Work experience Forum

[Young Marino]

So I didn't really know where to post this since I can't post in the employment forum as a 0L but I have an 8 month stint working in my local government as a mayoral assistant/board secretary and I interviewed today to be second in command of the recreation department and I'm pretty sure I got the job. Will this type of work experience potientially lead to tier 1 admission with a mid 150s lsat/ 3.8 gpa? Also, will this work experience look good to a city/county attorney office for a job since it shows I have experience working in municipal operations?

[phillywc]

So I didn't really know where to post this since I can't post in the employment forum as a 0L but I have an 8 month stint working in my local government as a mayoral assistant/board secretary and I interviewed today to be second in command of the recreation department and I'm pretty sure I got the job. Will this type of work experience potientially lead to tier 1 admission with a mid 150s lsat/ 3.8 gpa? Also, will this work experience look good to a city/county attorney office for a job since it shows I have experience working in municipal operations?

It may or may not help with getting a job once you get out of law school. You really need to improve the LSAT a bit though to get in somewhere worth going at a reasonable price. There is a whole forum here dedicated to LSAT prep, they are very welcoming and helpful.

[BigZuck]

Yup, definitely got to bring the LSAT up. Tier 1 is a meaningless distinction- you need to go to a school that places well into an area that you have ties to (where you grew up, went to college, lived and worked after college, etc.) and that is at a reasonable cost.

The work experience might be helpful when it comes time to get a job after law school, but it probably won't make a difference in terms of what school you get into.

[Young Marino]

The work experience might be helpful when it comes time to get a job after law school, but it probably won't make a difference in terms of what school you get into.

I was thinking the work experience would look good If I'm going for a public sector job since I'd already have experience in working in government

[midnight_circus]

The work experience might be helpful when it comes time to get a job after law school, but it probably won't make a difference in terms of what school you get into.

I was thinking the work experience would look good If I'm going for a public sector job since I'd already have experience in working in government

Right. You might be able to work this into your PS and it's certainly nice to have related w/e on your resume, but I genuinely do not believe your work in the local dept of recreation is going to help you outperform your numbers. It will help convince govt. hiring agencies that your are committed to that kind of work after law school, but it will not convince law schools that they should admit you. If you can keep this job for a year, retake. A good LSAT + a good GPA + related w/e is a great combo.

[Young Marino]

The work experience might be helpful when it comes time to get a job after law school, but it probably won't make a difference in terms of what school you get into.

I was thinking the work experience would look good If I'm going for a public sector job since I'd already have experience in working in government

Right. You might be able to work this into your PS and it's certainly nice to have related w/e on your resume, but I genuinely do not believe your work in the local dept of recreation is going to help you outperform your numbers. It will help convince govt. hiring agencies that your are committed to that kind of work after law school, but it will not convince law schools that they should admit you. If you can keep this job for a year, retake. A good LSAT + a good GPA + related w/e is a great combo.

I'm actually set to become a 1L in August. I am considering deferring a year to save $$ though but my main question is how big of a resume boost this can add when I start looking at government agencies to work at.

[BigZuck]

The work experience might be helpful when it comes time to get a job after law school, but it probably won't make a difference in terms of what school you get into.

I was thinking the work experience would look good If I'm going for a public sector job since I'd already have experience in working in government

Right. You might be able to work this into your PS and it's certainly nice to have related w/e on your resume, but I genuinely do not believe your work in the local dept of recreation is going to help you outperform your numbers. It will help convince govt. hiring agencies that your are committed to that kind of work after law school, but it will not convince law schools that they should admit you. If you can keep this job for a year, retake. A good LSAT + a good GPA + related w/e is a great combo.

I'm actually set to become a 1L in August. I am considering deferring a year to save $$ though but my main question is how big of a resume boost this can add when I start looking at government agencies to work at.

Don't go unless its cheap and the school places well into an area that you have significant ties to. If you want to work for the government it is especially important to keep your debt as low as possible.

[Young Marino]

The work experience might be helpful when it comes time to get a job after law school, but it probably won't make a difference in terms of what school you get into.

I was thinking the work experience would look good If I'm going for a public sector job since I'd already have experience in working in government

Right. You might be able to work this into your PS and it's certainly nice to have related w/e on your resume, but I genuinely do not believe your work in the local dept of recreation is going to help you outperform your numbers. It will help convince govt. hiring agencies that your are committed to that kind of work after law school, but it will not convince law schools that they should admit you. If you can keep this job for a year, retake. A good LSAT + a good GPA + related w/e is a great combo.

