Law or English

I know i want to become a solicitor however i really enjoy english and would pursue it was as a degree and could do the conversion course afterwards however i will starting uni at 19 instead of 18 so ill graduate and complete the law conversion at 23 as much as i know this isnt a massive deal i really dont want to waste time studying extra and waste my early 20s

Reply 1

noabat10

Original post by mara.zz

I was in the same position just with philosophy (currently in my 3rd year) and I have applied and got in to the gdl conversion course I wanted (conditional). If it were me looking back Law would have been the better option. If you do law you are in a better placement in terms of work experience as you can start doing pro bono work earlier and decide whether it is the career choice for u. As someone who did philosophy, I feel like while it might be interesting, the abstractness of the subject makes the workload very tedious at times, and a lot of the times you want to just do something which is more ‘real life’ if that makes sense 😂 if you are genuinely sure about english being something you enjoy, go for it, it wont slow you down too much. But remember to make sure u genuinely enjoy it 🙂 There is no right answer

Reply 2

UniofLaw Student

Official Rep

Original post by mara.zz

Hi @mara.zz

I studied English Lit at university and loved it! I did a 4 year course (had a study abroad year) so although starting my degree at 18, I did not finish until I was 22. I then studied the law conversion which I completed when I was 23 and I am now on the BPC :smile:

I have absolutely no regrets abouts studying English first. I really loved the subject and found it interesting throughout my degree. Of course, that is a completely personal perspective and many people love studying law at undergrad. However, if English is the degree you want to study then I would recommend doing this first and then doing a conversion when you have enjoyed studying English for a bit longer and can be more certain you definitely want to pursue a career in law (it is no easy feat so always good to be sure of it before embarking).

In terms of being a bit older, finishing the law conversion at 23 is very normal. People decide to pursue law and convert at lots of different stages of their education and lives. Therefore, in my conversion class the youngest people were 22 (having just done a 3 year course before converting and having started at 18) , however, there were a large number who had taken several years out since their undergraduate degree or who had decade long careers before changing. Consequently, I really would not worry about having an extra year before you qualify from the conversion. Pursuing law is not a short endeavour so the extra year is completely unnoticeable in the long run.

I also would not view being at university as wasting your 20s. Having now started the BPC, I can tell you with certainty that my undergrad years were far more care free and relaxed than my current period of study and I am sure this is the same for those who are now working full time or those pursuing the solicitor route. Also, once you have qualified as a barrister or solicitor your life certainly will not be plagued with free time so I would make the most of taking your time now 🙂 University is great fun and I would not change how I spent my 20s in anyway whatsoever.

Having said all that, everyone's experience and decisions are completely unique to them. Therefore, you should follow the route you want to take having considered all of the implications of that and see what happens. You simply cannot plan your entire career or life out so I say take it a step at a time and as long as you are enjoying yourself it will all work out!

I hope this helps and good luck!