How Much Does Work Exp and LOR's Weight?

jonri
Thu, 02 Aug 2012 21:08:35 +0000

In most cases, it takes 5 or more years of work experience to make a real difference. There are exceptions–Teach for America, the Peace Corps, the Jesuit Volunteer Corps–or whatever, it’s called (similar to Peace Corps), military experience–especially in a combat zone… you get the idea.

Working in a field and then deciding you need to get a law degree can help. For example, my kid’s top law school class included a union organizer with about 10 years experience who decided that the only way to advance the cause was to get a law degree. Having someone who has on the ground, real life experience as a union rep in your labor law class is a plus. The class also included an Olympic medal winner. That’s not work experience, but I’ll bet it made the app stand out. Someone else had won an Oscar–not for acting, for writing a screen play.

Working for a law firm for 2 years as a paralegal is great experience and may convince you you’d like to be an attorney, but so many people do it that it really doesn’t help much, though it could be the basis for a good personal statement.