How do you become a barrister?

Do you need commercial awareness?
I’ve already graduated uni and originally wanted to be a solicitor but now has realised I am much more suited to being a barrister.

What do you need? Help!

Thanks in advance everyone

What makes you think that you're more suited to being a barrister? Have you done any mini pupillages? What experience or knowledge do you have of what a barrister does and the skills that you need to work as a barrister? I only ask these things because you make it sound like you had this realisation somewhat on the spur of the moment, and before you do anything you need to make sure that it's a career path that you choose to pursue based on a critical assessment of your own ability and your realistic prospects of actually becoming a barrister. It is an exceptionally competitive career path and not one to be pursued lightly.
In answer to your questions, you become a barrister by doing the Bar Course (currently called the Bar Practice Course or BPC, but it's had various names over the years) and then securing pupillage with a barristers' chambers. Getting a place on the Bar Course is not difficult, but securing pupillage is extremely difficult and highly competitive. It requires a strong written application, actual skills and ability, and genuine tenacity. Yes, it does require commercial awareness to some degree, but not in the same way as is required for a solicitor. It's more an awareness of and an ability to speak to current legal issues and events. But that is one factor of many that goes into a successful application.
I'd suggest that you do some proper research on this career path, and gain some experience (most notable through mini pupillages) if you don't have it already, before you make any decisions as to what to do next. It's an expensive path to go down only to find that it's not realistic for you.

I feel as though one of my strengths is definitely my ability to communicate and think on my feet. People often say I’m very confrontational and that I would make a great lawyer due to how I articulate myself. I realised that I do not want to be cooped up in an office, drafting and doing paperwork but rather having a job with more latitude. I feel as though I would enjoy it a lot more and it would be a lot more fulfilling for me.

Do you need commercial awareness if you were to specialise in an area such as medical negligence or employment law?

I only want to be lawyer temporarily as I need the money to pursue other endeavours I have planned. If it is as expensive as you say it is then I would rather pass and do something else like a paralegal.

What expenses are involved? Is there funding for such?

So, a few thoughts.
Communications skills and being able to think on your feet are obviously key skills for a barrister, but the skills that you need go far beyond that. It's fair to say that the job isn't office based, but again, there is more to it than it simply not being office based. It is hard work, stressful and there is a lot of pressure on you. As I said above, I would encourage you to do some mini pupillages and actually see and speak to barristers doing the job.
I wonder if we're talking at cross purposes about commercial awareness. Knowledge of what broadly is going on in the legal industry is something you should be able to build regardless of what type of lawyer you become. As I say, perhaps not in the same way as becoming a solicitor, but it is something that you need to secure pupillage, because pupillage interviews will involve answering questions, debating and engaging in discussions on current events in the legal word and notable legal issues. It doesn't mean you need an in depth, working knowledge of the law in those areas. But you need to be broadly aware of them and be able to discuss them. That is both being well read (something which you should be able to do irrespective) and being able to think and construct arguments and points on your feet.
If you're entering law for the money I would flat out not recommend that you become a barrister. If you want to make money, there are career routes that enable you to do that without the same degree of risk. There may well be a trade off between how interesting you find the work and how easy it is to get into that work, but these are the factors that you need to balance. There is something of a disconnect between wanting to be a barrister to make money, and just becoming a paralegal in the alternative. Paralegals earn relatively low wages. You can still save money working as a paralegal depending on other factors, but it's unlikely to be enough to fund significant endeavours. Barristers earn a lot more than paralegals, and indeed they usually earn notable more than solicitors of equivalent experience in the same practice area. So it does depend on what you want the money for and how much you need. Either way, I would really only recommend that you become a barrister if you want to be a barrister.
Your expenses at this stage are the Bar Course. I haven't looked up the latest fees, but it'll be somewhere around the £15,000 to £18,000 mark. If you don't get pupillage on or before the Bar Course (and most don't), you'll then need to find an alternative role, such as a paralegal or advocate, to build up the experience and skills you need to secure pupillage. Those roles, relatively speaking, are lower paid, so it's not so much the expense of doing those roles, because you'll be earning money, but more the risk of becoming stuck in lower paid employment without an obvious plan to progressing beyond securing pupillage. Some of those who don't go on to secure pupillage have managed to put themselves on alternative career paths, either inside the law or outside it, but for many they go through several years of pupillage applications and then essentially have to start again, and that's a difficult proposition. You can get scholarships to cover some or all of the cost of the Bar Course, but the larger scholarships are (as you might expect) extremely competitive.

