Who wants to be a lawyer?
If your answer is 'Me!! I want to be a lawyer!' Run. Run away while you can. I joke, of course. If you're interested in qualifying in law but not interested in going through conventional routes, then have a read of my experiences so far.
I'm now (just over) half way through my law degree, completely online. I thought I'd do a reflective post and look back on how it's gone so far, and what I will change for the next year and a half until I'm qualified.
I completed my first year of my degree part time, so only doing one module, while I worked full time managing a restaurant. I totally recommend this for anyone who's had a break from education, or working long hours. The opportunity to kick start my career, without giving up my stable job, and learn how the whole system works was an absolute life-saver.
However, going against my own recommendations, we fast forward to second year, when I gave up my stable, well paid job, for an entry level, more than full time job in a law firm, an hour away from where I live. Oh, and I started full time study, because I do love a challenge.
I'm not going to lie to you, it's been a struggle. Working until late at night, before driving home and writing assignments until the early hours of the morning. But that's only happened a couple of times, honest. The majority of the time, with a good organisational system, it's worked well. And once you get to this level of law, I found it's easier to be studying full time as there are no big gaps in between assignments, meaning I constantly have a good level of focus.
If you're considering this as an option, as I said, I would totally recommend starting first year part time. How you progress from there totally depends on your own learning style. I wouldn't have done it any other way because I work well under pressure, however make sure you know your limits, and know how you work best.
Looking forward, for my final half of my degree, I won't be changing much. I'll need to put as much effort as I can into my assignments, because I'm not coming out of this with bad grades after all that work! I'm currently in the process of a promotion at work, and I'll be looking for some pro-bono experience and vacation schemes to secure a training contract. And most of all, I'll be enjoying it, because this chance of an education is more than a lot of people have, and I'm grateful for every 3am finish and every 18 hour day.
If you have any questions for me, or you're in the same boat, please do get in touch! And don't forget to subscribe if you'd like to see the rest of my journey.
Stay safe everyone.
I'm now (just over) half way through my law degree, completely online. I thought I'd do a reflective post and look back on how it's gone so far, and what I will change for the next year and a half until I'm qualified.
I completed my first year of my degree part time, so only doing one module, while I worked full time managing a restaurant. I totally recommend this for anyone who's had a break from education, or working long hours. The opportunity to kick start my career, without giving up my stable job, and learn how the whole system works was an absolute life-saver.
However, going against my own recommendations, we fast forward to second year, when I gave up my stable, well paid job, for an entry level, more than full time job in a law firm, an hour away from where I live. Oh, and I started full time study, because I do love a challenge.
I'm not going to lie to you, it's been a struggle. Working until late at night, before driving home and writing assignments until the early hours of the morning. But that's only happened a couple of times, honest. The majority of the time, with a good organisational system, it's worked well. And once you get to this level of law, I found it's easier to be studying full time as there are no big gaps in between assignments, meaning I constantly have a good level of focus.
If you're considering this as an option, as I said, I would totally recommend starting first year part time. How you progress from there totally depends on your own learning style. I wouldn't have done it any other way because I work well under pressure, however make sure you know your limits, and know how you work best.
Looking forward, for my final half of my degree, I won't be changing much. I'll need to put as much effort as I can into my assignments, because I'm not coming out of this with bad grades after all that work! I'm currently in the process of a promotion at work, and I'll be looking for some pro-bono experience and vacation schemes to secure a training contract. And most of all, I'll be enjoying it, because this chance of an education is more than a lot of people have, and I'm grateful for every 3am finish and every 18 hour day.
If you have any questions for me, or you're in the same boat, please do get in touch! And don't forget to subscribe if you'd like to see the rest of my journey.
Stay safe everyone.
Great post. It doesn't sound an easy route.
ReplyDeleteThank you! It's not, but still enjoying it :)
ReplyDelete