Law School is a Full-Time Job

Before I started law school and all throughout my 1L, I was constantly told that law school is like a full-time job. After almost three years in law school, I would like to confirm that this in fact is true! When we say that law school is like a full-time job, we mean that it is a lot of hard work, takes a lot of your time, and requires focus, discipline, and your best efforts at all times. While you might think that this is a bad thing, it’s actually not. Law school, like any other job, teaches you a lot about the profession, others, and yourself. With regards to the latter, you learn a lot about your skills and capabilities, your strengths and weaknesses, and your ability to resolve issues and ultimately thrive in whatever you aspire to do.

If I were to talk to my 1L self now, I would tell her that law school isn’t all that bad and that she should treat law school as a job. I would advise her to treat it as a 9-5 meaning go to school in the mornings and get all the readings for the next day done right away instead of taking breaks and putting it off until the last minute. I think one thing I’ve definitely learned while in law school is that time is money. It’s extremely valuable and that if I have a couple free minutes or hours now to get work done, then I will have a couple free minutes or hours later on for myself to do something fun, relax, or sleep.

Finally, I would tell her that it’s okay if things get hard or feel difficult because just like any other job, there’s room for improvement and growth and eventually things get better and easier as you go. It’s possible to thrive and achieve your goals, it just takes time, hard work, and trust in yourself that you can do it.

Until next time friends!