Hi Jamie,
I feel as though one of my strengths is definitely my ability to communicate and think on my feet. People often say I’m very confrontational and that I would make a great lawyer due to how I articulate myself. I realised that I do not want to be cooped up in an office, drafting and doing paperwork but rather having a job with more latitude. I feel as though I would enjoy it a lot more and it would be a lot more fulfilling for me.
Do you need commercial awareness if you were to specialise in an area such as medical negligence or employment law?
I only want to be lawyer temporarily as I need the money to pursue other endeavours I have planned. If it is as expensive as you say it is then I would rather pass and do something else like a paralegal.
What expenses are involved? Is there funding for such?

Hi, I just completed my time shadowing several different barristers at the criminal bar - and you should know they are also cooped up with paperwork. They spend a significant time in court but also spend the same amount of time out of court on paperwork. This is because pre to a sentencing, trial or hearing they need to draft opening statements and arguments ect and read the entirety of cases, and their case load can reach 12 hours a day. They work non stop and paper work dominates their job. So although yes, there is a practicality to their job and a need to communicate, also beware that your are going to be swamped with paperwork

I understand and know that there is a written element to being a barrister but didn’t know it could reach up to 12 hours a day! I will need to take this into consideration. Thank you for letting me know.

Hi Jamie,
I feel as though one of my strengths is definitely my ability to communicate and think on my feet. People often say I’m very confrontational and that I would make a great lawyer due to how I articulate myself. I realised that I do not want to be cooped up in an office, drafting and doing paperwork but rather having a job with more latitude. I feel as though I would enjoy it a lot more and it would be a lot more fulfilling for me.
Do you need commercial awareness if you were to specialise in an area such as medical negligence or employment law?
I only want to be lawyer temporarily as I need the money to pursue other endeavours I have planned. If it is as expensive as you say it is then I would rather pass and do something else like a paralegal.
What expenses are involved? Is there funding for such?

I understand and know that there is a written element to being a barrister but didn’t know it could reach up to 12 hours a day! I will need to take this into consideration. Thank you for letting me know.

Being confrontational isn't necessarily a personality trait that will assist you in litigation. The ability to handle confrontation is important (barristers need very thick skins), but having a disposition towards aggression or being argumentative are not, by themselves, always good things for a lawyer. To use a military analogy (and litigation is sublimated warfare), a barrister must be a fearless warrior, but not a berserker killing machine.
Yes to intellectual rigour, critical reasoning power, and possession of a massive built in BS Detector, but no to being a stroppy person who likes a good row.
As someone said, to cross examine does not mean to examine crossly. The preferred weapon of the very best barristers is a rapier, not a bludgeon or a bazooka.
Commercial litigation involves vast (and I mean vast) amounts of working in an office, and vast (and I mean vast) amounts of paperwork, as well as court hearings. If you are not prepared to spend a sunny summer weekend or most of a Christmas holiday in your chambers reading thousands of pages of documents when drafting a hundred page pleading, or preparing for a court hearing, don't even think of becoming a commercial barrister. Commercial barristers are very well paid. The money is hard earned.
PS: Being a barrister requires a lot of independence of mind and the ability to check everything out yourself. I cannot help but notice that note that you didn't, it appears, carry out a Google search which would, in a few seconds, have produced several pages explaining how to become a barrister.