Job Options for 1L

[wookiewithawoodie]

Due to personal financial needs - I need a 1L job. Does not have to be a law job, but ideally looking for something more than minimum wage (even if slightly). I go to a "non-target" school (no UofT or Oz) - and I am unsure about my grades, but most likely not competitive for 1L recruit - of which I've heard chances are slim anyways. Thus, I am looking for alternative routes/ options for jobs. I've applied to some OPS stuff, but mostly minimum wage, other than that, can't really garner anything. I am in the bank for FSWEP and have not gotten a match thus far, any help is much appreciated!

[chaboywb]

I got paid quite well to be an RA and, depending on the supervisor, these roles have the potential to be flexible in terms of hours. This is also great resume experience.

[wookiewithawoodie]

On 1/7/2025 at 12:47 PM, chaboywb said:

I got paid quite well to be an RA and, depending on the supervisor, these roles have the potential to be flexible in terms of hours. This is also great resume experience.

Are these usually posted on the school website or something? or closer to the summer period?

[chaboywb]

4 hours ago, wookiewithawoodie said:

Are these usually posted on the school website or something? or closer to the summer period?

The one I got was posted on a school job portal but you can also just ask profs whose research you're interested in.

[canuckfanatic]

Try checking out student summer jobs posted by your municipality or nearby municipalities. They tend to pay decently for seasonal work. I spent my 1L working for my city's tourism board.

EDIT: Some RA positions are remote/flexible (depending on the prof), so you might be able to double-up and work a day job while doing RA work on evenings and weekends.

Edited January 9 by canuckfanatic

[SNAILS]

My suggestion is to get experience in a law firm if you can. Finances aside, it helps build networking (you boss will give you a reference for your 2L job, and it builds your resume). Most importantly, it helps guide you towards the type of law you want to practice (i.e. you learn that you hate or do not hate wills and estates; you learn how the law in law school relates to law in the real world - a very big difference).

Summering at a law firm may not be the highest paying job right now. In fact, you'd be lucky to find a firm that would pay $20 an hour rather than have you volunteer and maybe give you $5000 towards your tuition at the end. I still recommend it though, for the experience and networking. Finances will work out in the long term - I managed mine by living cheaply (clothes, food, etc) and borrowing what I did not have.

You can find 1L spots mostly through cold emails (do not expect them to be advertised).