Ways to improve admission results and risk of quitting my current job? Forum

[yuant]

Hello TLS, here for some advice. Thanks in advance!
My background: International S GPA, master's degree in public policy earned in the US with 3.83 GPA. LSAT 174. Working full time since last year in a NY based small PI firm as a researcher, also doing paralegal work for some federal cases. Planning to apply in early September.

Questions:
1. Other than polishing my PS and carefully choosing and communicating with my recommenders, is there anything else I can do to improve admission results? It seems that retaking the 174 won't be a good idea, and anything else doesn't seem to really matter that much in the admission process?
2. Will it hurt me if I quit my job and therefore possibly creating a gap on my resume? There are certain aspects of my job that make me want to quit, yet due to issues with visa status, at this point, it's near impossible for me to jump to another position in the US...
Options if I quit:
a. Work for a local law firm in my home country. I have a guaranteed job offer there due to family connections...not sure if I'd want that though, seems a little awkward for me to be employed when there they are not really recruiting, and just because a partner there is a family friend.
b. Find something else in my home country that probably has nothing to do with the law, just to fill in the gap before I enter law school. Doesn't seem to be that meaningful since I'd change my career to a legal career anyways after law school, and I do want to practice in the US afterward, so my employment at my home country may not be helpful or relevant to my future career at all...also the way the job market works in my home country is that if I'm not a graduating student of that year, I miss tons of opportunities at on-campus recruiting, and the other positions that do not target graduating students more or less require more work experiences. This means that it may take me a lot of time and effort to find a job (especially if I want to secure a job offer before I quit, while still in the U.S.), which I'd just have for a year anyways...otherwise I can just quit, go home and devote myself to job hunting for a while. I may have better offers this way but will have a temporary gap on the resume as well.
c. I can just quit my job and hop on a cruise around the world. Money is not an issue due to family wealth. The temptation is to do it before I go to law school because I anticipate that I'd have no time for this kind of thing as a law student or practicing attorney, at least for another 10 years....the concern is it will hurt my application chances and raise a huge red flag when I seek employment 1L summer....

Is my best choice putting up with my current position for at least another 8~10 months, until I get an ideal offer from a law school?

Thanks again for reading this long post.

[rose090999]

Take this for whatever it's worth from someone who hasn't started Law school (yet). Never leave a good paying job unless you have something else lined up.

[The Lsat Airbender]

Agree that you should keep your current job until you're way more certain about what comes next, especially if your visa is at stake.

[yuant]

Take this for whatever it's worth from someone who hasn't started Law school (yet). Never leave a good paying job unless you have something else lined up.

Thanks!...it's paying, just not "good" or "good paying".

[yuant]

Agree that you should keep your current job until you're way more certain about what comes next, especially if your visa is at stake.

Thanks for the advice! Just to clarify, the visa only determines whether I can work in the US between 06/2019 and 09/2020, I'd have to go back home sometime in the summer of 2020 and reapply for a student visa to be able to reenter the US and attend law school anyways...and if I somehow don't get into any law school worth attending (although objectively I think that's unlikely given my stats), I'd prefer going back home rather than continuing my employment with my current employer in the US. I agree that the safer choice is to keep my current job, I just am not sure if I should or could put up with it for that much longer, possibly until next spring when offers are generally issued (that's when I can be certain about what comes next)...I certainly hope for an earlier offer since I plan to submit applications early September/October when the next cycle opens at each school, just cannot count on that..

[yuant]

Am I crazy wanting to quit my job like now?

[The Lsat Airbender]

Am I crazy wanting to quit my job like now?

You're not crazy - that's a very common feeling at all stages of life. But it's almost certainly a bad idea to quit your job.

[harryfei]

Are you currently on the H1b visa? If so, it actually makes sense to quit your job in the U.S. and save the remaining time of the total of 6 years for after you graduate from law school. And to avoid a gap in your resume, wait until after you have submitted your applications in September to quit your job - that is if you really don't want to wait until early next year when you have some offers at hand.

[yuant]

Are you currently on the H1b visa? If so, it actually makes sense to quit your job in the U.S. and save the remaining time of the total of 6 years for after you graduate from law school. And to avoid a gap in your resume, wait until after you have submitted your applications in September to quit your job - that is if you really don't want to wait until early next year when you have some offers at hand.

