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can i go into law without doing a degree in law????? helpppp

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(edited 7 years ago)

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Reply 1
Yes you can. In fact your just in time to make that sort of decision, non-law applicants can apply from their final year onwards.

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Reply 2
Original post by Pulse.
Yes you can. In fact your just in time to make that sort of decision, non-law applicants can apply from their final year onwards.

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ahh i see :smile:
but would i have to apply for a law conversion course? x
Law would be a good option. You can always transfer courses.
With Journalism, have you got the potential to be a broadcaster at a renowned TV station? I guess most Journalists are gifted in their job.

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You would probably have to do a conversion course. It's definitely possible though. Is it what you really want to do? It can seem quite dull if your heart isn't in it.
Reply 5
Original post by YaliaV
You would probably have to do a conversion course. It's definitely possible though. Is it what you really want to do? It can seem quite dull if your heart isn't in it.


tbh i'm more passionate about journalism.
plus i go to a **** uni; isn't it a waste of time to do a conversion course at a rubbish uni.
i always thought that if you want to do law it's better to study it at a top ranked uni.
We really need an FAQ in here. I might have to copy&paste Ethereal World's write up about law into this sub because these questions are tedious

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Original post by boredasf
tbh i'm more passionate about journalism.
plus i go to a **** uni; isn't it a waste of time to do a conversion course at a rubbish uni.
i always thought that if you want to do law it's better to study it at a top ranked uni.


Yes you could go into law if you are good enough.
You could even try and develop a niche in media law
If your heart isnt in it, then realise it is highly competitive and theres no guarantee unless you are determined plus talented as well as not unlucky, that you will make it.
Original post by Princepieman
We really need an FAQ in here. I might have to copy&paste Ethereal World's write up about law into this sub because these questions are tedious

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Pople will ignore a faq and still ask becayse plenty are lazy.
Reply 9
Original post by 999tigger
Yes you could go into law if you are good enough.
You could even try and develop a niche in media law
If your heart isnt in it, then realise it is highly competitive and theres no guarantee unless you are determined plus talented as well as not unlucky, that you will make it.


i would like to go into law, but i don't know much about it :/
so maybe i should stick to something i am more passionate about (sociology, politics etc.).
i'm so indecisive! i'm going to graduate next year and still have no idea what career i want :frown:
Original post by boredasf
i would like to go into law, but i don't know much about it :/
so maybe i should stick to something i am more passionate about (sociology, politics etc.).
i'm so indecisive! i'm going to graduate next year and still have no idea what career i want :frown:


Do research, that means putting effort in.
If you are interested enough then you will do it.
If you cant be bothered then other people who can will beat you all the time.
Spend some time down the careers library each week and treat that as a module on its own.
Original post by boredasf
i'm going into my final year of uni, and i study philosophy and sociology at a **** uni..
i have no idea what i'm going to do after my degree :/ i'm interested in journalism, but i think that's quite unrealistic.

would i be able to go into law without doing a law degree??
is it worth it? or should i aim for broadcast journalism?

pleaseee help! i'm so indecisive.


I think journalism would suit your degree really well. You can work all over the world. All you have to do now is get practising..

What you can do is try writing about a certain subject, travel is a good one, for example why someone should visit London and see certain tourist attractions like the national gallery and this would entail researching as much as you can about the place, how to get there, an example is maybe coming from up north and planning a day trip so how to get there by coach or the cost by car and how to park and how to access via underground or bus, what is in the gallery, find out what events are coming up, what restaurants are near by, you could write about your own experience of visiting the gallery to really bring out the words on your impressions of the gallery and you could mention what time you got on the coach and how you enjoyed going to nandos over the road and what time you got on the coach at the end of the day, 'it was a fun-pack day, I am exhausted but it was well worth it!' you might write.

What you need to do is go travelling, get inspirations about what you would write in places like the middle east and asia about tourist attractions, beautiful ancient ruins or carnivals etc. and if in cities then noting language, news, fashion etc.

The great thing about this is, you can go live in a far out city like Beirut or Croatia for a few months at a time and correspond to so many travel sites about what you find and write about.

