I am in the midst of deciding how I should spend my first summer. I have two basic alternatives: study abroad or find a job. I would like opinions (in comment form) on which would be better in the long run, and why. Obviously the opinions of practitioners and upperclassmen are more valuable at this point than opinions from fellow 1Ls.
I know (with a fair amount of certainty) that I want to work in criminal prosecution when I finish law school, and I also know that I want to stay in Indiana. Although nearly all study abroad programs I found involved international business or human rights, I was able to find a study abroad program through Tulane University that focuses on Criminal Law. It takes place in Amsterdam, because of its proximity to the Hague, among other reasons. The focus of the coursework would be comparative criminal procedure, international criminal law, and terrorism (as seen in the European way, as a crime rather than something upon which to declare war). The downside is that it is costly, and I would have to take out additional loans to fund such a trip.
My other alternative is to find work in a prosecutor's office or courtroom somewhere in Indiana. More populous counties like Marion, Lake, Monroe, Tippecanoe, and St. Joseph have large court systems, but I would love to work in a rural office (say, Park or Adams county) just as much. I have also looked into the Army JAG summer internship program, and wouldn't be opposed to working there, either. All of these alternatives give me valuable networks for when I want to find a job in a prosecutor's office in three years. The downside is that many of these positions are unpaid, so I might still need to take out loans.
So, for all the practitioners, judges, professors, and upperclassmen reading this: in your opinion, which is the better alternative? Your help is much appreciated.
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The rhetorical ramblings of a student at Indiana University School of Law - Bloomington.
2 comments:
Either option will serve you well for getting a job after 2L. Here's the general pros & cons of it all.
Study Abroad: You'll have a ton of fun, learn a little law, and have boat loads to talk about in OCI fall of your 2L year [if you are lucky enough to qualify for such things]. Your time abroad will likely not fill your entire summer, and therefore you'll have time to do some part time [or pro bono] work before and after your trip. Downside.... the dollar is terrible against the Euro and you'll end up paying 3x as much if you spend your summer abroad than if you stay stateside.
Working in the Prosecutors Office or Clerking for a Judge:: Likely a better real life experience and will be far more useful than you can imagine going into it. Working after 1L [especially for a judge] will put all of your 1L classes into perspective and tie everything together. You'll have a better working knowledge of how everything in the system works. Downside.... you likely won't get paid and you may even have to pay your school if you can manage to get an externship set up [which i highly reccomend]. BUT, there's the potential to earn a couple of credits for something you would do anyway and you'll be a few credits up on your friends who take paying jobs for the summer.
If you're someone who didn't come into law school with any legal experience [like a lot of us] then working for the summer can be more beneficial to your resume than playing overseas for a couple months.
If you want to know what I actually did with my 1L summer just shoot me an email, for anonymity's sake I'd rather not post all about it.
[sillylittlelawstudent@gmail.com]
i'd say get a job. there's no doubt whatsoever that study abroad would be much more fun and a better life experience, but if your goal is to further your professional career then i'd say try to get an internship. obviously you'd like to be paid, but as a rising 2L you're sadly still not qualified to do anything so take whatever you can get. study abroad would be great for talking points in OCI, but so would being able to speak intelligently about your interests and past work. unless you have past experience, it would be much easier for you to get something for your 2L summer if you worked during your 1L summer.
that's all i've got for now. sorry if the writing is unclear, i'm also watching the simpsons and mlb playoffs.
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