Don't go unless its cheap and the school places well into an area that you have significant ties to. If you want to work for the government it is especially important to keep your debt as low as possible.

What about pslf and ibr?

[encore1101]

is this parks and recreation?

[BigZuck]

IBR I see as a last resort, not a goal. PSLF is great but you have to keep the job for 10 years. Of course I would utilize it if it was an option but gotta keep that debt as low as possibile in case you have a hard time (or can't) find a PSLF eligible job.

[Ti Malice]

Will this type of work experience potientially lead to tier 1 admission with a mid 150s lsat/ 3.8 gpa?

Jesus. Now I understand why you say things like this when offering advice to other people:

I'm not as big on retaking the lsat as many on here but with you're gpa you can probably get into some reputable regionals and tier 3/4s with a full ride (U of DC perhaps?).

I'm not usually one to follow the typical TLS rhetoric of retake, retake, retake...

Don't be an idiot. Retake. But if you insist on being an idiot, at least stop advising other people to join you.

[Young Marino]

IBR I see as a last resort, not a goal. PSLF is great but you have to keep the job for 10 years. Of course I would utilize it if it was an option but gotta keep that debt as low as possibile in case you have a hard time (or can't) find a PSLF eligible job.

Fair point

[Young Marino]

Will this type of work experience potientially lead to tier 1 admission with a mid 150s lsat/ 3.8 gpa?

Jesus. Now I understand why you say things like this when offering advice to other people:

I'm not as big on retaking the lsat as many on here but with you're gpa you can probably get into some reputable regionals and tier 3/4s with a full ride (U of DC perhaps?).

I'm not usually one to follow the typical TLS rhetoric of retake, retake, retake...

Don't be an idiot. Retake. But if you insist on being an idiot, at least stop advising other people to join you.

Sorry I'm not a typical TLS prestige whore?

[TheSpanishMain]

Will this type of work experience potientially lead to tier 1 admission with a mid 150s lsat/ 3.8 gpa?

Jesus. Now I understand why you say things like this when offering advice to other people:

I'm not as big on retaking the lsat as many on here but with you're gpa you can probably get into some reputable regionals and tier 3/4s with a full ride (U of DC perhaps?).

I'm not usually one to follow the typical TLS rhetoric of retake, retake, retake...

Don't be an idiot. Retake. But if you insist on being an idiot, at least stop advising other people to join you.

Sorry I'm not a typical TLS prestige whore?

More like employment whore. Go look at U of DC's employment numbers and stop advising people to go there.

[phillywc]

Sorry I'm not a typical TLS prestige whore?

Not a thing to do with presitge. It is about jobs and debt.

[Young Marino]

Sorry I'm not a typical TLS prestige whore?

Not a thing to do with presitge. It is about jobs and debt.

It is SO overblown on this site though. I swear most of you guys think if you're not getting biglaw/t14 you are doomed to a life of searching for food out of dumpsters.

[A. Nony Mouse]

Sorry I'm not a typical TLS prestige whore?

Not a thing to do with presitge. It is about jobs and debt.

It is SO overblown on this site though. I swear most of you guys think if you're not getting biglaw/t14 you are doomed to a life of searching for food out of dumpsters.

No, what most people here think is that in the absence of other specific factors, if you don't do biglaw/T14, you have a much greater chance of getting a job that pays ~$40-50K and trying to pay back potentially ~$200K debt. Everyone here recognizes that the calculus about where to go depends on how much debt you'll have and a realistic assessment of your employment options. And people here are generally extremely risk-averse, so want to maximize their chances at not ending up in the above scenario. That's it.

[phillywc]

Sorry I'm not a typical TLS prestige whore?

Not a thing to do with presitge. It is about jobs and debt.

It is SO overblown on this site though. I swear most of you guys think if you're not getting biglaw/t14 you are doomed to a life of searching for food out of dumpsters.

Have you been on LST? Going to a non t-14 at sticker is an objectively poor decision. Do some people have good outcomes? Absolutely. Not enough to justify the risk of 300k though.

