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Need honest advice on prospects

Hi, I’m a 2nd year going into 3rd year at Durham Uni. I did awful in 1st year (40%) and worked hard to get a 2:1 this year, but because I bombed one of the exams it’s just about a 2:1 (60.3%). I also swapped out a law module to study Korean which saved my average.



In 1st year I did some volunteering in creating a social media campaign and tutoring an A-level student. In 2nd year I worked part-time alongside my studies for a few months and took part in recreational societies regularly just for fun. Over the easter break I was lucky to get paid work experience for a month as a paralegal in a firm that specialises in pensions law, but I’m not interested in a career in pensions after the experience. In third year I’m planning on trying to get a leadership role / actively participate in law and non-law societies whilst trying to get a better grade this year. I’m also planning on continuing Korean to the next stage and applying for training contracts.



Over the summer I will be planning my dissertation and travelling to Korea for 3 months. Whilst I’m in Korea I plan on finding something to do e.g. volunteering that could give me experience and skills that I can transfer to a career in law and refer to in interviews.



I’d like some advice on what I could realistically pursue in terms of a career as a lawyer, and what next steps I should take. I don’t have any mitigating circumstances to explain my 1st year results, I was just lazy and uncertain of what I wanted to do. Now I am sure that law is something I want to do, but I understand that my credentials aren’t great.



Any advice would be appreciated.
Perhaps you can see if you can talk to a independent qualified local career advisor. Make brief summary notes etc as well. Plan for the actual interview in question, read some free but useful recommended career preparation books and so on. Good luck to you. Read job descriptions.
Reply 2
I would advise you to start prioritising your grades instead of spending more time on extracurricular activities and work/volunteering experiences, esp if you have a history of getting 3rd and 2:2s.

Set realistic ambitions and be smart when it comes to selecting law firms. You can send a few apps this year to get a taste of the process, but I wouldn’t bother spending too long on them. If you can afford to take it slow, I don’t think it would be daft to make these decisions after getting your third year results back.
I agree with the above poster. The top priority is to make sure you stay on course for a 2:1 and that you ensure you graduate with that grade. Some employers still won't like your first year results, but you can't do anything about that now so don't focus on it, ensure you graduate with that 2:1. You already know this but don't forget that getting a 2:2 will make it basically impossible to be a barrister (yes, there are exceptions, but let's keep it realistic) and also make it pretty difficult to become a solicitor these days without taking a longer way around. Do not take on anything (you mention leadership roles etc) during your academic year that will impact on the grade that you get. Extra-curriculars can be added to your CV later, you only get one chance at making sure you get that 2:1.

I assume you have no personal connection with Korea and are studying the language for the element of the challenge involved? If it is, say, a family language then no-one will take much notice of it in terms of academic achievement but on the flip side, if you want employers to consider it an asset, then you will need to be fluent and business proficient; they have translators for anything professional that might be required if you are not at that standard. In that sense it's probably no more interesting to most future employers than you being captain of the football or netball team, it shows you have outside interests but not much more. And as above, the top priority is your grades. Be honest with yourself about where the gaps are in your knowledge and work on those, don't hit the easy subjects on the list that you already know over and over, do some extra reading for your course, do practice exams under timed conditions etc to try to improve / stay on course.

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