If the last two weeks have been one long session of exams for you I hope you emerged safely, at least marginally intact, and confident that you will be passing the class in question (the part of you that hasn’t been totally crushed yet hopes for a “B” or something close). If you are in law school you have already survived the first challenge of the practice of law – the need to be totally self-reliant and responsible for your own future, without help. In fact, you already suspect that this is a cynical and unhelpful take on the situation, so you can dismiss that last part. Now that you are ready to begin your search for summer employment, you have two problems for which to prepare and more on which to reflect than usual. So, inspired by the preparation involved in the dreaded UC law exam schedule, I write the following post.
Close analysis reveals significant similarities between exam preparation in both law school and industrial safety and health. Both require extensive study and preparation, extensive revision, and working with others to get it right. Indeed, safety and health professionals and attorneys are usually both broadly trained and “expert generalists” before they are inducted into the guild in which they practice (the guild metaphor may be a bit fanciful, but you get the idea). Every subject you study in law school is relevant to the practice of law, and every course in which you have excelled may emerge on Bar exam day. The same is true for the safety and health profession, including the most obscure courses and concepts you had to master. Sometimes the one course you weren’t quite sure about is the one you need in the real world, and that also happens in law and safety and health. The key is to remain broadly and deeply prepared, just as you have survived and thrived in your exams.
Now that you’ve put in the hours and the early mornings, deadlines, and study prep, it is time to get both some rest and some relaxation, in addition to the socializing that follows exam week. It’s time to figure out where you belong for your 2L summer, and to plan out some study strategies to make sure you use your time wisely in the field. Have a plan, first for work and second for subsequent law prep. No matter how much time you have just put in, you will need some downtime followed by some getting organized. Since you are in school, and not working, you have time to plan, and to find the best people to advise you and help you with job applications, interview prep, and academic skill sets for summer school and 3L fall.
So embrace the ways you learn best and to surmount obstacles. What tools or methods worked best for you, and how did you stay organized for this exam? What are the hardest things for you, and how can you bring them into play for this period of career development and academic preparation? What are the common tools of your trade that you also use to boost your chances for success in the classroom or on the exam? Think of the myriad ways safety and health professionals describe measurements and data, analysis and audit programs, and workplace incentives, and you might get some idea of how to organize your study style for future academic and professional success.
These methods matter – that’s why studying for exams is a great time to reflect on what you need to do for your safety program or practice to shine through these once-in-a-lifetime tests. This is also why lawyers generally take professional responsibility courses, either for licensure or for continuing education, in which they have to think through the failures and successes in the exercise of their duties. Think of the UC law exam schedule as a metaphor for PE audits and accident investigations, as a time of stress and intense study of how and why things went wrong, and you can see how to adapt its lessons for professional success.
The lessons of the exam schedule can also be applied to ensuring you have passed your course when it is first offered, and to re-enforcing your knowledge and skills in future terms. So when you need to guarantee that you will have all of the training required for your or your employer’s safety and health program, or to personally run a safety and health program for you, what does that look like? Because law students have usually been law rebels for years, it may well involve study groups, checklists, and metrics from an outside source, such as California’s or Ohio’s requirements for safety and health professionals. Those requirements must be met for you to be able to do the stuff you have to do, so they are a good place to start to ensure you get the study support, metrics, and beyond checklists you need to succeed professionally.
So to recap, preparation is critical to the practice of law, just as in safety and health. Having a plan that incorporates the necessary tools, the right planning, and the experiences of others in your field will also help you succeed, both in the short and long term. Keep in mind, though, that you can shape your environment or career to bring you the hints and experience you need to thrive. The UC law exam schedule is just one way to make sure you do that, but you can also incorporate expert advice in the form of articles, blog posts, or even expert reports or apps. Even better than the advice of law professors and teachers is the safety and health professionals’ advice reached through a simple search term, training, or audit.
So now that you have seen some of the ways the UC law exam schedule is a metaphor for workplace success, you can make sure you ace all of the exams you take, whether in the classroom or in the workplace. Whatever your future holds, there will always be some preparation, some reflection, and some worry required, but those risks can be managed just like a busy semester of law school. The trick is to prepare, organize, and get the advice and help you need to make sure this exam is a definite pass.
For more information on exam preparation strategies, you can visit this Wikipedia page on study skills.