I'm currently on OPT. My employer would sponsor my cap-exempt H1B visa if I continue to work here. Anyways I've made up my mind about quitting. I'll go back to work for the local law firm (which actually has significant international businesses)and study for our national bar exam (just learned that I don't need to be a law school graduate to sit for it) in the meanwhile so that I can have more options in the future and enjoy the benefit of being able to practice in both jurisdictions. Plus if I could pass the bar this fall I can work as an assistant attorney (instead of a legal assistant) for the rest of the year before I enter law school. This way I'd be able to learn much more from the experience than what I'm currently doing...thanks for everybody's inputs!

[yuant]

Am I crazy wanting to quit my job like now?

You're not crazy - that's a very common feeling at all stages of life. But it's almost certainly a bad idea to quit your job.

I've decided to quit anyways - I'll work for the local law firm back home. It's actually a large firm that has lots of international clients, so hopefully, I can learn sth. useful in the process. I'll also study for the bar exam back home, which might be helpful in the future. Thanks for the input!

[LivHandsome]

Are you currently on the H1b visa? If so, it actually makes sense to quit your job in the U.S. and save the remaining time of the total of 6 years for after you graduate from law school. And to avoid a gap in your resume, wait until after you have submitted your applications in September to quit your job - that is if you really don't want to wait until early next year when you have some offers at hand.

I'm currently on OPT. My employer would sponsor my cap-exempt H1B visa if I continue to work here. Anyways I've made up my mind about quitting. I'll go back to work for the local law firm (which actually has significant international businesses)and study for our national bar exam (just learned that I don't need to be a law school graduate to sit for it) in the meanwhile so that I can have more options in the future and enjoy the benefit of being able to practice in both jurisdictions. Plus if I could pass the bar this fall I can work as an assistant attorney (instead of a legal assistant) for the rest of the year before I enter law school. This way I'd be able to learn much more from the experience than what I'm currently doing...thanks for everybody's inputs!

I am confused: are you planning to take the bar before earning your JD?

[yuant]

Are you currently on the H1b visa? If so, it actually makes sense to quit your job in the U.S. and save the remaining time of the total of 6 years for after you graduate from law school. And to avoid a gap in your resume, wait until after you have submitted your applications in September to quit your job - that is if you really don't want to wait until early next year when you have some offers at hand.

I'm currently on OPT. My employer would sponsor my cap-exempt H1B visa if I continue to work here. Anyways I've made up my mind about quitting. I'll go back to work for the local law firm (which actually has significant international businesses)and study for our national bar exam (just learned that I don't need to be a law school graduate to sit for it) in the meanwhile so that I can have more options in the future and enjoy the benefit of being able to practice in both jurisdictions. Plus if I could pass the bar this fall I can work as an assistant attorney (instead of a legal assistant) for the rest of the year before I enter law school. This way I'd be able to learn much more from the experience than what I'm currently doing...thanks for everybody's inputs!

I am confused: are you planning to take the bar before earning your JD?

I meant the bar in my home country. Yes.

[LivHandsome]

Are you currently on the H1b visa? If so, it actually makes sense to quit your job in the U.S. and save the remaining time of the total of 6 years for after you graduate from law school. And to avoid a gap in your resume, wait until after you have submitted your applications in September to quit your job - that is if you really don't want to wait until early next year when you have some offers at hand.

I'm currently on OPT. My employer would sponsor my cap-exempt H1B visa if I continue to work here. Anyways I've made up my mind about quitting. I'll go back to work for the local law firm (which actually has significant international businesses)and study for our national bar exam (just learned that I don't need to be a law school graduate to sit for it) in the meanwhile so that I can have more options in the future and enjoy the benefit of being able to practice in both jurisdictions. Plus if I could pass the bar this fall I can work as an assistant attorney (instead of a legal assistant) for the rest of the year before I enter law school. This way I'd be able to learn much more from the experience than what I'm currently doing...thanks for everybody's inputs!

I am confused: are you planning to take the bar before earning your JD?

I meant the bar in my home country. Yes.

Ah. I misunderstood, thought maybe you meant the NY or another state bar. Carry on!