Unemployment

Scroll to see replies

ajj2000

Just to confirm - you have BBC at A level (which subjects) and are roughly in line for a 2.1 in law in a couple of years time?

Reply 21

Spla917

Damn congrats bro very inspiring so I guess you had to do A2 and AS content in 8 months. Basically retook year 13. At the moment I’m in the same predicament as I didn’t do so well in my final year 13 exams so I’ve decided to retake Chem and Bio in the summer. I’ve got about 8 months to revise both AS and A2 contents for both subjects. It’ll be tough but definitely doable with the right amount of dedication and motivation.

Reply 22

Rachael.Elisa

Hi there, I'm sorry that you're feeling so disheartened with looking for work. I get that it's worrying when you know that getting into law is so competitive. I get worried too that I might not end up with a job at the end of my degree. If you really want to work in commercial law I think you should just keep making applications, see how it goes, and stop panicking. There's always next year.

I'm in my penultimate year doing law at a non russell group and I have no A levels, although I did achieve all firsts in my first year modules. I managed to get onto 5 first year schemes last year and I'm currently being mentored by a magic circle firm. If I can do it so can you. Feel free to message me and we can help eachother with proof reading and critiquing our applications if you like :smile:

(edited 2 years ago)

Reply 23

Spla917

Original post by Rachael.Elisa

How’s you get into uni with no a levels? Btec’s??

Reply 24

Rachael.Elisa

Original post by Spla917

How’s you get into uni with no a levels? Btec’s??

Yes, I did two BTECs as opposed to A levels. The UCAS points are the equivalent of AAA.

Reply 25

Spla917

Original post by Rachael.Elisa

Yes, I did two BTECs as opposed to A levels. The UCAS points are the equivalent of AAA.

Damn that’s really good

Reply 26

mlaw17

Just had to reply to this - you really need to get a real picture of what the "city solicitor" life is like since its obviously some sort of fantasy you have...

I work in a tier 1 practice at a leading law firm. I love my job and my colleagues but in the 4 years or so I've been here, I've attended a grand total of two "dinners" and the "elite circles" you speak of are having those fancy dinners while we work through the night. What you have in mind isn't commercial law dude - you are thinking Suits or the Kardashians. Oh - and I've also worn a suit about once. We don't pop the champagne and bring in the strippers after we close a mega-deal - we get a nice "great job all" email followed by requests to close time and write articles on said deal so we can win more deals (because working 12 hours a day isn't enough)!

Working in commercial law is more like ordering *****y kebabs at 1am after patiently telling clients where to sign on a piece of paper after they've gotten it wrong twice and hoping they won't ignore your email. Or choosing between sleeping in the office or jumping on a vomit-inducing taxi home at 3am. And powernapping between client calls and dreaming of structure charts during those powernaps...

And 7 applications is absolutely nothing.

Reply 27

jack456789

everyone is a wage slave whether ur earning 30k or 100k.

Reply 28

Gmaster1980

Hes just a guy....like you do realize this is just a job right? And not a particularly glamorous one at that?

I don't think I'm special for becoming a trainee at a city law firm. Like I'm happy it worked out but it's a job and it doesn't make me better than other people. Don't put people on a pedestal. The reason most lawyers don't give students the time of day is because they're too busy not because they think you're beneath beneath.

Reply 29

mlaw17

I was a struggling penultimate year student before I became a lawyer too buddy.

Gmaster is right - don't put people on a pedestal. It just isn't healthy. And people sometimes don't reply on LinkedIn etc (I make an effort to reply - but almost always a couple days late) because we are busy or just not checking our messages - not because we are sipping on champagne laughing about the plebs that dare speak to us. I mean - just five years ago I was on this very forum worrying over applications and taking the advice of others (which is why I pop back to answer questions every couple months or so).

From your responses - you seem to be very affected by your A level grades and have some sort of belief that this has somehow ruined your life. I say this out of good intentions and not malice - I think the biggest obstacle to success is your mentality, not your A level grades. You can't change your A level grades (bar a resit which seems silly) but if you change your mentality, I am almost certain you will look back in a few years and cringe about how much you cared about an exam you took when you were 18.

Reading through this thread (quiet morning thankfully!), I agree with what others have said. You really need to drop the victim mentality and start thinking about how you can get to where you want to be. If you are in this self-destructive spiral of despair after having been rejected from a mere handful of applications - I don't think you have the fortitude for most of the jobs you want honestly. As many others have said - people apply to dozens of firms and face dozens of rejections (justified or not) before they get a job.

If you finish your degree with a decent 2:1; I am almost certain you can find a job in a mid-size or regional firm as long as you fix your soft skills. From there, if you are as hard working as you claim to be - I am sure you will make the connections necessary to further your career.

That said, I don't think there is much more point for me, or anyone else, to provide you with advice if your mind is set. In this thread, there are uni students, a city law firm trainee, an older experienced lawyer and myself (a young associate) providing you with advice and thoughts. The fact that everybody broadly agrees that you seem like your own worst enemy should give you enough cause to look within and consider whether it is your own defeatist victim mentality that is impeding you from moving forwards.

Reply 30

17Student17

"Academic ability is what gets you far in life. If you don’t have strong academics your life is always going to be sub par, unless you are entrepreneurial or sporty, or have some other skill. " On the whole, yes for professional careers high academic standards are required (otherwise the clients will be damaged by poor legal advice or a surgeon who does not cut the body up correctly). However there are loads of other things you can do and if you work very hard may do well in those eg for even City lawyers it is our clients not us who are rich often - many built up a business from nothing leaving school at 15 and then make more money than a City lawyer will ever earn. Do not give up.

If you are mid way through your degree get a very good degree and apply to firms or in house training contracts and get in that way and after that your natural brilliance may make up for poor A level grades over time.
If you are not up to the job however do something else. My son drives a food van and does not work in the area of his degree, earns about £24k for life (full time PAYE) and is perfectly happy. Not everyone has to be rich or a lawyer. Material wealth is not a route to happiness (although it certainly can make life easier)