Are you a regular visitor to s1jobs? Do you find yourself attracted to the legal vacancies and kicking yourself that your passion for law didn’t develop until long after you left school?
Fear not. With a bit of work and a whole lot of persistence, you too could find your perfect job as a lawyer, even if your career up to this point has been in an entirely different field.
Let’s find out how.
Dilemma: You work in a solicitor’s office and want to become a lawyer but can’t afford to give up your job.
Solution: You could enter into a three-year pre-diploma training contract with your employer. This is a tough route. There are no set courses to help you and you will have to study on your own initiative.
Even once you complete your training you’ll still have to obtain a Diploma in Professional Legal Practice and undertake a traineeship.
But if you’re determined to become a lawyer, this is a route worth considering.
Dilemma: You know you are clever enough to go to university but you don’t have the appropriate qualifications.
Solution: Most universities offer access courses as a route into degree courses. Be warned though that competition for places on undergraduate law courses are already over-subscribed, so you still may face a tough challenge getting accepted onto a degree course.
An alternative is to study for a different degree then complete a two-year conversion course.
Dilemma: You have a degree . . . but it’s not in law.
Solution: Complete a two-year conversion course that will furnish you with an ordinary degree in law. This is a fast-track course, so it’s no picnic. You’ll be studying hard and at the end you’ll have to obtain your Diploma and complete a traineeship.
If the LLB is your second degree, there is no subsidy for the cost of the course. Fees vary at each institution and range from around £5000 to upwards of £8750 per year for the full-time course and the Diploma in Professional Legal Practice course fees range from £5225 to £6500.
Dilemma: You don’t live near a University and moving closer to one in order to study is not an option.
Solution: Robert Gordon University offers an online LLB. This is a flexible option, offering study on either a part-time or full-time basis.
To keep you motivated in your quest, be sure to keep up to speed with all the latest Legal vacancies on s1jobs!