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Law career as a mature student - advice please

Hello,

I am considering studying law as a mature student (in my 40s). Has anyone here done this? If so, how did you find it? What is the job market like after postgrad level? I am thinking more in house jobs, not necessarily practicing as a solicitor or barrister.

As a background I have a BA in History and a postgraduate diploma in legal studies (postgrad done outside the UK). After discussions with a couple of universities it looks as though I would need to do a postgraduate conversion course, either as an LLM or MA Law. A PGDL from ULaw would also be a possibility. As I have family and home commitments, I would be limited as to where I could do this so only looking at ULaw or local universities.

Thank you.

Reply 1

ajj2000

I think it would be beneficial if you could note which part of the country you would be looking for work in. There is likely to be a huge variance in the availability of jobs.

If you are focussed on working in house could you look for entry level positions/ apprenticeships in local authority type work?

Reply 2

UniofLaw Student

Official Rep

Original post by kalco

Hi @kalco!

I am not a mature student, however, I am currently doing a conversion course at ULaw and have friends on the course who are mature students. The job market after postgraduate level is very competitive, however, it is certainly manageable to find employment in the legal field once completing the conversion. I have found from my own experience that mature students and career changers are often more successful in finding employment quickly after completing the course due to the employment and life skills they have already developed over the course of their previous career and general life experiences so I wouldn't let being a mature student put you off! In terms of being able to complete the course, the workload is quite intense and there is a lot of reading but seeing as you have a BA in History I am sure you are more than used to this! Also, the workload is completely manageable if you organise your time effectively.

If you want a course with as much flexibility as possible I would recommend doing a course online. With ULaw, you can study any of the courses you are considering online. Being an online student means that all of your learning material is online and pre-recorded so you really can choose to study where and when you want. At ULaw, there is also no disparity between the resources and support you can access as a online student or an on-campus student so there is no real disadvantage of choosing this study method. Equally, depending on where you are located, ULaw has several campuses across the UK so travelling to campus may still work for you if that is what you wish. Particularly, as on the PGDL or MA courses, you will only have two days of on-campus studying a week so you wouldn't need to travel into uni every day of the week.

I hope this helps and good luck!

Sophie :smile:

Student Ambassador at the University of Law

Reply 3

Bradford Rep

Official Rep

Hello,

It is very possible to go ahead with studying law because your present age is not a barrier. This however can be demanding and you also have a family to cater for and your job to attend to. However, there is always a way out.
I suggest as you have a family, you can search for schools that are close to home in order to have time for both your family and school.

Then again, if you are to combine work with school, you will have to consider your working times to make a balance between work and school(if you’re an employee, you can do that by liaising with your employer and fixing a workable schedule). But if you are not, there is no need.

Also, looking to be an in-house lawyer is also a good idea and this will require you to major in corporate law. Search for schools that are good in corporate law tutoring around you and go for any of them.

Chuks

University of Bradford Alumni Rep

Reply 4

taposh

For the academic commitment side I've just posted an update here:

https://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=7188942

to a thread I started last year about doing what you are about to do !

My one bit of advice would be if you can try and get on a course where there is at least some element of face to face interaction. On-site time at Ulaw is actually quite limited even for a in-person course (think workshops in person every 3rd or 4th weekend) but the benefits of discussing topics face to face, writing up cases on whiteboards etc is actually very beneficial in consolidating the subject.

Reply 5

oa2bbs

Original post by kalco

Hello,
I am considering studying law as a mature student (in my 40s). Has anyone here done this? If so, how did you find it? What is the job market like after postgrad level? I am thinking more in house jobs, not necessarily practicing as a solicitor or barrister.
As a background I have a BA in History and a postgraduate diploma in legal studies (postgrad done outside the UK). After discussions with a couple of universities it looks as though I would need to do a postgraduate conversion course, either as an LLM or MA Law. A PGDL from ULaw would also be a possibility. As I have family and home commitments, I would be limited as to where I could do this so only looking at ULaw or local universities.
Thank you.

Hello I'm about to embark on the same journey and I am also in my 40's. I did a Law degree about 20 years ago but never took it further. I am now looking to return to it so just wondering about your experience.