Careers with a Law Degree

Strongbow10

Hi there

I've come to a cross roads in my life. I'm 26 years old. I graduated from college in 2007 and have worked for 6 months in Banking and 6 months in the legal sector.

I would love to know what kind of careers are available to someone with a law degree? I guess I am feeling a little lost at the moment. I have been out of work the last year nearly and am applying for every type of job. However, for the jobs that dont require a degree im presuming im not considered because im over qualified (will feck off when I get something better) and for the jobs id really like, I dont have enough experience.

What career advice would you give to a law graduate ? Bearing in mind I do not want to work as a solicitor.

I guess its starting to get me down. I'm getting old and feel like im going nowhere in life.

Thank you for reading

pog it

Keep the head up, you have a good brain and along with that if you keep up faith that you will work out what you want from life, you will do great Life is rarely straightforward and a lot of people go through a change in career at least once!

Do you enjoy the finance side of things at all? You mentioned you worked in banking. If so would you consider ACCA exams, or maybe financial advisor roles? You could do the DFA exams for those and I'm sure a degree in Law wouldn't look bad coupled with the exams eh?

Some red herrings: Entrepreneur, HR, Private Detective, Teaching..

You could also think about jobs your friends have and that might help you decide more about what you'd like or wouldn't like.

bella.donna

Hi Strongbow,

I am exactly in the same position as you. I finished my LL.M just before Christmas and had real difficulties in getting a job. So I decided to bite the bullet and spend some time doing unpaid legal internships; I did 3 altogether and will be finishing the last one tomorrow. I got a lot of experience, 2 references and I'm pretty sure that my new job, working as a fraud analyst, was because of the experience gained from the internships. I'm also in the final rounds for a compliance job with an insurance company.

As pog it said, maybe you could use your banking experience? Looking at job webistes, compliance seems to be a burgeoning area. Lots of companies are looking for interns at the moment. I know that it's not an ideal situation but at least you're getting some experience and hopefully will help your job search. Feel free to PM me.

x in the city

patient lawyer/examiner...?

you just need to look out side the box...

prob entail more training but a very good paying job by all accounts...

vector

>However, for the jobs that dont require a degree im presuming im not considered because im over qualified

Snap! roughly the same age, a worse degree, but 2 years experience...

"over qualified"? I don't know everyone in the age bracket seems to have a degree these days. PM me if you find a job, cos I'd love to do the same thing. aggghh

partyguinness

x in the city wrote: »

patient lawyer/examiner...?

you just need to look out side the box...

prob entail more training but a very good paying job by all accounts...

Patent Lawyer maybe?;)

There is a whole set of exams to do to get the qualification and accreditation but would be very handy to have.

Strongbow10

partyguinness wrote: »

Patent Lawyer maybe?;)

There is a whole set of exams to do to get the qualification and accreditation but would be very handy to have.

where can you do these patent lawyer exams do you know?

consultech

I think - by definition - you need quite a deal of patience to be a lawyer. Quite a long road to travel...

Strongbow10

any other ideas for alternative careers with a law degree? Obviously excluding solicitor.

cheers

dats_right

I am a law graduate, trainee solicitor who is due to qualify in December and my tuppence worth is that a law degree per se is very similar to having obtained an arts degree i.e. not qualified to do anything in particular but with literally countless career choices depending on preference.

Is there anything in particular that you would like to do?

Sleepy

Tax Accounting would be an area where a law degree would be of use.

InReality

[quote=bella.donna;61937397 working as a fraud analyst, [/quote]
That sounds really interesting.
Is that a govt job ?

mikemac

Compliance in Financial Services.

If there is one area that won't be savaged in the current downturn it's compliance!

Strongbow10

compliance is the one area I am focusing getting into but there are really no opportunities at junior level to be honest with you.

Any ideas on courses or ways to get your foot in the door?? Maybe from people who work in this area