[jingosaur]

Retaking isn't about being a prestige whore. It's about significantly improving your chances of getting into a law school that can help you accomplish your career goals. I boosted my LSAT score by 6 points and now I can get full rides at schools that wouldn't have even accepted me after my first LSAT try. If you want to improve your chances at getting into a "T1 School" like you say you do, the best way to do that is to retake the LSAT. Even 2 or 3 points can significantly improve your cycle. And no pre-law job will give you a boost as big as 2 or 3 points on the LSAT.

[TheSpanishMain]

Sorry I'm not a typical TLS prestige whore?

Not a thing to do with presitge. It is about jobs and debt.

It is SO overblown on this site though. I swear most of you guys think if you're not getting biglaw/t14 you are doomed to a life of searching for food out of dumpsters.

It can seem that way. I had the same thought when I first showed up. If you really read closely, though, you'll see that the TLS Collective rarely advises against going to a STRONG regional if it's in the area you want to practice and the cost is right. What TLS never endorses is going to a complete shithole like U of DC.

It's the difference between going to, say, UNC (non-T14, but still a solid regional school and a good bet if it doesn't involve 200k in debt) and North Carolina Central, which is a complete dump and should not be attended at any price.

[Young Marino]

Sorry I'm not a typical TLS prestige whore?

Not a thing to do with presitge. It is about jobs and debt.

It is SO overblown on this site though. I swear most of you guys think if you're not getting biglaw/t14 you are doomed to a life of searching for food out of dumpsters.

It can seem that way. I had the same thought when I first showed up. If you really read closely, though, you'll see that the TLS Collective rarely advises against going to a STRONG regional if it's in the area you want to practice and the cost is right. What TLS never endorses is going to a complete shithole like U of DC.

It's the difference between going to, say, UNC (non-T14, but still a solid regional school and a good bet if it doesn't involve 200k in debt) and North Carolina Central, which is a complete dump and should not be attended at any price.

I only recommended U of DC one time as an alternative to going to American at sticker when the user could have gotten a full ride to U of DC. This is the type of instance that proves US World News Rankings is complete trash. How a "T1" shares similar employment stats with a TTTT is beyond me. For posters on here, I urge you guys to put more stock in the ATL rankings as they are mostly formulated on employment data which is really the only thing that should matter IMO. Even though it only ranks 50 schools I'd take it all day and it doesn't hurt that my school is in that group of 50 lol.

[TheSpanishMain]

I know. It's just an example. The point is 'non-T14' covers a wide range of schools. They are not all created equal and most people here won't give you grief about a non-T14 provided it's a good non-T14.

[Young Marino]

All I'm saying is I'm not gunning for t14/biglaw. I'm completely comfortable working in the public sector and going to the strongest school in my market in terms of placement to get that done. I'm not so debt adverse because of programs like pslf/ibr even though for some of you it's a "last resort". To me, these programs are a thing of beauty. So back to my original question: will my work experience in municipal operations give me a leg up when trying to land a public sector law job?

[PalmBay]

All I'm saying is I'm not gunning for t14/biglaw. I'm completely comfortable working in the public sector and going to the strongest school in my market in terms of placement to get that done. I'm not so debt adverse because of programs like pslf/ibr even though for some of you it's a "last resort". To me, these programs are a thing of beauty. So back to my original question: will my work experience in municipal operations give me a leg up when trying to land a public sector law job?

Certainly doesn't hurt.

[TheSpanishMain]

All I'm saying is I'm not gunning for t14/biglaw. I'm completely comfortable working in the public sector and going to the strongest school in my market in terms of placement to get that done. I'm not so debt adverse because of programs like pslf/ibr even though for some of you it's a "last resort". To me, these programs are a thing of beauty. So back to my original question: will my work experience in municipal operations give me a leg up when trying to land a public sector law job?

Probably somewhat, yes, particularly if you end up applying for legal jobs in the same geographic area. I wouldn't expect it to make you a lock or anything, but it should at least demonstrate that you have a genuine commitment to public service.

By the way, just to be clear, a LOT of people here aren't gunning for biglaw. I'm not. There are huge threads here where people discuss how to become an ADA/PD. The military law thread is lengthy too. It's not like going to a quality school only matters if you want biglaw. Public service legal jobs are competitive too, especially with government hiring in the toilet. The point is just that you want to put yourself in the best position possible, which for you should mean going to a strong regional school while minimizing debt. Your GPA is awesome. Even raising your LSAT score a few points could mean some pretty significant money.