I got a call yesterday from the federal government about a part-time student employment opportunity (from February to May 2010). The job would entail reviewing and analyzing legislation relevant to the department's work as well as conducting comparative analyses using the legislation.

Although I'm extremely excited to be on the shortlist for further consideration for this position, there are many things that I realistically have to consider before I take the jump. I'm a little bit torn about whether I should even consider this position. For one, it's an incredible professional opportunity since I would get to develop my legislative analysis skills outside of the classroom and get paid to do it, not to mention I'd have the opportunity to develop my network of professional contacts. However, there are some downsides to it.

Below are the pros and cons of taking this job:

PROs:

• it pays around $17/hour which is great for a student job.
• it's in my hometown (about 2 hours away) which means it would be convenient on weekends when I plan to go home anyway.
• it's in the fed government, which is great experience.

CONS:

• it requires a 25 hour/week commitment, which is a great deal to commit to, especially for a law student.
• the $5,000 or so I stand to earn over the next few months might affect my OSAP entitlement if that department were to find out and revise my financial aid application. This wouldn't usually be a problem but since any amount of OSAP entitlement over and above $7,000 limit is non-repayable, any earnings I make over the next few months would only be cutting into the grant or non-repayable portion of my loan, which means I would end up owing the same amount of OSAP at the end of the year. Essentially, I would be working but not making any money. But what are the chances that the OSAP people will find out anyway, right?