Many folks who are re-taking the bar exam need to study while working part or full time. Although it can be best to study for the bar exam full time, this just is not the reality for many bar takers. When considering studying while working, there are a number of things you should take into consideration, especially if you are re-taking the bar exam after disappointing results.
1. Talk to your supervisor at your job about whether you can take any time off to study. Many bar studiers are hesitant to ask about taking time off from work to study. But this “time off” can come in different forms. Some may want to limit their overall hours per week to allow time for studying. Some may want to take a few weeks off before the exam in order to study. Regardless of your preference and plan, you should talk to your supervisor sooner rather than later so you know what your bar prep period is going to look like.
Here is what I don’t want to happen to you. I knew one bar studier who had a huge deadline at work just two weeks before the California bar exam. So because of this deadline she was unable to study the necessary hours for about 10 days of her prep time. With some careful planning and dialogue with her supervisors, maybe she could have changed that deadline so it did not interfere with her bar study schedule.
2. How much time can you study for the bar exam each week? This is the first question I ask students when they tell me they are planning to work and study at the same time. “At night and on weekends,” in my opinion, is just not good enough. You need to commit to a set number of hours. Perhaps 10 or 15 hours a week. Regardless, you need to be able to plan ahead based on the realistic time that you have available.
3. Depending on how many hours a week you are planning to study, you might need to prepare earlier than most. Most people prepare for the bar exam for two months, and many do this preparation full time. If you are studying only 10 hours a week, studying for just eight weeks may not be enough. So should you consider starting your prep early? Absolutely!
There are a number of things you can work on early that will help you get ready for the bar exam. If you are in a jurisdiction with a performance test, that is one part of the bar exam you can work on early (since it doesn’t require any memorization or knowledge of the law). In addition, especially if you work with a tutor, you can spend time working on writing skills prior to the typical prep period. Essay writing skills will help your overall scores, and writing is something that can be worked on even without extensive memorization of the law.
Being smart about your early study time will allow you to focus on practice and memorization in the final weeks of preparation.
4. Find the right flexible bar review provider for you. We have talked a lot on the blog about selecting the right bar review provider for you. But if you are going to be on an alternative schedule and studying while working, it is important that you find a bar review provider that will support you on your schedule. This means that you may want to select a provider with substantive lectures to listen to remotely in the car, office, or at home after work. Or you may find that you need to hire a tutor to help you target your weak areas and study effectively based on your needs. Regardless, do your research. Make sure that the bar review provider will work within your available study time.
5. Commit to your bar study. Sometimes, when studying for the bar exam while working, students use work as a crutch to avoid studying. Often students will say that they were too busy at work to study that week, or that their boss changed their schedule to give them more hours, or that they were just too tired after a work project. If I had a dollar for every time a student gave me any one of these explanations for not studying, I would have some good money. You need to decide that you are going to commit to the process and make it happen for you. This needs to be a priority in your life, one that is balanced with work responsibilities. It is not going to be easy, but it will pay off in the end. If you are struggling with keeping yourself accountable, try to select a bar review provider that will “check in” with you. As a tutor, I frequently call out students when I think they are not studying enough or not committed to the process. If you need that accountability, get it. Get the right support for you. You will be glad that you did, come bar results time.
Do you have any other suggestions for studying for the bar while working? Please leave them in the comments.
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Check out these other helpful posts:
- Yikes! I failed the bar exam.
- Seven reasons the bar exam is hard. See our thoughts on what makes the bar exam so challenging for bar takers!
- Tips on whether or not you should take the next bar offered or take a break. Generally you should take the next bar offered, but there are situations where Lee recommends students wait to re-take the bar exam.
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I had to study for California while working (I took three weeks off), and it was NOT fun. But it’s doable! Just stressful.
Hi Alison,
I’m curious – did you use 3 weeks of your vacation days from work or did your employer give you the time off (paid or unpaid)? I’m planning on taking thr Wisconsin bar in July and I’m concerned about asking my employer for time off to prepare for the exam (I was going to ask for 2 weeks), I feel like it’d let them know my plans of hopefully passing the bar and moving on to a new job. I don’t know what to do.
My time off was paid, which was pretty standard for large law firms at the time. But I didn’t have any plans to leave, which made things easier!
I’d say you may as well ask for the time off, without necessarily revealing your plans to move on. They can always negotiate that you pay it back, etc. if you leave too quickly afterwards. But why bring it up?
