Explode your Blog Traffic

Wednesday, January 7, 2009

Concerns

At least once a day I contemplate how in the world I am going to be an effective wife, mother and law student if I also have to work full-time.

I am currently trying to map out a hypothetical schedule of my day, if I had to take classes in the evening. And at best I would bot get home until about 9:00PM. I would hardly ever have time during the week to spend with my family, and that does not include the time that I would have to spend studying.

I asked in a previous post about what a typical day in the life of a part-time student would be (one that works full-time, and also has family obligations) so that I could get a feel for what my life could potentially look like for the next four years. *Still waiting on responses on that one. *

This is something that I really want and I know that somehow I will make it happen, but the concern for spending time with my family (my son especially) is an issue that is constantly weighing heavy on my heart. I've taken classes at night, and worked full-time but this was before I had a child- and even then I was out of the house for long periods of time during the week. Dinner was always late and house work was always put aside. So, I'm just soliciting some input from others in this situation.

3 comments:

KG said...

Ok .. so .. if you search on my blog for "Day in the life of a Madwoman," I did three posts about my days in law school while my hubby was in Iraq.

But I've done it all. When I started law school, I worked and went to school at night. Then after I had my son, I stayed at home with him during the day and went to class at night after my husband came home from work. And when he went to Iraq, I went to school during the day while my son stayed with a nanny.

Anyway - when I was working and in school? It was tough. If you can at all do it, I'd suggest working part time. I missed class frequently because I worked at a law firm doing litigation. And of course, there were deadlines. And it sucked. It was much easier when I started working part time. I used to do my reading for class on my way to and from work on the subway. I still missed class sometimes, but it wasn't as exhausting. I mean - the days are STILL long, but otherwise you have to do all your reading for your classes on the weekend prior to the week of class. And that obviously eats into your time you can spend with your family. It's tough.

PS - You will incur crippling and horrible debt. I don't recommend law school to anybody!

PPS - I'm now studying for the bar. And that sucks, too.

Anonymous said...

I'm a current full-time law student. I'm also a mother of two very small children. I could tell you it is easy, but I would be lying. I could say that my days aren't hectic and rushed. I could also tell you that I don't feel guilty or torn between my family and my studies. None of that would be true, either.

What I can tell you for certain is that I feel like a better me. I am pursuing my dream, and I feel like I am setting a good example for my children. I balance my time and make sure that what time is devoted to my family is "quality." I try not to sweat the small stuff and I NEVER put off my reading because I'm never sure that I will have time to catch back up again.

If law is your passion, you can make it work. My only suggestion would be to do whatever it takes to be able to cut your work back to part-time. Even a part-time law program is intense- add a family onto that and it is really going to be difficult. I don't know your personal situation, but if your fear is the debt, you might want to at least do a cost-benefit analysis of cutting back on work during just your first year. Also, go to the BEST and CHEAPEST law school you can (Trannyhead is right that debt can be crippling). Good luck!

Anonymous said...

I'm a 1L part-time evening student and SAHM during the day, expecting a 2nd boy during finals, taking the summer off, then switching to full-time next fall. I don't know what your family/support situation is, but if you don't absolutely have to, don't both work and go to school, unless you can do some part-time work combined with daytime school. You'll lose your mind, and then you can't take care of yourself OR your kids in the way you want/need to. good luck!

Check this Blogs Reading Level

Shoe-Gate

Twitter Updates

    follow me on Twitter