Law Schools

FYI, Law School Graduates: It's Time To Apply For Babysitting Jobs

Without any real income to speak of, a bridge job might be necessary.

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Because babysitting will prepare you for interacting with partners.

I think the idea of considering a bridge job is important. There is a natural resistance to temporary, part-time work to try to sustain yourself between graduating, taking and passing the bar, and starting your full-time legal career. That can be a justifiable apprehension given the fact that you poured so much time and money into getting this law degree—you want to use it to practice law. But in the meantime, we have to remember that these are abnormal times, which call for alternative options to get us where we need to go. Things like teleworking, shipping and delivering companies, grocery stores and grocery delivery, remote learning and even child care are all viable options that you can consider if you just want to have help with cash flow to get from here to starting your full-time career. The silver lining may be that in doing so, you build a skill that may transfer to your law career.

— Derek Brainard, the director of financial education at nonprofit legal education organization AccessLex Institute, offering advice for 2020 law school graduates who, amid the pandemic, are now stuck between a rock and a hard place financially thanks to delayed bar exams and deferred law firm start dates.

Staci ZaretskyStaci Zaretsky is a senior editor at Above the Law, where she’s worked since 2011. She’d love to hear from you, so please feel free to email her with any tips, questions, comments, or critiques. You can follow her on Twitter or connect with her on LinkedIn.

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