Pitman Training
I don't have a clue if I'm posting this in the right place or not - massive apologies if I'm in completely the wrong place and this has to be moved.
I've just graduated from Uni with an English degree and since I want to move into the law sector I was thinking of doing a Legal Secretarial Diploma with Pitman Training and maybe a typing course.
There are other places which provide similar courses such as the Institute of Secretaries and PAs but the Pitman name is a very good addition to a CV.
So essentially I was wondering if anyone has any experience with Pitmans, how they found the course and how much it cost - I don't really want to ring them and have to give over my details before I'm aware of the potential costs and what the course will involve as I know a lot of companies like this tend to persist with contacting you afterwards.
Thanks anyone who can help.
I've just graduated from Uni with an English degree and since I want to move into the law sector I was thinking of doing a Legal Secretarial Diploma with Pitman Training and maybe a typing course.
There are other places which provide similar courses such as the Institute of Secretaries and PAs but the Pitman name is a very good addition to a CV.
So essentially I was wondering if anyone has any experience with Pitmans, how they found the course and how much it cost - I don't really want to ring them and have to give over my details before I'm aware of the potential costs and what the course will involve as I know a lot of companies like this tend to persist with contacting you afterwards.
Thanks anyone who can help.
Original post by DressMeDeadly
I don't have a clue if I'm posting this in the right place or not - massive apologies if I'm in completely the wrong place and this has to be moved.
I've just graduated from Uni with an English degree and since I want to move into the law sector I was thinking of doing a Legal Secretarial Diploma with Pitman Training and maybe a typing course.
There are other places which provide similar courses such as the Institute of Secretaries and PAs but the Pitman name is a very good addition to a CV.
So essentially I was wondering if anyone has any experience with Pitmans, how they found the course and how much it cost - I don't really want to ring them and have to give over my details before I'm aware of the potential costs and what the course will involve as I know a lot of companies like this tend to persist with contacting you afterwards.
Thanks anyone who can help.
I've just graduated from Uni with an English degree and since I want to move into the law sector I was thinking of doing a Legal Secretarial Diploma with Pitman Training and maybe a typing course.
There are other places which provide similar courses such as the Institute of Secretaries and PAs but the Pitman name is a very good addition to a CV.
So essentially I was wondering if anyone has any experience with Pitmans, how they found the course and how much it cost - I don't really want to ring them and have to give over my details before I'm aware of the potential costs and what the course will involve as I know a lot of companies like this tend to persist with contacting you afterwards.
Thanks anyone who can help.
Well if you do want to move into law, are you sure you want to be a legal secretary? Seems you're overqualified with a degree, considered ILEX and becoming a paralegal, or GDL & LPC for solicitor?
Original post by DressMeDeadly
I don't have a clue if I'm posting this in the right place or not - massive apologies if I'm in completely the wrong place and this has to be moved.
I've just graduated from Uni with an English degree and since I want to move into the law sector I was thinking of doing a Legal Secretarial Diploma with Pitman Training and maybe a typing course.
There are other places which provide similar courses such as the Institute of Secretaries and PAs but the Pitman name is a very good addition to a CV.
So essentially I was wondering if anyone has any experience with Pitmans, how they found the course and how much it cost - I don't really want to ring them and have to give over my details before I'm aware of the potential costs and what the course will involve as I know a lot of companies like this tend to persist with contacting you afterwards.
Thanks anyone who can help.
I've just graduated from Uni with an English degree and since I want to move into the law sector I was thinking of doing a Legal Secretarial Diploma with Pitman Training and maybe a typing course.
There are other places which provide similar courses such as the Institute of Secretaries and PAs but the Pitman name is a very good addition to a CV.
So essentially I was wondering if anyone has any experience with Pitmans, how they found the course and how much it cost - I don't really want to ring them and have to give over my details before I'm aware of the potential costs and what the course will involve as I know a lot of companies like this tend to persist with contacting you afterwards.
Thanks anyone who can help.
What is it that you specifically want to do? Do you want to be a secretary, paralegal, or a solicitor? IMO I think the ILEX legal secretary diploma is better than the Pitman one, and I believe it is also cheaper too!
If you were considering being a paralegal or solicitor, look on the Law Society website as they have loads of information on there about how to get into specific careers in law.
Original post by Vinchenko
Well if you do want to move into law, are you sure you want to be a legal secretary? Seems you're overqualified with a degree, considered ILEX and becoming a paralegal, or GDL & LPC for solicitor?
Second this. I work for a firm of solicitors and I think if you turned up for a legal secretary job, having just graduated, they might question you on this!
(edited 12 years ago)
Hi dressmedeadly,
I did Pitmans Legal Secretarial Diploma in 2009. You are supposed to finish it in a year but they do give time extensions. I did my from holborn training in central london. You have to work at your own pace. Every things is recorded and you have to put earphones on and just listen to what is on the tape and follow from there. You are given workbooks. If you get stuck then just stop the tape recording and ask one of the staff for help.