I have failed the Ohio Bar Exam. I heard the Michigan has the easiest bar exam to pass. Does anyone have an opinion on which states have the easier bar exams to pass?
Can you practice in certain subjects – such as bankruptcy, tax or immigration – without having a license in the state?
Hi Bill:
I am not sure what bar exam is easiest to pass, but you can check out national stats on pass rates here: http://www.ncbex.org/publications/statistics/.
I am not sure of the rules around practice areas, you should contact the state bar for more information. Good luck!
I really appreciate your blog and emails. I have repeated the CA Bar and had to work each time and always struggle with finding that right balance of working and studying. I also have MS, which causes fatigue, so it’s important that I also do things that help boost my energy like eating properly, exercising, etc. This time around I designated a set amount of time I try to study every night and on the weekends too so my schedule is more organized than in the past. It makes me feel more accomplished as well when I have completed what I wanted to. It also makes me more accountable when I fall behind. Please keep up the posts and advice for those of us with full time careers already and struggling with the bar exam. It’s nice to know that I am not alone.
Hi Livy:
You are definitely not alone! A number of my tutoring students as well as readers of this site are trying to work and study at the same time. I wish you all the best as you prepare for February. I am continuing to work on posts geared toward those working and studying, but if you have any specific questions, please drop me a line. Good luck! Lee
Hi everyone!
I am probably the picture of what you should NOT do when preparing for the bar exam. I think this blog has great tips but unfortunately, I just took a new position and had not accrued the vacation days to take time off. In fact, when I was preparing for the IL bar exam, I worked 40 hours per week and only took a 4-day weekend before the exam.
I started prepping at the same time as everyone who did the Kaplan course (late December for the February bar exam). This was highly stressful.
Some advice that I would like to give students who cannot not afford to take time off to prep for the bar exam. I want to preface that studying this way is not for everyone, and I know more people who failed than passed when they tried to juggle studying and work. Make sure you are honest with yourself and know your study habits:
1) Make a strict schedule. The one thing you absolutely CANNOT do is fall behind. Once you fall behind, you might as well just postpone the test until the next bar exam. If there are just not enough hours in the day, you have to prioritize the homework (doing MBE questions over the lectures). DO NOT SKIMP ON MBE questions. In fact do more than the course requires.
2) Passive listening of lectures at work is enough. I listened to almost all the lectures passively at work. I think it is a waste of time to really pay attention to those and fill out the outlines. This is like any other standardized test. It’s not a test of knowledge but a test of how well you take the test. I think passive listening while you do your work responsibilities is plenty. The one part of the lecture that is the only part to really pay attention to is when they review past bar exam questions. You can know all the elements of a murder or the testamentary formalities of a will, but that doesn’t help you answer the essays. What helps you answer essays is reading essay answers and knowing how to format them.
3) Utilize your lunch hour. The lunch hour is a great time to squeeze in studying. I did MBE questions or listened to lectures during this time. Unfortunately, you’ll have to give up socializing at lunch for 2 months.
4) Bring flashcards everywhere and study as often as you can. Don’t waste time making flashcards. Just buy them and bring them everywhere you go. I always carried a stack of flashcards everywhere I went. If I was waiting in line at the grocery store, I did 5 flashcards. If I was in the car getting a ride somewhere, I did flashcards. If I was on the train, I did flashcards. 5 mintes of studying here and there adds up to a lot of studying.
5) Practice, practice, practice! Do as many MBE questions and essays you can and submit them for scoring. It is a great way to get the timing and format down. Also, it is a great place to see where you’re weak so you can focus your studying to those areas. You have to build “muscle memory” when it comes to taming your nerves on test day. The more parts of the test that are automatic to you, the less you have to worry about pace or how to IRAC a question. Also, take the proctored practice exam. I passed the practice exam when I took it and it gave me the confidence for the real exam that I would pass.
I hope this helps!
Thank you for sharing your story — I am sure it will be helpful to other readers. Best – Lee
Is there a bar prep course that you could recommend that is designed for people who are working full time while studying for the bar? I am a licensed attorney and I’m planning on taking the CA bar exam in February but most of the bar prep courses I am familiar with are meant for recent graduates who are taking the summer off to study. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
Hi Carolina:
Thank you for reading. You should check out the online courses that offer recorded lectures. I believe that they can be accessed earlier (because there are no live classes). You should check out Themis and BarMax to start. If those don’t work out, please drop me a line and I am happy to help you search for a program that is available when you want to start studying.
Good luck!