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Good Morning, Everyone! I will be starting 1L in about a month and wanted to ask about whether or not having a part-time job is a good idea during 1L. Here are the details of the job:

I own a car that is eligible for a driving service called Uber. I have several friends who have worked as Uber drivers and they report making a significant amount of money (enough to pay for my COL, essentially) if I work 20-25 hours a week. I think that this job is ideal for a graduate students for a number of reasons:

(1) I have absolute discretion and unrivaled flexibility when it comes to choosing my work hours. The great thing about Uber is that if I have 2 hours to work at any given time, I can just do it. It's as easy as hopping in my car and taking on fares. And I can do it any time, any day. It also allows me to very easily scale up to full-time work/down to no work at all during breaks or as I see fit with my class/study schedule.

(2) I am going to have this car and be paying for it regardless of whether or not I work this job. In my view, this job allows me to turn an expense into a source of income during a time when reducing my debt is essential.

(3) The job allows me to study in the sense that I could listen to lectures or other resources that might be helpful while driving.

Can a law student comment on the feasibility of holding down a job during 1L? Due to the flexibility of the job, I will NEVER be forced to choose between my studies and my job in any absolute sense. My question is more one of principle. Do you think that it is reasonable for me to work 10-20 hours a week (obviously with exceptions as needed for finals, etc.), or will the job represent an imposition on my study schedule that will damage my grades?

I guess the question, simply put, is this: Will I have enough time to study properly and work 20ish hours a week while keeping my sanity intact?

I appreciate the input!

PLEASE TELL ME WHAT TO DO WITH MY LIFE

You could probably make it work. I work part time remotely as a social media manager putting in a little less time than that. It's made a world of difference having that income and the trade-off has been a life saver.

unsweetened wrote:You could probably make it work. I work part time remotely as a social media manager putting in a little less time than that. It's made a world of difference having that income and the trade-off has been a life saver.

Thanks for the reply! The thing about the job is that I am not obligated to work 20 or 25 hours, so essentially I can work as much as I want or not work at all. If 10 hours is a better fit, then I may go that route. Did your job detract significantly from your ability to study? Do you think that time spent working would be better spent studying? Do you think you could have done better in terms of grades if you had not been working?

GFox345 wrote:

unsweetened wrote:You could probably make it work. I work part time remotely as a social media manager putting in a little less time than that. It's made a world of difference having that income and the trade-off has been a life saver.

Thanks for the reply! The thing about the job is that I am not obligated to work 20 or 25 hours, so essentially I can work as much as I want or not work at all. If 10 hours is a better fit, then I may go that route. Did your job detract significantly from your ability to study? Do you think that time spent working would be better spent studying? Do you think you could have done better in terms of grades if you had not been working?

I work a max of 10 hours each week. I would get my studying done first, then spend time working. There is a point of diminishing returns where trying to study for more hours in a day really isn't going to help much, so doing some mindless work is a good change of pace. I don't feel that such a low level of commitment made a material difference in my grades. It's easy to burn out studying, so work is kind of an escape/time off.
Making your own hours and minimal commitment are essential to the viability of any type of employment in LS. If I actually had to show up somewhere for anything resembling normal business hours and not wear gym shorts, I wouldn't consider it.

unsweetened wrote:

GFox345 wrote:

unsweetened wrote:You could probably make it work. I work part time remotely as a social media manager putting in a little less time than that. It's made a world of difference having that income and the trade-off has been a life saver.

Thanks for the reply! The thing about the job is that I am not obligated to work 20 or 25 hours, so essentially I can work as much as I want or not work at all. If 10 hours is a better fit, then I may go that route. Did your job detract significantly from your ability to study? Do you think that time spent working would be better spent studying? Do you think you could have done better in terms of grades if you had not been working?

I work a max of 10 hours each week. I would get my studying done first, then spend time working. There is a point of diminishing returns where trying to study for more hours in a day really isn't going to help much, so doing some mindless work is a good change of pace. I don't feel that such a low level of commitment made a material difference in my grades. It's easy to burn out studying, so work is kind of an escape/time off.
Making your own hours and minimal commitment are essential to the viability of any type of employment in LS. If I actually had to show up somewhere for anything resembling normal business hours and not wear gym shorts, I wouldn't consider it.

Thanks for the advice! I totally agree about the fixed hours idea. I never want my job and my studies to come into a direct conflict, and with this job they never will. I might work a little more than 10 hours a week, but I have 100% discretion when it comes to when and how much I work. Also, I may have to wear something a little nicer than athletic shorts, but I don't mind that so much!

Not difficult at all to work at least some hours. I would imagine once you go above 10 it starts to become challenging.

The biggest consideration though, I think, is not the burden of the time, but the burden of the mental/emotional strain. You want to use your hours away from law school to minimize stress and anxiety. I can see Uber driving being quite relaxing, in which case I think it would even be beneficial to drive for Uber a few hours a week, but I can also see it being stressful, or at least annoying.

You'll certainly have time to drive a few (maybe even 10+) hours a week for Uber, the question is whether doing so puts you in a better or worse mental/emotional state. Your few hours a week won't make a large dent in your debt, so I would only do it if it doesn't annoy/frustrate/stress you.

I worked between 10-15 hours each week doing something I liked (teaching dance) during 1L. It was a nice break from school and way to get away from everything for a bit. It wouldn't necessarily work for everyone, but helped me maintain some sanity!

You would probably have the time as long as you make efficient use of the evenings/weekends that you don’t work. 1L eats up a lot of time, but it’s really not until finals that you start having zero free time. However, I would agree with the sentiments that 1) 10 hours/week is a more realistic goal and 2) the concern is really more mental health than available time.

I personally wouldn’t have done well trying to balance a job with 1L, but that all boils down to your own preferences and need for free time. If you can mentally recharge for a bit and enjoy life while you’re driving for Uber then it probably won’t be an issue.