When you are ready then you give your exam. I don't know if the rules have changed but during my time I was allowed to view my exam beforehand and hand it back in if I was not ready to sit them, which was great. So there is really no deadline, but ideally you should not take more than 1 month to finish one course at a time. It really depends how many hours you put in. I would say to you is that start the typing right from the start so that you do alot of practice. If you fail your exam, then I think there is a charge of about £25 for resitting. So it is best to be sure that you are really ready. One thing else is that when you are doing your exams don't be rushed. Take your time. When I did them, I took as much time as I could.
The Pitman diploma's are not cheap. My full diploma cost me about £3,400 in 2009 not to mention the travel cost which accounted for another £800 pounds. In the end I had 9 distinctions and 2 passes. I have heard that they have gone up in price.
The institue of legal secretaries diploma is cheaper. You also get their membership and can register for jobs on their website by uploading your CV. You can also do it by distance learning.There is another one called Souters. Check them out as well. I don't where you live but they are based in central london.
At Pitmans if you don't finish your diploma but the date set out, they then can extend it. It all depends how far you are in the course.
I hope this helps. Any questions then drop me a line.
I did Pitmans Legal Secretarial Diploma in 2009. You are supposed to finish it in a year but they do give time extensions. I did my from holborn training in central london. You have to work at your own pace. Every things is recorded and you have to put earphones on and just listen to what is on the tape and follow from there. You are given workbooks. If you get stuck then just stop the tape recording and ask one of the staff for help.
When you are ready then you give your exam. I don't know if the rules have changed but during my time I was allowed to view my exam beforehand and hand it back in if I was not ready to sit them, which was great. So there is really no deadline, but ideally you should not take more than 1 month to finish one course at a time. It really depends how many hours you put in. I would say to you is that start the typing right from the start so that you do alot of practice. If you fail your exam, then I think there is a charge of about £25 for resitting. So it is best to be sure that you are really ready. One thing else is that when you are doing your exams don't be rushed. Take your time. When I did them, I took as much time as I could.
The Pitman diploma's are not cheap. My full diploma cost me about £3,400 in 2009 not to mention the travel cost which accounted for another £800 pounds. In the end I had 9 distinctions and 2 passes. I have heard that they have gone up in price.
The institue of legal secretaries diploma is cheaper. You also get their membership and can register for jobs on their website by uploading your CV. You can also do it by distance learning.There is another one called Souters. Check them out as well. I don't where you live but they are based in central london.
At Pitmans if you don't finish your diploma but the date set out, they then can extend it. It all depends how far you are in the course.
I hope this helps. Any questions then drop me a line.
Hi!
Did you decide which one to go for?
I am in a very similar situation and after looking at several job posts with recruiters claiming you need an absurd amount of experience for a legal secretaries job, I decided I would get some more training. I have just finished a law degree so I thought this could be a cool and less pressured way of entering the legal sector.
I was originally going to go for the Institute of Legal Secretaries route but liked the idea of physical classes so I was drawn to Pitman Training. I spoke with someone from Pitman today and their course seemed extraordinarily expensive for what it was (£2,700 with an extra £210 per elective, without which, the course isn't very legal at all). They also only opened late two evenings a week which doesn't make it easy to work along side the course.
I was just about to enroll at the Institute this evening but wanted to read some reviews of people who had tried it before and how it had affected their job prospects, which was how I came to your thread.
Please let me know how you came to your decision.
Also, a note raised in this discussion was that graduates were too experienced for this job. Is this true? After scouring the job sites I find it extremely hard to imagine that anyone is overqualified for anything these days. Do you think it would reflect badly on a graduate if they were to work towards a job that they should perhaps be beyond?
Did you decide which one to go for?
I am in a very similar situation and after looking at several job posts with recruiters claiming you need an absurd amount of experience for a legal secretaries job, I decided I would get some more training. I have just finished a law degree so I thought this could be a cool and less pressured way of entering the legal sector.
I was originally going to go for the Institute of Legal Secretaries route but liked the idea of physical classes so I was drawn to Pitman Training. I spoke with someone from Pitman today and their course seemed extraordinarily expensive for what it was (£2,700 with an extra £210 per elective, without which, the course isn't very legal at all). They also only opened late two evenings a week which doesn't make it easy to work along side the course.
I was just about to enroll at the Institute this evening but wanted to read some reviews of people who had tried it before and how it had affected their job prospects, which was how I came to your thread.
Please let me know how you came to your decision.
Also, a note raised in this discussion was that graduates were too experienced for this job. Is this true? After scouring the job sites I find it extremely hard to imagine that anyone is overqualified for anything these days. Do you think it would reflect badly on a graduate if they were to work towards a job that they should perhaps be beyond?
