Will I be able to work full-time and go to law school full-time?

Question

I've been admitted to law school in Illinois in the fall for full-time status. That means I'll have to go to school during the day. But, would it be possible to also carry my retail management position at 44 hours per week? I've, of course, looked at student loans and will borrow the maximum 24,200.00 that is allowed for the 2007-2008 academic year. But, I'm worried such won't be enough. Many individuals tell me full-time work and full-time law school will be almost impossible. Will law studies be THAT time consuming? Any advice would be welcome. Thanks.

Answer 1

you cannot. the ABA does not allow first year law students to work more than 20 hours per week if you attend school full-time. your first year of law school will be time consuming as you navigate your way through learning the foundations of the law. while you don't have to be studying as many hours per week as the previous posters may suggest (god knows i rarely studied more than 2 or 3 hours a night, and i did just fine), working a full time job would be both impossible and unethical as to the ABA guidelines.

you can borrow the full $24k plus as many private loans as you need. it's not ideal (i took out a total of $120k and now owe $1k per month), but it may be what needs to be done, and if you get a good job out of law school it's very affordable.

your second and third years will be different. you'll be allowed to work full-time (if you desire) as well as choose your own set of courses - generally with a lower workload, and you'll know how to study more efficiently.

hope this helps. let me know if you have any questions. and by the way, law schools will not flunk out "half the students." there are a few very, very low ranked schools that will flunk out up to a third, but few schools will flunk many students out. the top schools flunk *nobody*. focus on your studies, and you will be absolutely fine.

Answer 2

Law school is literally designed so that more than half of the students will drop out in the first year. Only the ones wholly focused on their studies during the first year make it. I've heard the second and third years aren't AS gruelling, but when the system is designed to push you past the breaking point, I don't think a full-time job is reasonable.

You will be reading 100's of pages of material each night, and you'll be memorizing more than you ever thought possible. I honestly don't think your body and brain will allow you to have your loyalties so divided. Even if you could fit it all in, you will probably end up being a rather ineffective manager and a shoddy student.

There are law school survival books that all provide this sort of info--you might want to look into one of them to get an idea of what you're in for with law school.

Answer 3

Unless you have the best time management skills ever and are naturally talented at law, it will never work. Do you have any idea how much you will have to read? Do you already know latin, because you'll pretty much need to. However much time you think it will take, triple it. Most people say you should plan to spend three hours outside of class for every hour inside of class. If you take 15 credits that is 45 hours of work plus the 15 hours you spent in class. You now essentially have a 105 hour work week, if you grasp everything quickly and get your homework done. Most full time law programs are 18 or 19 credits/semester. Now you are looking at 54-57 hours plus class time. To put it in perspective, there are only 168 hours in a week. If you sleep just 6 hours a night you only have 21 hours a week to do things like commute, cook, eat, clean your house. With the high end estimate you only have 6 hours left every week. Just face the fact that you will have to cut back somewhere. Switch to a part time law program or get a bunch of roommates, buy nothing new for the next 3 years, quit your job (or drastically reduce hours) and get the degree.

Answer 4

I am planning on going to law school this August. From what I know, many schools do not even allow first year students to work at all. If the one you attend does, I would adivse against it. It WILL be that time consuming. I mean if you go from 9-3/4 in class then like 5- close at your job that leaves little time to read cases and brief them and do outlines and such...you have to sleep at some point. I gathered this from various professors i've had and some friends in/graduated from law school. One option you might look into is a private loan for law school to help with the costs. Also, focusing on your school work and getting great first year grades will allow you to land a higher paying job, thus it will help you in the long run not to have a job during school. Hope this helps you.

Answer 5

That sounds like a pathway to burn-out really quick. Even working part-time while attending such a grueling program such as law school should be quite stressful, let alone working full-time as well as attending school full-time.

Answer 6

I'm working full-time, taking 2 classes and 1 distance learning class and I'm pretty pressed for time. And these are easy classes that don't take much studying. If you want to go to law school, it's probably going to be the only thing that you can do...

Answer 7

That depends on YOU and what you can physically and mentally handle. Law school is rough, with the amount of reading, research, and writing you'll have to do. Many people I know who worked full time went to school part-time, getting their degree in 4 years instead of 3.

Answer 8

you can do it but:
your commutes must be extremely short
(no 1 hour travel time between work and school)
you will have absolutely NO LIFE.
no dates, no drinks with friends, no time to just hang out.
it takes a toll and not everyone can do it.
if you are married or have kids or want a social life don't even consider it