[M1011]

(Original post by Kenocide)
It's difficult to state exactly which transferable skills one acquires whilst studying Law as opposed to any other degree, not least because I haven't done any other degrees.

Some interesting points. I must admit my knowledge of what is involved in Law is limited. I did a first year module in 'English Legal Method and Contract Law', but that's as far as I go with the subject so it would be foolish of me to pretend to be any kind of an expert (or have any real knowledge of Law at all).

One more point, just to clarify (again!), I'm not looking to put down a law degree, just to answer the question of why it is such a popular choice.

(Original post by Kenocide)
As a Law student, my perception is this: the 'prestige' of a Law degree stems from the difficulty. The difficulty comes from the skills that you must have, most of which just happen to be very transferable. And, without sounding elitist about the course, I think if you drew up a list of transferable skills from the BaM or whatever other course you want to use as an example and compared it to that of a Law student there might not be much difference in quantity, but the thing is you must have all of those skills and you must use them with the utmost accuracy just to do well in Law.

Difficulty is relative, I'm sure some Law students would cry at the maths involved in an Economics degree or an Engineering degree (or BaM ), and likewise I'm sure the same can be said the other way around for some aspects of a Law degree. So really difficulty is a very difficult thing to define (excuse the pun).

Similarly, does the level of difficulty really have anything to do with it? In truth I agree with you that Law is most likely one of the most difficult courses, but why does that matter? Surely employers are more interested in the skills you gain then the amount of books you read? Just a thought.

(Original post by Kenocide)
The Law is so technical, so convoluted and so very reliant upon precise definitions and exceptions (and exceptions to exceptions!) that you can easily misstate the law completely if you simply misread or misunderstand one word. And if the law you're analysing/discussing/applying isn't even correct then everything else you're saying is pretty much worthless.

Pretty sure that if you misunderstand most other subjects it makes your answer pretty worthless as well. Just saying!

But yes granted one of the traits one associates with Law is attention to detail. That is a strong point, no doubt. However would you insinuate I don't have to pay close attention to detail when digging in to a companies accounts or analysing efficiencies across large organisations using complex models etcetera?

That said, having been involved in a large scale contracting project in the past and having to proof read to minute detail 100s of pages worth of contracts, tweaking every second line, for hours on end, I do agree that Law gives an attention to detail probably unrivalled by most degrees.

(Original post by Kenocide)
So again, without blowing the trumpet of my own degree, I think perhaps the difference between the transferable skills gained in the study of Law vs any old degree lie in the fact that employers in particular know that the Law graduate has had to apply all the necessary skills with consumate precision and rigour just to do well (ie 2:1), whereas this may not be the case to varying degree depending on what we're comparing it to.

I agree that this is the case in Law vs lots of degrees. But I don't think you can claim this vs some other well respected degrees, for example 'the BaM'. I use this as an example simply because I know a fair bit about it, not because I'm trying to claim it's the best degree or anything like that (I mentioned previously that I to consider Law to be more prestigious). I just don't see how it can realistically be claimed that Law is popular because of the transferable skills, because so many degrees have just as strong (and more diverse) transferable skills. In my eyes Law is popular because of prestige (which you may well say is a result of difficulty, I'm not in a position to judge, but that doesn't equate to transferable skills).

As for the employers you mentioned, are you so sure they think that outside of law circles? Even when we include all the frankly awful business degree courses available in this country (see the number of undergrads), we still find employability very close between Law and Business (Guardian Source). Furthermore when we look at pay, it might surprise you to see that Business graduates are earning more on average then Law graduates (Guardian Source 2). I'll be honest, that surprised me, but there you go.

So with that in mind, I wonder if we compared Law employability with straight Economics or Business & Management employability for example (stripping out the less employable courses associated with business), do you really think Law is the one employers are after? Just a thought, in reality the right candidate will do well regardless of the degree they choose to do, I think that much is clear.

Further reading; http://education.yahoo.net/articles/...nd_degrees.htm (I believe 3/6 here would typically be classed under the umbrella of 'business'.)

[nulli tertius]

(Original post by tehforum)
Why is that?

I came into the law with no student debt.

I qualified at a time when there was a shortage of articled clerks. Now we have law graduates as secretaries and as receptionists.

