Program Your Way to a J.D.
I read a somewhat negative take on part-time and evening programs, and I just had to write about the situation I’ve created for myself.
As I’ve mentioned before, I’m at a school in the Northeast, and I love the area. The part I didn’t mention was my plan for paying for law school: I sized up my school in advance, and periodically checked their “employment” web page. I saw that this school is a great match for my legal goals, and its evening / part-time program is very well established and respected in the legal community.
Eventually, they had an opening, I applied for a programming job, and got it. After one year working, I’m now eligible for the college’s 50% tuition benefit. So I applied for the evening program at my school, was accepted, and now my 1L year has begun.
That’s a great story, but there are many benefits beyond the simple cost reduction:
* I’m already on the campus 9-5, and so it’s very easy for me to pop over to the law school for a meeting or event.
* I really feel how I’m a part of the institution – I’m able to positively affect it in so many ways – my experiences in both roles help inform what I do. (For example, part of my work involves supporting software systems that students use.)
* I can sometimes be a little shy and so it’s been great already having tons of contacts, knowing lots of the law faculty and staff before ever starting school.
* Working at a college is definitely less stressful than most industry jobs – a good thing when going to school.
* I get to park in staff parking spots. 
There may be some drawbacks, that any part-time law student will have – working at the day job instead of getting legal experience, and so I’m thinking about how I’ll handle that. But otherwise, I think this is going to be a great 3 – 4 years.
