2009 Summer Employment Forum

[silver11]

I am finishing my PhD end of June and then will be starting law school in Fall 09! I have no idea what to do for the 2 or so months before law school. I tutor part time currently, and would plan on continuing and maybe expanding that, but who knows if I'll be able to find clients. Any suggestions?

Note - I need to work to earn money. Taking 2 months off isn't a very viable option. My boyfriend may also be unemployed at that time (he's graduating the same time), so there is no guarantee he can help me out....

Temp work?

[silver11]

I'm talking about Temp Agencies that set you up with Clerical/Project Work in law firms. They are usually for 30-90 days and include legal research for lawyers, clerical work, etc.

[just a girl]

Maybe you should figure out where you're going first, and then the timing of your move there. If you're moving to a metropolitan area it will probably be easier to find temp work, but in my experience you can't just show up and get a job the same day (unless you're a day laborer!). My friend had to do several interviews before she was given any decent positions. Also, even if it may not be easy financially, it may not be a bad idea to stay unemployed before law school. It will only be for like 6-7 weeks, since schools generally start orientation the 3rd week of August. If you start saving now, there's no reason not to have 2 months of living expenses saved up before the end of June.

Also, if will also make for an easier transition if you have some time to familiarize yourself with the area. For example, I would like to move to Ann Arbor and get settled 2-3 weeks before classes start and not work, but get acclimated to the area, but I have to move 3 days before orientation starts. If I could, I'd want to spend some time finding out grocery stores, restaurants, bookstores, etc. before launching into the stress of 1L.

[20160810]

Honestly if you want something with reasonable hours waiting tables isn't half bad. I worked at a really small restaurant in college and still probably made about $16/hour with tips included

[Helena22]

Honestly if you want something with reasonable hours waiting tables isn't half bad. I worked at a really small restaurant in college and still probably made about $16/hour with tips included

agreed.

It's not the most intellectually stimulating job, but, since you're going to law school it's not as if you need to boost your resume. It's also one of the few jobs you can be honest about only wanting to work 3 months and they say ok great. Money is not bad either, which is what your goal should be at this point.

[mallard]

Just put up my first ad to be an LSAT tutor - not sure if you would consider this, but it pays better than waiting tables. Economy is slowing down, nobody wants somebody who'll be gone in eight months, etc. I know Vault rankings, T14 full-tuition scholarships, schools' 25th/75th percentiles, LSAT questions, etc. by heart. Hopefully I can make rent with this before I put it to use for myself!

[silver11]

Just put up my first ad to be an LSAT tutor - not sure if you would consider this, but it pays better than waiting tables. Economy is slowing down, nobody wants somebody who'll be gone in eight months, etc. I know Vault rankings, T14 full-tuition scholarships, schools' 25th/75th percentiles, LSAT questions, etc. by heart. Hopefully I can make rent with this before I put it to use for myself!

Good time to get in on this business should be good.

[LjakW]

Just put up my first ad to be an LSAT tutor - not sure if you would consider this, but it pays better than waiting tables. Economy is slowing down, nobody wants somebody who'll be gone in eight months, etc. I know Vault rankings, T14 full-tuition scholarships, schools' 25th/75th percentiles, LSAT questions, etc. by heart. Hopefully I can make rent with this before I put it to use for myself!

Who knew, those thousand TLS posts could be profitable for you.

[seraphita]

OP: What about getting hired as a research assistant? Professors with grant money could hire you to help out on a project. That's probably my favorite form of temporary, part-time work.

[mallard]

I thought about this, but is my LSAT good enough?? And do people really want to have an ESL person teach them LSAT? (I guess I could omit the ESL part....I don't have an accent...)

This is a fair question. I think your LSAT is solid for Kaplan, but for private tutoring a high LSAT is one of the only ways to make yourself seem an authority. So, not sure. Kaplan pays okay though.

[mallard]

I'll consider that too. I could tutor MCAT. I took it and did well....another option.

It's been 12 hours and I'm already making lesson plans for my first student, so it's something to think about.

(A little scary too - this guy started in the 130s, took two Kaplan courses, and hit 147 as his peak. And he's taking the December test. Hoping I can do *something* for him.)

[Esc]

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[gahhhhhhhhhh]

I'm talking about Temp Agencies that set you up with Clerical/Project Work in law firms. They are usually for 30-90 days and include legal research for lawyers, clerical work, etc.

hmm, these sound intriguing.

In this economy, I'm not sure if there are many law firms looking for temps.

[Skadden Stairs]

Probably sounds less interesting than the other options suggested, but you could summer nanny and make good (tax-free) money with little effort. Especially given you're age/credentials, you would be in high demand in a big city, since people relate intelligence with the ability to handle children (not necessarily sure about this). And you could still tutor on the side.

[lostmyname]

Try http://www.seo-usa.org/career/index.aspx

Note that they usually only accept people who have gotten into T14.
Edit: Sorry! I just realized they only take undergrads.

[meesawoosa]

SEO also takes recent grads who are attending law school in the fall... you may still be eligible.

[wiseowl]

you could work for kaplan, but their audition/training process is 6-8 weeks long and not trivial. you'll want to start the process now if you want to actually be teaching in the summer. other difficulty - it is probably going to be a hassle if you train in a different city than you ultimately end up in (paperwork transfer, etc) and also the classes are, not surprisingly, scheduled around the test dates. classes are already being assigned to teachers for the june test, and its unlikely you'd get trained in time for one of those unless you started very soon. the sept/oct test presents the same challenge with location uncertainty.

i'm going to try to study for and take the patent bar this summer and get back into shape at the gym after assuming the dissertation flab. when are you taking the bar again?

[whyamidoingthis]

Many universities (Stanford and Santa Clara, for example) hire people for summer positions that can vary from counselors in high school math camps to summer assistants in executive education at Business Schools. They pay pretty well...

[Objection]

Tutor for LSAT. Other than that, RELAX.

[Sobriquet]

SEO also takes recent grads who are attending law school in the fall... you may still be eligible.

FYI, SEO is only for minorities...

[YCrevolution]

..

[pumpkincrepes]

I'm in the same position - trying to figure out what to do this summer is difficult. I've heard some people take the summer off, but is that actually that common? Also, is the process/timeline for becoming a Kaplan Tutor different than for becoming a classroom teacher?

[lostmyname]

I'm in the same position - trying to figure out what to do this summer is difficult. I've heard some people take the summer off, but is that actually that common? Also, is the process/timeline for becoming a Kaplan Tutor different than for becoming a classroom teacher?

I could be wrong, but I believe they like to have tutors teach an entire course before actually doing individual tutoring sessions - so you get an overview of the entire Kaplan method and understand the individual lessons that you teach in context of the entire course.

[Esc]

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[hj9]

i'm going to try to study for and take the patent bar this summer and get back into shape at the gym after assuming the dissertation flab.

+1