Original post by samantha67
Hi!
Did you decide which one to go for?
I am in a very similar situation and after looking at several job posts with recruiters claiming you need an absurd amount of experience for a legal secretaries job, I decided I would get some more training. I have just finished a law degree so I thought this could be a cool and less pressured way of entering the legal sector.
I was originally going to go for the Institute of Legal Secretaries route but liked the idea of physical classes so I was drawn to Pitman Training. I spoke with someone from Pitman today and their course seemed extraordinarily expensive for what it was (£2,700 with an extra £210 per elective, without which, the course isn't very legal at all). They also only opened late two evenings a week which doesn't make it easy to work along side the course.
I was just about to enroll at the Institute this evening but wanted to read some reviews of people who had tried it before and how it had affected their job prospects, which was how I came to your thread.
Please let me know how you came to your decision.
Also, a note raised in this discussion was that graduates were too experienced for this job. Is this true? After scouring the job sites I find it extremely hard to imagine that anyone is overqualified for anything these days. Do you think it would reflect badly on a graduate if they were to work towards a job that they should perhaps be beyond?
Did you decide which one to go for?
I am in a very similar situation and after looking at several job posts with recruiters claiming you need an absurd amount of experience for a legal secretaries job, I decided I would get some more training. I have just finished a law degree so I thought this could be a cool and less pressured way of entering the legal sector.
I was originally going to go for the Institute of Legal Secretaries route but liked the idea of physical classes so I was drawn to Pitman Training. I spoke with someone from Pitman today and their course seemed extraordinarily expensive for what it was (£2,700 with an extra £210 per elective, without which, the course isn't very legal at all). They also only opened late two evenings a week which doesn't make it easy to work along side the course.
I was just about to enroll at the Institute this evening but wanted to read some reviews of people who had tried it before and how it had affected their job prospects, which was how I came to your thread.
Please let me know how you came to your decision.
Also, a note raised in this discussion was that graduates were too experienced for this job. Is this true? After scouring the job sites I find it extremely hard to imagine that anyone is overqualified for anything these days. Do you think it would reflect badly on a graduate if they were to work towards a job that they should perhaps be beyond?
Couple of thoughts - have you considered ILEX as an alternative route into the legal profession? Law firms may sponser you through that so it might end up costing you nothing, and you can get a lot further afterwards! My aunt, for example, as an ILEX with 2 poor A-levels is now MD of a top 100 law firm...
If law is what you're interested in, probably a much better way to go than training to become a legal secretary, as in you'll actually do law as opposed to just taking dictation etc. Totally different job of course [being a paralegal type] but just something else to consider.
I think as a law graduate you would probably be overqualified for a legal secretary job, however depends on where you studied and how well you did?
Ha ha, the delay is responses is quite funny, sorry.
Thank you for your advice Vinchenko!!
I think I will end up going down the ILEX route. After a year of temping I got a paralegal job in a brand new legal firm who cannot offer training programs but have suggested they will put me through ILEX and then immediately follow that with the LPC which would make me a solicitor without having to get the two years work experience. Think I've somewhat fallen on my feet here, lol.
But thanks for your help, think I was having panic attacks back then!
Thank you for your advice Vinchenko!!
I think I will end up going down the ILEX route. After a year of temping I got a paralegal job in a brand new legal firm who cannot offer training programs but have suggested they will put me through ILEX and then immediately follow that with the LPC which would make me a solicitor without having to get the two years work experience. Think I've somewhat fallen on my feet here, lol.
But thanks for your help, think I was having panic attacks back then!
Hi samantha67,
Thought I would just share my experience as I am currently doing the ILEX Level 3 at a training centre in Central London, called Souters. My training is going well and my tutor is really well-qualified and experienced. It is a thorough course and I am considering taking Level 4 at some time in the future. I definitely am benefiting from taking ILEX, hope yours is going well. Only now am I getting the Legal Secretary interviews that i have wanted, so its been worth it. I hope this helps you or anyone in our situation. Good luck
Thought I would just share my experience as I am currently doing the ILEX Level 3 at a training centre in Central London, called Souters. My training is going well and my tutor is really well-qualified and experienced. It is a thorough course and I am considering taking Level 4 at some time in the future. I definitely am benefiting from taking ILEX, hope yours is going well. Only now am I getting the Legal Secretary interviews that i have wanted, so its been worth it. I hope this helps you or anyone in our situation. Good luck
Hi, my daughter just graduate with a politics degree and I have just paid for her to attend a basic admin course only so she can't get it "in writing" that she has these skills even though she used them all through uni its not enough or recognised professionally in her cv. It was very frustrating for her to know I paid £950 for this course but
she was reassured that once in employment(at staring level) then will her degree get her places. It's soooo frustrating though
she was reassured that once in employment(at staring level) then will her degree get her places. It's soooo frustrating though
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