Our Paths to Law

Our Paths to Law

You might have noticed recently that there's been a trending tag on Twitter #mypathtolaw which
involves those in legal careers explaining how they got there, often in ways that are non-traditional.
Although none of us have legal careers just yet, we thought we'd give you a little insight into our "Paths to Law (degrees)"

LC: I’d known since year 9 that I wanted to have a career in law since a careers day where a series of
tests determined that a solicitor would be the perfect job for someone like me. However, I wouldn’t
recommend choosing a career just based off of those tests. I did some research into the different types
of legal work, and did find myself drawn to solicitor-type roles, so I think the tests had a fairly decent
assessment for me. Until sixth form, I was sure that a career in law was what I wanted to do, then I

started my Psychology A-Level.

I took History, Law and Psychology A-levels, and while I loved Law, psychology was my favourite until

later on in my second year, so when it came to applying for unis I looked at Psychology courses. I

applied for BSc Psychology at all five of my choices and got accepted into all of them, and accepted my place at the university where I currently study.

As my A-Levels progressed, I came to find that I became less excited by Psychology and started to

enjoy my Law A-Level most of all, so after some consideration I decided that pursuing a degree, and

then a career in Psychology wasn’t for me, and contacted the admissions at my firm choice uni, and
changed my course. However, I hadn’t been to a single law related open day or anything, so I was
effectively going into the course blind. Luckily, I managed to get in contact with some people also
doing law degrees at the same uni, so I knew a few people before I started.

Now I’m here I’m loving it, and I absolutely don’t regret my choice to change my degree last minute.

Not every decision you make about university will always be right straight away, so if you feel you’ve

made a choice and it just isn’t working out, there will always be a way around it, so don’t be stuck in
something you’re not happy with.

WMH: When starting to think about uni, my degree and where i would like to study many different

thoughts and questions came to mind. The main being how was I going to choose out of all the

courses and universities out there. I knew from the start of sixth form that I wanted to study law and

that this would be the right path for me. However, the real task was picking a university. There are

some great universities out there that offer really great courses in very specific areas. Research into

the courses at each university is a very good step towards deciding what university is best for you,

however the types of course should not be the only deciding factor in your choice. University is not

just about studying (although this takes up a large portion of your time) there is so much more to your

university experience, such as sport clubs, societies and learning many life skills.

When sitting my A-levels I decided to take medical science, applied science, geography and law.

Albeit law is not a necessity to study the subject at university. As I moved onto my final A-level year it

was clear to me that law was what i wanted to study further, law interested me more than any other

subject that I was studying at the time. Subsequently, I was able to search through the correct

university courses and decide which course and university fit my own needs.

Now that I am at university I believe that this was the right choice for myself, I am now looking forward
to progressing my knowledge through my university studies and ultimately go on to qualify as a
solicitor in the future. However, even if you feel that the university route is not for you there are
alternatives. There has been, in recent years, a rise in law firms looking to employ apprentices.

If you're studying or have a career in law (or any other career for that matter) tell us how you got there
in the comments!