University: Law/international relations

Hi, I’m looking for some guidance I was first fixated on studying law at university however, I attended a lecture and the demands to become a lawyer are so off putting. I’m not sure if I value the career so much to the extent I spend endless hours a day and slave myself to become a lawyer. Then I was thinking a political science degree or international relations. I attended SOAS and QMUL and the international relations degree sounds so interesting!! However, I have no clue on what careers I can do with this kind of degree, many people say that’s IR degrees are pointless and I really need a secure job after university otherwise my parents won’t be happy. IR sounds so interesting and I could do a law conversion course if I wanted to but deep down I know that I won’t be able to afford law and I don’t want to slave away my life to it. Does anyone have any tips or experience within these sectors and do you know any good careers that can come from and international relations degree? Thank you

Reply 1

NotBestPleased

10

I'm currently studying Political Science, and I've got plans to possibly become a lawyer in the future, so I think I can help! Apologies for the long post.

Regarding a law degree, I'd choose not to. Everyone I've heard talk about a Law degree didn't find it (as an academic study) particularly interesting. My dad studied law, and he said it was a bit dry, and that in practice he doesn't really use some of the purely academic stuff he was taught, and that the conversion courses teach you what is really necessary. Tony Blair was a barrister (before being PM) and in a BBC doc from a few years ago he said that he didn't find his Jurisprudence (Law) degree at Oxford to be particularly interesting. A few others have said the same thing to me. If you want to be a lawyer, and you have other interests you could study, I'd just do that, and then convert to law afterwards. Because then if you choose not to become a lawyer afterwards, you have a degree that gives you a different scope that you can work with, and you've studied something you enjoy.

With actually becoming a lawyer, it is a lot of effort from the looks of things. You'd need to apply for vacation schemes and training contracts whilst at uni, which can be competitive. I'd say it could be worth it though, training contracts pay very well compared to graduate jobs for other degrees, and if the stress of life as a lawyer is too much, you can always go in-house later, and that still pays pretty nicely. And yeah, the price of the SQE exams and any teaching you may need for it is very high, but if you get a training contract, the firm will cover SQE and course fees for you, so I wouldn't worry too much.

Now, for PoliSci/IR. I have heard that International Relations isn't great for grad jobs. But it is worth mentioning that something like 50% of students end up in a job that isn't directly related to their degree, so take that as you will. Most people who study IR find that it can be a bit more theoretical at times than they were expecting (a lot of it is talking about different perspectives e.g Realism, Social Constructivism etc). IR is also meant to be a bit more interdisciplinary, it has some PoliSci, Law, some History etc. For my PoliSci course, IR is one of the specialisms we can choose (along with Comparative Politics, Political Theory and Public Policy and Governance) so that dynamic is a bit different. Lots of people choose IR because they want to be a diplomat, but if that's you, I'd check how much UK diplomats are paid, because it's less than you might think. Plus these jobs are competitive, joining the Civil Service Grad Fast Stream can take 2-3 tries before they let you in. If you want to take a look at possible careers using IR then start with https://www.prospects.ac.uk/ , there are some useful starting points there. Also worth noting whether where you are applying is a BA or a BSc course, because with the social sciences this can make a difference to what you cover in your course. :smile:

Reply 2

TazmeenX

18

do a degree that you genuinely want to do. you're going to be studying it for 3/4 years in much depth so id say pick the ir degree. like you said, you can do a conversion course if you really did want to have a law career. these can more often than not be funded by law firms if you are accepted onto a training contract but do your research - that should hopefully subside some of the financial worry.

besides law, you could work in the civil service or become a diplomat - heres a link to some of the other career paths: https://www.prospects.ac.uk/careers-advice/what-can-i-do-with-my-degree/international-relations

do keep in mind that pretty much any degree you do will require a lot of time and so will being a lawyer. make sure to get more experience in law/ir at uni through taster lectures, open days and moocs as well as any work experience you can get and perhaps that will help you make a more confident decision

(edited 10 months ago)

Reply 3

Florence_6791

OP

10

Thank you so much your response was so helpful! I am looking at law conversion courses however, do you know if it’s even more intense than the regular 3 year law course?

Thank you again for your response

Reply 4

Florence_6791

OP

10

Thank you so much for your helpful response!
I do have work experience in law coming up so I’ll consider how that is but thank you so much for your advice!

Original post by TazmeenX

do a degree that you genuinely want to do. you're going to be studying it for 3/4 years in much depth so id say pick the ir degree. like you said, you can do a conversion course if you really did want to have a law career. these can more often than not be funded by law firms if you are accepted onto a training contract but do your research - that should hopefully subside some of the financial worry.

besides law, you could work in the civil service or become a diplomat - heres a link to some of the other career paths: https://www.prospects.ac.uk/careers-advice/what-can-i-do-with-my-degree/international-relations

do keep in mind that pretty much any degree you do will require a lot of time and so will being a lawyer. make sure to get more experience in law/ir at uni through taster lectures, open days and moocs as well as any work experience you can get and perhaps that will help you make a more confident decision