Those provincial firms that were growing in the 1980s have largely continued to grow for the last 30 years but as they have evolved, opportunities for young solicitors have closed off. Residential conveyancing practices are generally partner+unqualified staff; PI is going the same way. Family is under pressure from legal cuts, as is crime. The good firms are still doing well but their model has adjusted to need fewer young solicitors. In reality, the opportunities are only in commercial, commercial property, commercial lit and probate.

Most young solicitors will never have the opportunity to run their own practice. Many will simply be employees of Tesco Law like organisations. That is not a profession in any meaningful sense.

House prices have spiraled out of the reach of many young professionals.

[chelseafan]

(Original post by nulli tertius)
I came into the law with no student debt.

I qualified at a time when there was a shortage of articled clerks. Now we have law graduates as secretaries and as receptionists.

Those provincial firms that were growing in the 1980s have largely continued to grow for the last 30 years but as they have evolved, opportunities for young solicitors have closed off. Residential conveyancing practices are generally partner+unqualified staff; PI is going the same way. Family is under pressure from legal cuts, as is crime. The good firms are still doing well but their model has adjusted to need fewer young solicitors. In reality, the opportunities are only in commercial, commercial property, commercial lit and probate.

Most young solicitors will never have the opportunity to run their own practice. Many will simply be employees of Tesco Law like organisations. That is not a profession in any meaningful sense.

House prices have spiraled out of the reach of many young professionals.

That's depressing. I am seriously considering a law degree....

[roh]

(Original post by chelseafan)
That's depressing. I am seriously considering a law degree....

Fear not! My estate agent informed me that his Law degree and LPC were really useful when it came to shafting gullible students in their contracts and he was clearly doing well, had a nice Audi A5 in spite of a monthly hair gel bill that must be in 4 fgures!

On a serious note though, Law degree does not=lawyer it has many transferable skills, in fact I suspect the wealthiest (if you judge success that way) law graduate in Britain may well be this guy: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Damon_Buffini

[chelseafan]

(Original post by roh)
Fear not! My estate agent informed me that his Law degree and LPC were really useful when it came to shafting gullible students in their contracts and he was clearly doing well, had a nice Audi A5 in spite of a monthly hair gel bill that must be in 4 fgures!

On a serious note though, Law degree does not=lawyer it has many transferable skills, in fact I suspect the wealthiest (if you judge success that way) law graduate in Britain may well be this guy: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Damon_Buffini

Ok thanks for that bit of optimism. btw I notice you go to leicester uni... I'm from leicester!

[RobertWhite]

(Original post by nulli tertius)
I came into the law with no student debt.

I qualified at a time when there was a shortage of articled clerks. Now we have law graduates as secretaries and as receptionists.

Those provincial firms that were growing in the 1980s have largely continued to grow for the last 30 years but as they have evolved, opportunities for young solicitors have closed off. Residential conveyancing practices are generally partner+unqualified staff; PI is going the same way. Family is under pressure from legal cuts, as is crime. The good firms are still doing well but their model has adjusted to need fewer young solicitors. In reality, the opportunities are only in commercial, commercial property, commercial lit and probate.

Most young solicitors will never have the opportunity to run their own practice. Many will simply be employees of Tesco Law like organisations. That is not a profession in any meaningful sense.

House prices have spiraled out of the reach of many young professionals.

This is the same for many jobs though, is it not? There are still opportunities for young solicitors, just not as many. I think if you're involved at university and get a good degree then Law is still a really good degree to have even if you don't become a lawyer.

[nulli tertius]

(Original post by RobertWhite)
This is the same for many jobs though, is it not? There are still opportunities for young solicitors, just not as many. I think if you're involved at university and get a good degree then Law is still a really good degree to have even if you don't become a lawyer.

Perfectly true but in many fields it is just the effect of the economic cycle. In law it is more structural.

[lyrical_lie]

(Original post by nulli tertius)

Most young solicitors will never have the opportunity to run their own practice. Many will simply be employees of Tesco Law like organisations. That is not a profession in any meaningful sense.

House prices have spiraled out of the reach of many young professionals.

This phrase is the bane of my life haha.

I'm picking my 3rd year subjects the now (Scottish course) and I decided to just stay far far away from conveyancing and and succession. Praying to god that in a few year time I can eventually get into something in family or intelectual property. But if I'm honest I change my mind every couple of weeks of what direction I want to go in. Couple years left to decide though thank goodness

[nulli tertius]

(Original post by lyrical_lie)
This phrase is the bane of my life haha.

