The Student Room Group

Solicitor vs Investment Banker

These are two careers that really interest me.
I'm naturally good at mathematics, and investment banking seems a good fit for that. However, I think it could get boring and repetitive (I'm not sure if I'm right/wrong on this, please correct me).
On the other hand, becoming a solicitor seems to be something I've always been interested in. I believe it could be a much more interesting job, compared to investment banking.
I also cope with stress pretty well, which, I've been told could come in useful as both jobs.

My main questions are:
1. What are the abilities to work abroad with these jobs to countries like the USA, Australia etc.?
2. What's the difference in salaries?
3. To any students who are thinking of beckming a solicitor or investment banker, what are your opinions?
Original post by TSLW
These are two careers that really interest me.
I'm naturally good at mathematics, and investment banking seems a good fit for that. However, I think it could get boring and repetitive (I'm not sure if I'm right/wrong on this, please correct me).
On the other hand, becoming a solicitor seems to be something I've always been interested in. I believe it could be a much more interesting job, compared to investment banking.
I also cope with stress pretty well, which, I've been told could come in useful as both jobs.

My main questions are:
1. What are the abilities to work abroad with these jobs to countries like the USA, Australia etc.?
2. What's the difference in salaries?
3. To any students who are thinking of beckming a solicitor or investment banker, what are your opinions?


A solicitor sounds glamourous but isn't. It can be boring a repetitive. Training contracts are hard to come by and the pay is not good.

If you are good at maths do a maths degree and see where it takes you. My partner is a solicitor and does earn much. His daily routine is dull. He longs for the complicated cases to take the drudgery out of day to day working.

My daughter is doing a PhD in maths and has a wealth of opportunities
Agree with J-SP above - these two careers are very different. I know a few people from uni who have tried looking into both and pretty much all the time it's because they're attracted to the money and prestige rather than anything about the career itself. This is not a bad thing necessarily - but I'd recommend taking some time to think about whether you are actually genuinely interested in both careers and the work involved. Try getting some work experience or talking to people who actually work in these careers (e.g. through uni career events, linkedin, any uni grads you know) to help you decide. And remember, if you're attracted to the prestige/high profile work/type of environment, there are loads of opportunities in a range of sectors you can try - although you'll definitely have to sacrifice salary for the most part.

Also agree with the other comment - I know a solicitor and a lot of the work can still be repetitive - drafting contracts, making continuous edits to a document according to client whims etc. And also think about what kind of law you want to go into and how that varies in terms of work you'll be doing. And remember that being a solicitor has one key difference which is the extra training/study involved, plus 2 years as a trainee before you qualify. This is quite different to an IB job - where I know a few friends who have done it for 5 years or so, made a bit of money, and used the prestigious experience to work in a more interesting job for them. It's harder to do as a solicitor if you get tired of the job/workload/pressure/environment because of the bigger initial commitment. But on the other hand it might make it more suitable as a long-term career choice as the impression I get with IB is that it's rare for people to stay on in the longer-term.

Quick Reply

Latest