MIND THE GAP — STRUGGLING LL.M.
Struggling summa cum laude graduate – can’t afford to commute for networking
Hello everyone at Mind the Gap,
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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.