So the job market has everyone freaking out, right? One negative consequence of this (or perhaps positive if you are an advocate for “true” learning) is that people think they need to do EXTRA well on first-year exams to have a competitive shot at decent firm work. The result is more people are studying harder, which might lead to pushing the curve of classes up higher than they might have been, say, 10 years ago when grades arguably mattered MUCH less. So, actually, it’s kind of funny — presently, students might “know” the law better, or perform better on law exams, than did these people 10 years ago, who nonetheless received a higher actual grade . . . again, all due to the dreaded curve. So some people, including myself, are kind of freaking out at this point. Although are grades count for next to nothing this quarter, it would still be nice to know that, by performing well this quarter, you’ve found an effective study method and that by continuing this method you might be able to better ensure quality grades later in the year.

More than just the freak out with respect to grades, people are sweating jobs in general. Everyone seems to be hearing different things through the grapevine and I’m caught in the middle, stressing like crazy when people tell me I’m screwed and sighing with relief when people tell me things will be fine. So many different law sites have so many different stats, numbers, anecdotes, etc., about who got what jobs from where and what school they attend, it’s pretty much a mess trying to keep track of it all. That, combined with the predictions of whether the economy will pick up, whether we will see a “double-dip” kind of economic recession, whether legal employment tends to pick up before other types of employment fields, etc., just makes it absolutely mind-numbing to try to worry about things at this point.

For me, while I am stressing, I’ve got some pretty good things going so far, I think. I can always go back to the job I had last summer. I was pretty good at it as a pre-law student and could probably just OWN it after a year’s writing, research, and general law training. But, while I was good at it, that’s not the kind of work I really want to pursue. I know most people say, “Oh, it doesn’t matter what you do after your first year. Just do something you might enjoy and get a good writing sample out of it.” Fine, but again, I’d prefer to diversify by experiences and not go back into the same thing I did last summer.

Other than that, I’ve got some legal contacts back in my home town I might be able to utilize that could work out, we’ll just have to wait and see. The problem with school is that, largely, your grades will define what kind of jobs you will be competitive for and those don’t come out until after I plan to apply to most places. So it’s like betting on my own success when I don’t yet have ANY clue as to like a measuring stick of how I’ll perform.

Anyway, stress abounds. Happy Thanksgiving y’all.

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