The answer, like many things in law, is that it depends
It’s a question you see constantly on law school forums: should I work in law school? Will I be able to have a job in 1L? And the answer is always the same: it depends.
There are a lot of different factors to consider when deciding whether or not to work: your course load (and class schedule!), the flexibility of the job, your mental health, and what the job is.
For me, working in law school wasn’t always the plan. In fact, after having worked multiple jobs throughout my final year of my undergrad, I was determined not to work during 1L so that I would have time to focus on my studies. These plans changed after I received several compelling job opportunities the summer before starting school. One, an internship with the Forest of Reading, was a dream position for me, and I knew I’d kick myself if I didn’t take it. The other two spilled over from the summer, and luckily both ended in September (working three jobs simultaneously during that first month felt like a different kind of hell!).
Job opportunities seemed to keep popping up throughout the school year, leading to me working as an editor for a professor and part-time for a small law firm. While the former is fairly flexible, the latter is a scheduled job, leading to some difficulties in scheduling around classes and accounting for commute times.
Flexibility seems to be the key to working in law school. We all are familiar with the chaos: classes, mandatory 1L sessions, bundle teachings, webinars, and everything else that fills up our day-to-day lives. For some, freelancing might be the answer—you are your own boss, setting your own prices, and choosing your own schedule. Vivian Cheng (3L) began freelancing after her 2L summer. “After learning about Fiverr, I thought it would be cool to sell services there,” she said. “By chance, an acquaintance asked me to edit his admissions essays this summer and that got the ball rolling. I saw an opportunity to use my years of editing experience to provide value for others, and I went for it.”
Unfortunately for Vivian, her freelancing experience went off to a rocky start. She chose to set a fixed payment, which didn’t work for every project she did, leading to burnout. I can relate to that—spending more time than expected on a project can lead to stress, loss of sleep, and just general unpleasant feelings about the work.
However, after creating a pamphlet explaining her services, and creating templates to streamline her interactions with customers, Vivian found her freelancing work much more sustainable. She highly endorses the experience, saying, “Beyond flexibility and autonomy, the ability to capitalize on your own brand is an unparalleled feeling.”
I share the sentiment, and extend it to capitalizing on one’s own skills—working a job during law school is not impossible. In fact, if you find a job that interests you, expands on your skills, and teaches you things, it is one of the best learning experiences you can have in your legal education career.
So: should you work in 1L? I say, why not?
