What jobs should I apply to for my retake year? Forum

[colonel4bin]

Situation: Was almost positive I was heading to law school next fall but now am having second thoughts as I think I should retake my LSAT in September and reapply next cycle. So, since I thought I was heading for school I put in my notice at my current job and my last day will be at the end of April. I already have made plans to move back towards family and have a month long international trip planned for June. I'm just wondering what I should be looking towards doing from approx July 2016-July 2017. I have looked at a variety of options ranging from legal assistant at local firms, assistant court administrator for local municipal court, sales, working at a sandwich shop, bartending or living abroad to do volunteer work, etc. Pretty much I've never had a job I've truly disliked and have a lot of different job experience I can utilize. I could also look towards policy as I have been doing that for the past two years in DC, but there's not a ton of these types of job in the area of the country i'm moving (southeast).

Resume: Graduated from college in 2014 with an economics degree from business school (meaning I've had courses in finance, accounting, stats, calc, etc.) and a political science degree. As mentioned, I have worked the past two years in DC for an economic policy shop focusing on health care research. I'm hoping to get more experience in health care as my long term goals involve health law. But, at this point I'll be cool with something that either gives me a decent paycheck for a year or provides a satisfying experience.

Thanks in advance for the advice!

tldr; Help me decide on a job for a year while I retake LSAT and apply next cycle.

[Aeon]

Although it might be beneficial if you were to find a job that you could tie in to your college education and work experience or future goals, it isn't necessary for applying to law schools to take on a certain position. Being a legal assistant in a law firm or assistant court administrator for a local court would give you some exposure to the law and its operation, which would be helpful to give you a glimpse into your putative future profession.

But if there are opportunities you find interesting and would really love to pursue, you should go for them. Chances are good that once you start law school, most of those opportunities will cease to be realistic options.

[kartelite]

What about teaching English overseas? I did that as a hiatus from my PhD program (and never returned haha), learned the language while I was there, ended up returning a couple years later as an expat with a corporate employer, and it opened up legal and more corporate offers in that country down the road, where I'll be returning this summer. Language/international skills may not be relevant in a specific sense to a lot of work, but I'm very happy I ended up going that route and even if you stay in the US you'll probably be glad you had the chance to experience something very different that you can't while working in BigLaw or whatever.

[ccmart]

What about teaching English overseas? I did that as a hiatus from my PhD program (and never returned haha), learned the language while I was there, ended up returning a couple years later as an expat with a corporate employer, and it opened up legal and more corporate offers in that country down the road, where I'll be returning this summer. Language/international skills may not be relevant in a specific sense to a lot of work, but I'm very happy I ended up going that route and even if you stay in the US you'll probably be glad you had the chance to experience something very different that you can't while working in BigLaw or whatever.

What program did you teach through?

[kartelite]

What about teaching English overseas? I did that as a hiatus from my PhD program (and never returned haha), learned the language while I was there, ended up returning a couple years later as an expat with a corporate employer, and it opened up legal and more corporate offers in that country down the road, where I'll be returning this summer. Language/international skills may not be relevant in a specific sense to a lot of work, but I'm very happy I ended up going that route and even if you stay in the US you'll probably be glad you had the chance to experience something very different that you can't while working in BigLaw or whatever.

What program did you teach through?

It wasn't a program, I got the job through a one-off application to a university. I don't have personal experience with them, but I'd stay away from recruiters for the most part. Obviously the Fulbright name has some prestige so that's one option, but I'm not really familiar with other formal programs.