part time Forum

[lawschool12345]

i posted this in another forum but i think this might be the appropriate place to post
If you attend a school part time rather then full time, do employers look down on you? do you have the same oppurtunities?

[sethc]

I can't speak from experience, but I've actually heard things to the contrary. Granted (a) where you go; (b) grades/GPA; and (c) class rank -- covering ALL of those will trump just about anything else. So, if you're part-time & grades are good, I don't think employers are going to look at you any less capable than a full-time student in the same shoes.

Honestly, all other things being equal in a case where it's part-timer from school X against full-timer from school X then I'd be more willing to say that the part-timer has the edge. Generally those people are entering law school after a # of years in another profession that may or may not be COMPLETELY unrelated to lawyering. My guess is that the average employer is going to feel like the part-timer has more to bring to the table. Make sense? Let me know if not.

Also, again, I'm a current 1L in my 2nd term going full-time. So, others may have different & better advice.

[LSATclincher]

If I attend this cycle, I'll be a part-time Law student. But I have a legal job right now. Grant it, the pay is terrible, but it's in the legal field, and I'll have it on my resume in place of internships that FT students will have. And who knows, they could hire me as an attorney. I still plan to continue looking for a better paying job while working at my current job. I'll also be in my mid-twenties when I enter school, so I rather socialize with older PT students than FT students straight from Undergrad, anyway.

If anything, I'd think firms would see the PT program as a plus, especially since PT and FT faculty remains the same at most schools. If you can successfully pull 12hr days now for little pay, I'm sure firms would recognize your aptitude to do the same with a salary. I'd just be leery of attending PT while working a non-legal job. I think you should have at least some kind of practical legal experience before graduating law school. Not landing internships and/or clinicals could hurt you in this regard.

Either way, I think going PT is a wise choice for someone aged 25+. It may not be appropriate for a younger student, who wants to extend their Undergrad experience, though.

[sethc]

If I attend this cycle, I'll be a part-time Law student. But I have a legal job right now. Grant it, the pay is terrible, but it's in the legal field, and I'll have it on my resume in place of internships that FT students will have. And who knows, they could hire me as an attorney. I still plan to continue looking for a better paying job while working at my current job. I'll also be in my mid-twenties when I enter school, so I rather socialize with older PT students than FT students straight from Undergrad, anyway.

If anything, I'd think firms would see the PT program as a plus, especially since PT and FT faculty remains the same at most schools. If you can successfully pull 12hr days now for little pay, I'm sure firms would recognize your aptitude to do the same with a salary. I'd just be leery of attending PT while working a non-legal job. I think you should have at least some kind of practical legal experience before graduating law school. Not landing internships and/or clinicals could hurt you in this regard.

Either way, I think going PT is a wise choice for someone aged 25+. It may not be appropriate for a younger student, who wants to extend their Undergrad experience, though.

How long have you been working at this current legal job? I only ask because something like this, if it's for ~1yr or less for someone in the early-mid 20s, then employers typically construe something like this as "hmm, i think i'm interested in law so i'm gonna try a job to see & then enroll" type of outlook. Once again I'm speculating because I'm only a 1L, but that's pretty much the consensus outlook from everything I've gathered.

Not trying to come off as being a prick about free advice regarding your post, but if you're not enrolled or never have been then it might be best to not give summer advice for 1Ls. PT & FT faculty are not always the same at all either, from what I gather. They usually fight trying to get the PT-student jobs, but some of them are strictly one or the other. Plus, working part-time during law school is a dicey proposition for any student, at least during their 1st term.

I do agree that PT is a good idea for those 25+. Well, to start with at the very least. Many of those types have many more obligations than most like marriage/family/kids etc. and often HAVE to work while in school. If you're the "typical" law student though and starting out slow and moving up after your 1st term, then that's not a bad option at all if you can afford delaying graduation & don't mind to.