What's the best "type" of job when studying for the LSAT? Forum

[olikatz]

Right now I work a shitty full time insurance job and I frequently find myself exhausted when it comes time to study after my work day is finished. I was wondering if working a part time job would be more advantageous when studying? Or does this schedule just need some more getting used to?

[bmathers]

Have you ever thought about substitute teaching for a few $$ while studying? Take off any days that you want to go to the library, and while at work it's a fairly conducive atmosphere.

[Barack O'Drama]

I find it nice to have a job with consistent hours and weekends off. This way studying can become a part of your schedule. And you have weekends to do things like practice test and what not.

Also preferably one that isn't mentally and emotionally exhausting. And even better if it is something you enjoy doing.

[Jetlife]

One where you can study while you are "working". At my internship with the local district court I study whenever I've finished my work and don't have anything new to work on which is about 20-30% of the time. I also get 2 15 minute breaks and a half an hour lunch break. For me, 15 minutes is a good amount of time to do a logic game or RC passage and review it. I just study during lunch because I have a terrible relationship with food, hate eating, and refuse to eat in public.

My bus also gets me to work about 20 minutes early so I try to do a logic game before work as well. I've thought about studying on the bus but I just think the environment is not ideal to the point where I might be worse off using PT material. I also start to feel sick when reading on a bus/car so that's too bad because I spend about an hour and a half each day on the bus total.

My second job is working as a valet at a country club. This is where I get a lot of studying done. I work evening weekday shifts and it's pretty much the same old people that come for dinner at around 7 and leave around 8 each time. Very predictable and other than two 15 minute bursts where I'm valeting cars, I have a few hours of quality study time.

There have been days where I've gotten 6 hours of studying done, all while I was at work. Pretty nice to essentially get paid while studying for the LSAT if you ask me.

[olikatz]

Have you ever thought about substitute teaching for a few $$ while studying? Take off any days that you want to go to the library, and while at work it's a fairly conducive atmosphere.

I did think of that before I graduated and would have loved to do it, but my county has a hiring freeze on subs right now

[olikatz]

I find it nice to have a job with consistent hours and weekends off. This way studying can become a part of your schedule. And you have weekends to do things like practice test and what not.

Also preferably one that isn't mentally and emotionally exhausting. And even better if it is something you enjoy doing.

Yea I think I totally fucked myself getting a ft job in which I'm being micro-managed. I don't enjoy it so that definitely adds to the drain after work. Barack are you FT or PT right now?

[Barack O'Drama]

I find it nice to have a job with consistent hours and weekends off. This way studying can become a part of your schedule. And you have weekends to do things like practice test and what not.

Also preferably one that isn't mentally and emotionally exhausting. And even better if it is something you enjoy doing.

Yea I think I totally fucked myself getting a ft job in which I'm being micro-managed. I don't enjoy it so that definitely adds to the drain after work. Barack are you FT or PT right now?

I work full time. The good news is for the project I am on right now, I can telecommute and do my work at home. This way I put in 5 hours at 100% efficiency per day, rather than sitting in an office where I probably achieve 70% efficiency on a good day. I try to wake up at 6 and bang out all my work before noon.

And if you don't like your job it DEFINITELY adds to the drain. Try to find something that will give you a bit more freedom... Or something that at the very least won't leave you so drained. I know how much that can suck!

[mwells56]

I'm currently interning at a large international firm in Asia. Since there's not a ton of stuff for undergrads like me (or non-law students/JDs in general), there's a lot of peaks and valleys between projects. Looks good on my resume when I start applying, going to grab a LOR from my boss, and nobody minds when I do some LSAT work (especially during my lunch hour). Hours are 9:00-6:00, which kinda sucks for me because I need at least an hour or so of downtime when I get back and can't really do straight work for more than a 30-40 minutes without taking a quick break, so I end up staying up late. But, for people that aren't inefficient little sh*ts like me, a schedule like that probably wouldn't be too bad.

[Blueprint Mithun]

Right now I work a shitty full time insurance job and I frequently find myself exhausted when it comes time to study after my work day is finished. I was wondering if working a part time job would be more advantageous when studying? Or does this schedule just need some more getting used to?

The best type of job in this case is one that doesn't leave you drained, or doesn't keep you so busy that you don't have time to study for the LSAT. A full time job with a sizable amount of downtime can work. Otherwise, a part time job is definitely nice, as it brings in some income and gives you some structure, while still leaving plenty of time for you to study.

When I was studying for the test, I was teaching English part-time. You mentioned that that's not an option, but what about tutoring high school subjects, or something like the SAT? If you think you'd be qualified to do any of those, put yourself out there on craigslist or the like, and look into tutoring companies for more consistent work.

[olikatz]

I find it nice to have a job with consistent hours and weekends off. This way studying can become a part of your schedule. And you have weekends to do things like practice test and what not.

Also preferably one that isn't mentally and emotionally exhausting. And even better if it is something you enjoy doing.

Yea I think I totally fucked myself getting a ft job in which I'm being micro-managed. I don't enjoy it so that definitely adds to the drain after work. Barack are you FT or PT right now?

I work full time. The good news is for the project I am on right now, I can telecommute and do my work at home. This way I put in 5 hours at 100% efficiency per day, rather than sitting in an office where I probably achieve 70% efficiency on a good day. I try to wake up at 6 and bang out all my work before noon.

And if you don't like your job it DEFINITELY adds to the drain. Try to find something that will give you a bit more freedom... Or something that at the very least won't leave you so drained. I know how much that can suck!

I would KILL to telecommute. Maybe it's time to put in a 2 week notice

[RamTitan]

I guess it depends on your living situation, but I was able to take a leave of absence from where I worked for a little over a month to study for the LSAT fulltime (live at home, so I have zero bills to worry about). Before that though I had to study in the morning, or risk being drained/mentally distraught and distracted after work.

If you can't quit your job, I highly recommend getting up early to study for the test. It will be (kind of) early in the morning in September anyways.

[Walliums]

I would KILL to telecommute. Maybe it's time to put in a 2 week notice

Resist the temptation to do so without another job lined up!