As many people already know, law school and other graduate programs are very rigorous. The coursework required to earn most graduate degrees is extremely difficult, and graduate students typically have more responsibilities than undergraduates. However, from my own personal experiences, working a part-time job during law school or another graduate program can help minimize your student debt burden.
While I was in college, I had a few part-time jobs. I gave tours for the admissions office for $11 a tour, and I was a Community Adviser for first-year residents so that I could receive free housing. When I became a law student, I wanted to use working a part-time job during law school as a way to lower the amount of student loans I had to borrow to earn my law degree.
During my time as a law student, I lived on campus so that I could be closer to my classes and get a better sense of community. Shortly after arriving on campus, I saw that the Office of Residence Life at my law school was looking to hire some work-study students for a few positions. The role that I was most interested in involved working at the front desk at my residence hall and in the package room. The job had a flexible work schedule, and it paid $16.80 an hour, which was more than I earned at any gig I had worked up to that point. I was fortunately accepted for this position, and I worked this job almost the entirety of the time I attended law school.
Working a part-time job during law school definitely had a positive impact on my law school experience. The extra cash I received from this gig covered all of my incidental law school expenses such as food, clothes, and yes, alcohol. I typically worked around 15 to 20 hours a week, so I was able to reliably earn a few thousand dollars a month as a law student. I felt good about making this money, since I believed that I was in some small way impacting the amount of student loans I had to borrow to earn my law degree.
In addition, working a part-time job during law school had numerous social benefits as well. I became pretty close with many of the students I worked with, and they are some of my closest friends from law school. In addition, I also got to know many of the administrators at my law school through this job, which was useful whenever I needed a recommendation or a favor at law school.
Furthermore, I got to meet many of my classmates while working a part-time job during law school. When I worked the front desk at my residence hall, one of my main jobs involved helping students who got locked out of their dorm rooms. Many of my classmates really appreciated my help when I helped them get back into their rooms, and I became known around campus for this job.
While working in the package room, I also got to meet many of my classmates. Almost everyone in the residence hall received a package at one point or another, and when my classmates came to pick up their packages, I interacted with my fellow residents and learned more about them. As such, working a part-time job during law school helped me meet more people at my law school and become known around campus.
Many people might be hesitant to try working a part-time job during law school, because they fear that this could impact their studies. Grades are extremely important in law school, since they have a huge impact on the opportunities available to many law students. Since law school is extremely rigorous academically, it is reasonable to believe that the responsibilities of working a part-time job during law school could impact one’s law school studies.
However, I believe that working a part-time job during law school actually had a positive impact on my grades. Since I was working around 15 to 20 hours a week at a part-time gig, I had to be more disciplined than the average law student. I set aside stretches of time to devote to my studies, and I was less willing than many law student to let distractions keep me from hitting the books.
I was also able to read assignments and complete other types of homework while I worked my part-time job. When I sorted packages at the package room, or helped residents when working the front desk at the residence hall, I was not able to spend much time on my studies. However, most of the time I was at my work-study job, I was just waiting around to see if anyone needed to pick up a package or had an issue with their dorm room. During this time, I was able to read my casebooks, write papers, and perform other academic tasks. In addition, my friends who worked work-study jobs at the library, the fitness center, and other parts of the law school also told me how they could complete assignments while working those jobs.
In the end, I think that working a part-time job during law school saved me from borrowing an additional $20,000 or so to attend law school. Besides the financial advantages, working a part-time job during law school was an enriching experience in a number of other ways. Not only did I meet people around campus who I might never have met, but this work also had a positive impact on my studies as well.