Just an idea but sounds great fun!
A close relative of mine was lured by journalism whilst at Uni - Oxbridge . They then went onto to do an MA in broadcast journalism ( distinction ) and spent a couple of years after that doing mainly unpaid work / freelance and short term contracts despite doing work experience both at the BBC and Sky . I know most of his cohort from his journalism degree are struggling to get above minimum wage . Its also an industry of 'who you know' . His first passion was Law so he went on to do the GDL and just on completion obtained a MC training contract . What I'm saying is that there are many transferrable skills in journalism and if you feel strongly about it give it a go , but it is a struggle ( as is getting a TC ) . Good luck
Reply 13
There is a little spoken truth about law conversion and qualification. If you went to, as you put it, "a **** university" the chances of you a) doing well on a conversion b) doing well on the LPC/BPTC and c) getting a training contract or pupillage is significantly reduced. Not impossible, no, but reduced. (Yes I can provide stats. Here's some data for starters:*https://www.barstandardsboard.org.uk/media-centre/press-releases-and-news/bsb-publishes-new-figures-showing-success-rates-for-student-barristers/)

Do bear in mind that conversion courses basically hoover up graduates. If you meet the entrance criteria, they'll take you and they're not very discriminatory. Same with the training programmes afterwards.*

If you've done nothing so far to prepare for a career in law, there's little point in you even starting a conversion course. Career building for law starts from before you even begin a law degree. I have a friend who's a barrister who was preparing for the career from around about the age of 14 in terms of her public speaking competitions, speech and drama and so forth.

If you don't have that then i would strongly suggest you consider either getting it or choosing a different path. The law degree or diploma is the least of your concerns in preparing for a legal career. *
Reply 14
Original post by J-SP
You don't have to start looking at a career in law in your teens.

Plenty of successful applicants come to law much later, as graduates and even career changers.

However, to succeed in law you will need a hell of a lot of determination to succeed and an ability to clearly understand the challenging career you are looking to get into.

Your have a minor hurdle if your A-level grades are not great. The university you attend isn't really an issue if you get good module grades throughout your degree. But the main issue I think you will have at this stage is your indecisive/indifference. Most people who succeed at securing training contracts have a clear motivation for the career and can explain exceptionally well why they are going to be well suited for it.



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I'm not saying you have to have started preparing in your teens. And your point about career changers is valid. I myself am a career changer, albeit in a different field to law.*

Career changers, however, are different from people beginning their careers. I was able to leverage my previous experience and demonstrate that my chosen career was a fairly natural progression, based on the skills that I had gained. My interest in it was self-evident given the job I had been doing for some time.

If I had tried to do what I'm doing now straight off the back of my first degree which was unrelated in almost every way possible I would have got nowhere. You have to put in the time, consciously or unconsciously, to show that you're capable of gaining skills beyond just the academics and that you have significant motivation that's rooted in interest and experience of the profession or an area into which it extends, something that goes beyond just needing a career and it being one that looks and sounds good. Everyone doing professional careers is motivated by this to some degree, so no pretending!

The OP is not a career changer, she/he is a career starter, the equivalent position to someone choosing their A levels in preparation for a degree in law. Ground Zero, essentially.*If you're just at " Level Whimsical" in terms of career planning, you have to accept that you've got a fair amount of catching up to do. When heads of student law societies et al. are being rejected for training contracts and pupillages, you have to consider that there's more to preparing for a career in law than just doing the degree. Given that the GDL takes 9 months to a year plus a hefty chunk of cash to complete, it's worth thinking about spending some time trying out the career via volunteering and so forth first. A law degree or diploma in law is only a very small part of what it takes to prepare for a legal career, so I would say it's the thing that can wait.*

Personally, if I were going for law, I wouldn't touch the GDL or LPC unless I could get sponsorship to do it. Not advice I would given to everyone, no, but in my case I would know that I was worth the investment of time and sacrifice of earnings. I couldn't afford to go in blind.*
Original post by J-SP
I agree with your point about not touching the GDL or LPC until you know for sure this is what you want to do. The issue of sponsorship is not that straight forward for a lot of legal careers, a minority of people entering the legal professions will secure sponsorship prior to starting the course.I've seen plenty of graduates who are not career changers get recruited. Yes, they have a fair amount of work to do to pursue the career, but it is something that can easily be achieved through some work experience, networking and research. It doesn't take that long if your determined enough. I've seen people do it within 3 months, which is no time at all really.Just because someone has thought they wanted to be a lawyer since they were 14 and have all the things people think are tick boxes on their CV (e.g. president of the law society etc), doesn't mean they are suitable. In fact they can sometimes be the worst candidates were their career motivation/expectation is driven by a dream rather than reality.


I agree with you . My relative , on starting the GDL worked one day a week in a law firm and also did Pro Bono work which demonstrated their drive . Even though their journalism career was short term contracts , apart from an annual holiday they had never not worked which demonstrated a strong work ethic . I feel this is worth mentioning as on application forms they were asked to explain any gaps that were not studying / work / annual holiday .

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