Is law a useless degree?

what uni did your mate go to

For law or nursing ?

law

Jesus christ the Oxbridge circle jerking on this forum is unbearable. If you think it's a golden ticket to becoming the prime minister or a Supreme Court Judge you have another thing coming. Any top Russell Group will get you into any of the top London firms, period. A 1st from a top Russell group will, in almost every instance, be looked upon more favorably than a 2:1 from Oxbridge - a 1st in law is a fantastic achievement. As I mentioned earlier, the commercial bar is admittedly dominated by Oxbridge (top few chambers in the country). However, if you look at the profiles of the barristers, not only did they attend Oxbridge, they often came in the top handful of students in their year. A 2:1 from Oxbridge will not get you into the commercial bar, you have a better chance with a 1st from a top Russell Group.

Please, you are going to convince people that Oxbridge is the be all and end all - it's not. Sure, it gives you an advantage, but if you look at stats, Oxbridge (individually Oxford and Cambridge) have about a 3% lead over Durham in the number of graduates given training contracts - wow, incredible. Even more important, which I haven't mentioned, is extracurriculars. I should also point out that even if you read many law firm partners are Oxbridge graduates, it's not some meritocratic system where the comprehensive school kid succeeds and goes on to Oxbridge, and then walks into the position of partner - you will find many partners are educated at a small handful of top private schools. It's the elite social bubble which gives you the advantage, not Oxbridge. Feel free to disagree, but this is the truth. There will, of course, be state educated partners, but they are in the minority. Britain is a class ridden society.

These two graphs will help shed some light on the subject of your question. They are from a government report from 2015...Law is a pretty bad choice so far as earnings and employment prospects are concerned relative to other subjects. Its not as bad as going for something like Art or Music though ...those guys earn less after five years from graduating than supermarket clerks ....

Earnings after 5 years of graduation by subject studied at university:



Employment after 5 years by subject studied:

I think you have to make distinction though. Because of the large number of Universities that offer law, the average is likely to be dragged down by the people who went to bad Universities.

If you look at the statistics for people who graduated from RG/Top 25-ish Universities then they are likely to be more positive.

As long as you study law at a well-respected institution, you will have a brilliant degree under your belt, and can go into whichever high-paying professions you like (with hard work and experience of course).

The highest you could possibly earn, after 5 years from graduating, as a law graduate, is half that of the lowest income for a medical student....

Law graduates working at top firms can earn into 6 figures 5 years after graduation, so that is complete rubbish. Newly qualified salaries at multiple American firms is in excess of 100,000, and for other top London firms ~80,000. What you just said is therefore completely inaccurate. Even smaller London firms pay ~60,000 to NQs, and I'm pretty sure that's more than medical students with the same years of experience (not entirely sure about this, though). The average medical student will earn more than the average law student, however, the top law students will earn more than the average (and best) medical students - dependent on where they practice law, of course.

Look at the upper quartile for earnings for Law graduates in the first graph and compare it to the lower quartile for graduates of medicine...Its half the lowest earnings for medical students....The highest you could possibly earn, after 5 years from graduating, as a law graduate, is half that of the lowest income for a medical student....

Hi Odd. We are talking about those graphs which are based on a government report into earnings and job prospects for university graduates. If you have an issue with these results and what they show...take it up with the government. Tell the government that the upper quarterlies for graduates of law should be in excess of 100k. I'm sure they would change the graphs to accommodate your views.

I'm sure they would change the graphs to accommodate your views.

I'm sure the data is correct.

Given you seem very keen to be as accurate as you can, 'data' are plural...

Thanks, that really contributed to the discussion.

About as much as the rest of the wittering on about money did

About as much as the rest of the wittering on about money did

I'm sure the data is correct. However, your statement that 'the highest you could possibly earn, after 5 years from graduating, as a law graduate, is half that of the lowest income for a medical student....' is incorrect. It is 'possible' to earn more, and far more, than a medicine graduate 5 years after graduation if you work for a top law firm. Of course, places at firms like this are competitive, but that's beside the point. Your statement was incorrect.