your rock when shit gets tough, bc it WILL get tough.

People told me it would be rough, but you don't realize just how rough until you're living it. If I didn't have the support of my boyfriend and my family, it would have been REALLY painful. I can't even IMAGINE having a job during this experience. Seriously, for your sake, talk to him. He has to be all in with your or else it will be an excruciating uphill battle for you both.

[whut]

meh, I still added the qualifier for that reason.
and you have no clue what politics are

[Splitter1415]

rinkrat19,

I guess I'll wait until I actually start law school next year.


A. Nony Mouse,

Your post is being forwarded to him. Thank you.


whut,

She lives between NYC and New Haven. There's no way we'll live there.