California, Job Searches

Lawyer, Too Poor To Network, Fears Homelessness

When you can't get legal work, it's okay to give up and get paying work.

By  
on

MIND THE GAP — STRUGGLING LL.M.

Struggling summa cum laude graduate – can’t afford to commute for networking

Hello everyone at Mind the Gap,

Several months ago I reached out to the listserv as a recent LL.M. summa cum laude graduate from UC Hastings, with a J.D. from Australia, trying to find work as a recently admitted lawyer. So far I am still struggling to find work, and I thought to reach out again.

I moved down to the Monterey/Salinas area to study for the Bar Exam, but there are no job opportunities in the area, and I have been trying to move back to the Bay Area where there are more opportunities. I’m struggling because I can’t afford to drive up and back with the gas prices, and I can’t afford to relocate, but all the advice I’ve been receiving is that I need to volunteer for months on end before I will find a paid opportunity. I know I need to network, but I can’t afford to come up for the events, and when I apply for job postings I get screened out due to overqualifcation but lack of experience, so I don’t know what to do to move forward.

It seems at the moment like I only have two options, because I have exhausted the money to keep investing in this career trajectory – either to give up on a legal career, or move into a homeless shelter and beg on the streets for the money to go to networking events. Frankly I’m one of the smartest and hardest working people I know, but if that’s what it takes, then that may be what I have to do.

If anyone has any thoughts, please let me know.

Sponsored

« Previous 1 2

Topics

, , ,