It is more difficult to see this as a threat in Scotland for two reasons. The economies of scale aren't there. You need a very big pool in which to fish to sell law as a commodity. Secondly, the property selling system means that estate agency and conveyancing are closely linked. Of the estate agency chains the only one I know with a Scottish presence is Remax but it has a tiny number of Scottish properties. Anyone aspiring to do a Tesco Law in Scotland is going to have to find a way to sell houses.

[chelseafan]

Is it still worth doing a law degree?

[Legen...dary!!]

(Original post by chelseafan)
Is it still worth doing a law degree?

If a law degree is not worth doing anymore, then what is?

[roh]

(Original post by chelseafan)
Is it still worth doing a law degree?

If you think you will enjoy it, find it interesting and think you will perform well in it then of course it is.

If you can apply those same things to another degree then give that careful consideration too.

No degree is a banker for a job besides those such as Medicine, Dentistry, Nursing, Education etc. which qualify you for a sought after and reasonably to very well paid job. In other subjects the grades you get, the university you study at and the subject you study will all combine to determine the added value the degree gives you as an employee.

[QuirkyDoDo]

(Original post by M1011)
(think Economics if BaM offends you ).

But why would it offend people haha, I thought it was a good course :s or is Economics more prestigious or something?

[IcedTea&PotNoodle]

Same reason people want to become doctors. It looks good on TV. I can guarantee most people studying law were inspired by a legal series just like a doctor would have been inspired by something like ER or House (maybe even scrubs).

[ken2]

Didnt indulge in the other posts but to me its pretty obvious; its the ability to command salaries of over £300k!
Because of the competition etc. it will probably be best to finish off with your Masters; that should surely put you ahead of the game.

This was posted from The Student Room's Android App on my GT-I9100

[M1011]

(Original post by QuirkyDoDo)
But why would it offend people haha, I thought it was a good course :s or is Economics more prestigious or something?

Interesting question. I think it's fair to say Economics is the more prestigious degree, as people (rightly in many cases to be fair) assume it is a harder course, but it depends where you do it more then anything. To be honest I think Business & Management seems to have a negative rep amongst students on here because people tend to associate it with business studies which is quite a weak A-level. Conversely out in the real world it tends to be well respected and offers quite a strong mix of skills IMO, as reflected by high levels of employability (not to mention it's AAA-AAB now at my uni at least). I certainly haven't struggled to find work having just graduated.

Bringing myself back on topic - I stand by what I said really. I think Law is a great degree in that it's challenging and very well regarded, but I'm yet to see any evidence of transferable skills which aren't available within other degrees such as BaM/Economics/*insert variety of others*, in addition to lacking the whole quantitative side. Again I don't intend this as an insult, but as the aim of the thread is to figure out why Law is so popular I really don't think it can be put down to excessive transferable skills. I still believe it is all about prestige, people think law is very difficult and very respectable and therefore the degree carries a certain x-factor of prestige. The same way people will go for a RG uni even if it's lower ranked then other available options, for the prestige factor.

TBH what's the point of a degree? For me (and I think most others), the point is to find a good job at the end of it. If the prestige attached to law allows one to do that, then I think it makes perfect sense for it to be very popular.

[darkccc]

There is no guaranteed way to succeed in life, and certainly, no degree would guarantee a person's success. There are doctors, dentists, lawyers, businessmen, etc who hate what they are doing, yet there are also those who love their jobs. There are also those pursue a completely different career after they finish their degrees!
So in essence, it is far better if students choose degrees that they like rather than choosing one purely for the monetary rewards.

And to the poster above who mentioned that law students dread the maths involved in economics, what you said is true but there are also those who are adept in both essay and quantitative subjects...

[Khanem]

Mainly because LOTS of people have problems; they want it to be sorted out LEGALLY, hence needing advocates and representative (barristers/solicitors).

[The_Male_Melons]

(Original post by Khanem)
Mainly because LOTS of people have problems; they want it to be sorted out LEGALLY, hence needing advocates and representative (barristers/solicitors).

Of course, what would the world be like when we don't have solicitors/barristers/executives? I shudder to think of a happy world!

[Tortious]

(Original post by The_Male_Melons)
Of course, what would the world be like when we don't have solicitors/barristers/executives? I shudder to think of a happy world!

Easy there, Lionel!