rant warning, bitter law student

lmwilber

I don't want to take the Bar Exam. There I said it.  I have to take a shitty 2 1/2 day long test, that I will be studying for for two months, then waiting another 2 months for my results. Which means that even though I finish law school in 53 days, I still don't get my life back until May of 2011. Which means 7 more months of not having a job, 7 more month of not being able to go out, 7 more months of not being able to financially pull my own weight in my relationship with BF, 7 more months of feeling worthless and stressed out.

I find myself wishing that BF would propose so that I had something in my life other then this, because the only thing I have in my future right now (well in 53 days) is the Feb Bar (ekk) after that, I have nothing, no job, no fun vacation, just vast stretches of blank calendar space...and then what if I don't pass?!?! I just feel so stressed, and like I don't have any control over my future.

 I know its kinda BSC to wish for him to propose just so I don't have to deal with the Bar. But 1) I would like to have something happy to think about, and 2) I want everone I know to stop asking me about the Bar.

/rant.

Thanks for letting me vent.

loves2shop4shoes

Oh the things I have to look forward to...

noelle24

I know plenty of law students who've looked for (and started!) jobs before they passed the bar exam.  Their employment, obviously, was contingent on passing, but they were still able to move forward with things.  Is there any way you could do the same?  I know it's tough out there. I'm trying to find a full-time job myself right now, so I absolutely understand the feelings of worthlessness.  I've got to believe it will get better though.

Getting engaged right now won't make everything better.  You'll be happy for a little while, and then once things settle back down into normal, all the stress will still be there.  Engagement won't fix that. 

Plus, it could be worse.  I had a friend that took the bar exam two DAYS before her wedding.  Yup, talk about stress.

Edit: Cate reminded me that I have a friend who started work for a law firm before she got her results back.  She wasn't able to do full-fledged lawyer-stuff (can you tell I'm on top of the terminology?), but they found work for her to do in the meantime.  Then, once she passed, she was able to practice law for the same firm. 

calindi

Hang in there!  I'm sure he understands (though as a significant other of a law student, may I say I feel his pain).  After you take the bar, you can work - you can have a life!  You just won't be able to practice law yet until you find out you pass it.  But they do recommend finding something to do that you enjoy and can make some money after taking the bar, both for your financial and mental well being.

And getting engaged won't make the bar any less stressful.  It would be a distraction for a few days, but ultimately it would probably add MORE stress between now and February.  Just be patient and know that you're ALMOST DONE!  Good luck!

SeaTea02

I might go down this path someday. I still can't decide. I am currently a paralegal student so I figured I would get out there and work with lawyers and then decide.

Have you done any internships? They can surely find work for you before you officially pass the bar.

Sooooo want to do my closed memo for me? Do they do those in law school or is that just a paralegal thing?

leia1979

My friend worked as a paralegal between graduating law school and passing the Bar. Could you do something like that?

lmwilber

Thanks Ladies! I know that there are options for work out there, I'm just worried that with the economy the way it is that it will be more difficult to find work. I had a job with a suburban prosecutor, that I loved, but there was not going to be a position there for me after the Bar. I am doing an internship now with the county prosecutor's office, and I enjoy it, but I don't know if there will be any opening. The county I live in is going though a huge corruption scandal right now, and we are electing a new county government next week, so everyone is really just waiting to see how everything plays out. I hope to get hired there, but who knows.
I never thought of doing paralegal work, I guess I could track down some of the old defence attorneys I used to work with and see if they need help with motion writing and discovery.

As for getting engaged, you guys are right. I just want an excuse to eat cake and dance with my friends. But hey, who really needs an excuse for that

vicki0508

I take the MPRE next Saturday....suuuuuuck.  I'm pretty sure my summer job will hire me on as a certified legal intern until I get my bar results back.  It sounds like you are finishing school on the 2.5 year route, so congrats for that!  I'm taking the full three years, so I have the bar to look forward to in July.  Sometimes I regret not going the 2.5 year route, so kudos to you!

notquiteblushing

I'm not gonna lie, the bar exam pretty much did irreversible damage to my psyche.  But I passed, lol, just to start a job that only paid enough to pay my rent and student loans and that's about it.  Now it's 5 years later and I'm doing a lot better now but part of that came with marriage (no more rent!).

So I know what you mean.   There's so much stress and crap to deal with you would love something happy to happen.  And if it does, great.  But just know that in between now and the exam you can only pause to celebrate for about 10 minutes before you get back to studying.  Sorry to say but studying for the bar exam is a full time job.  Good luck!

Blue & White

I'd also recommend volunteering with whatever organizations float your boat if you are unable to find employment doing something related to law.  Why?  Because my cousin passed the bar over a year ago and is still working part time at a grocery store.  It's hard to get an entry level law job.

Also, chances are your boyfriend (if you're that close to becoming engaged) is waiting until AFTER you're done stressing with the bar exam to ask.  Not to mention I doubt bar exam studying and planning a wedding are conducive to each other.  I'd stick with studying so you only have to pay for the exam/prep once.

Acrosthec

It could be worse.  I took (and passed) two bar exams, and can't find a job as an attorney.  I've been working as a law clerk for the past two years, but found out 3 weeks ago that I'm being laid off and my last day is Dec. 17. 

Enjoy your time left in school, try not to totally stress out about the bar exam (if you go to the review classes and put even a mediocre amount of work into reviewing and working practice problems, you'll most likely be FINE), and good luck finding a job.  The market is ugly right now.  If you can find anywhere that will hire you, I'd take it, even if it's not law related, and just hope the market gets better.  As it stands, my option is that or a career change, and I don't really have the luxury of waiting for the market to improve, so my 3 years in law school and 2 bar exams are pretty useless at this point, not that I'm bitter.  /rant

Also, my DH didn't even want to *date* while he was studying for the bar because it was too stressful for him.  I wasn't this stressed about it, but I'm a confident test taker.  Everyone is different (for instance, apparently NQB was permanently scarred, while I would be perfectly content taking another one if given a week to prep).  Just be prepared for your BF to not want to do *anything* that may add additional stress or take away from your studying, and this includes proposing, especially if he doesn't handle stress well himself.  He'll assume that you don't either.