Should I give up on my Solicitor Training Contract Search in favour of Teaching?

My view is that we have too many lawyers and not enough teachers. As you may know, approximately 40,000 people chase about 4000 training contracts, and about 3000 people chase about 650 pupillages. I think that taking the teaching route could be a great idea. You could always return to the law later if you wish.
As for funding the Bar course, if you decide to go back to that, have a look here -
https://www.dsc.org.uk/publication/the-directory-of-grant-making-trusts-2024-25/
I part-funded my legal training with grants from the Mercers Company and the Skinners Company (two of the City Livery Companies).
Good luck!

Thanks for the reply. Is it actually possible to switch back to Law? I know that some people have done so as barristers (most famously Lord Denning), but I had not heard of anyone doing the same as a solicitor.

Hi, magic circle trainee here who remembers all too well the pain of applications. I don't know what type of firms you're interested in so apologies if it is nothing like mine. What I will say is that it takes the vast majority of aapplicants more than one cycle to get a TC. There is someone at my firm who went through 5 cycles!! Learning to write a successful application is a skill that you really do improve with time. I look back at my first applications and cringe. Have you had anyone review your applications to give you pointers? Or have you seen any successful applications to compare styles etc.?
The written application stage is there graduate recruitment has to do the biggest cull of numbers. Put bluntly, they are looking for a reason to not take you so you have to polish it to be perfect. I was given the advice that every application should take you 20 hours - this inclues research, writing, re-writing, proofing etc. but you really have to give them that long.
On the year in limbo, this is also really common given how far in advance firms recruit and how many times people have to apply before getting their TC. If you get a TC and have time in between, you will find that recruiters are in your inbox non-stop asking if you want a paralegal role at various international firms. you absolutes would not struggle to find work. I had 6 months between my PGDL and LPC and interviewed for, and was offered, 4 roles very quickly. Once you have a TC, firms recruiting for short-term paralegals see that as a stamp of approval as to your standard and are much, much more keen to take you on. You can also just do something entirely different for the time in limbo. I know people who worked for charities, in finance, in media - the list goes on...
Sorry for the essay and I hope this helps even a little
Given the time commitment, I was also advised that you should apply to 6-8 firms at most - any more and you risk i) not giving each one the time it deserves ii) getting mixed up between firms e.g., quoting the wrong deal; and iii) adopting a scatter gun approach - don't apply to firms for the sake of it, you should have a genuine interest for the ones you are applying to as that would be where your career is. NB: with iii) i'm not saying you have taken a scatter gun approach - I'm very aware there are 12 firms that are easily so similar you could have an interest in all of them.

Thank you for the advice and taking the time to write this. I was suprised from my difficulty in finding a TC at a Magic Circle/SilverCircle/US Law Firm as substantially every single other person in my College doing law had secured one in one of those firms by the end of their penultimate year at University. In comparison with this, whilst I am finding this a lot harder than expected, I got into several first year schemes at US and Magic Circle Ones to then get rejected in my VCs apps and now with my TCs. I realise now that very likely my applications are just of poor quality, and that unless I change the way I write them, I am not going to go anywhere. Thank you for your advice.

I graduated in Summer 2024, and began a barrister course whilst working part-time to pay for personal expenses whilst my parents said that they would have covered all or at least a substantial portion of my rent as they live overseas and I cannot, therefore, live at home. Unfortunately, there was a change in circumstances which meant that they could no longer pay for my rent. As a result, becuase I was tied down to a very expensive contract, I was forced to give up on the course a month ago to work longer to pay for my living expenses.
As I have a 2 1 law degree from Oxbridge, I decided to give a go at some training contract applications, however, competition is extremely high at the moment and most deadlines are by now passed for the top firms. I applied to 12 so far, got through some first stages but failed to secure assessment centres. Does still pursuing the solicitor route make sense? Most firms also hire for 2027 start dates, meaning that I will be in limbo for another year at least. Most importantly, not many firms offer significant grants for the SQE, and, as I need to pay for almost all by myself, I cannot apply to many smaller firms as I could not afford to complete the SQE otherwise.
I am considering instead pursuing a teaching career at secondary school level. I have done a lot of tutoring, enjoyed it, and had some summer school experience. The pay prospects are a lot lower but with some schemes, I can get straight into paid employment whilst completing my teacher training in September, which would be a lot better time-wise than waiting to start a TC in 2027.
I would appreciate any advice as I am very torn between this.

What do you plan to teach?
Law won't fill a timetable.

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