Scottish Law Online Discussion Forum - Accelerates Law course any advice or guidance

confused25

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Accelerates Law course any advice or guidance
Jan 2^nd, 2009 at 9:15pm

Hi forum

I am a 25 year old female. I graduated in 2005 with a 2.1 in business and have worked in the civil service and a consulting firm. I am now looking at a change in career. I have always been interested in law but I am trying to really research into it. The particular area of interest is in the civil service law. However I am finding it hard to find out things like earning capacity, the number of exams required dependent on the lines you decide to go into.

I thought I would post up my query as I am sure there will be many mature students such as myself who will be giving up careers to pursue a career in law.

My choices for the accelerated law course where strathclyde and Glasgow. I would really appreciate any input of prospective or current students at these places. Also if anyone can point me in the direction of a website of a sort of dummies guide to pursuring law that would be really appreciated.

Also I will be 28 on graduatation, will the fact I am 7 years older than most law students be a disadvantage when applying for jobs? and career progression.

Thank you

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LaLa74

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Re: Accelerates Law course any advice or guidance
Reply #1 - Jan 4^th, 2009 at 5:28pm

Hey,

I'm sure you've worked out that the main route into becoming a Solicitor in Scotland is via University. Since you already have a degree you can choose the accelerated route, but bear in mind that the fees are steep - around £10,000 for the two year course. You will then have to complete the diploma in legal practice which costs another £5000 and places are limited. After this, you require to complete a two year traineeship. There are various areas which provide these other than law firms - local councils, you could work at the Crown office. Traineeships are also limited.

In relation to which university to attend, I went to Glasgow, apparently the support at Strathclyde is better but they were a tad snooty about my previous degree and weren't interested in having me there as a student. I'm now doing the diploma there and feeling rather spoon fed compared to my time at Glasgow, but I don't know whether the undergraduate degree would have been like that or it's just a diploma thing.

Earning capacity depends entirely on where you end up. A law career certainly isn't the meal ticket it apparently used to be but it can be very well remunerated.

It's extremely challenging, hard work and there are no guarantees that you will get the job you want.

However, don't let age put you off! I was 30 when I started. I'm halfway through my diploma at the moment and all being well, I'll start my traineeship in one of the large firms in September. I'm really glad I changed career (was nursing before) and most firms appreciate your life experience.

Good luck whatever you decide.

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confused25

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Re: Accelerates Law course any advice or guidance
Reply #2 - Jan 5^th, 2009 at 12:21am

LaLa74 wrote on Jan 4^th, 2009 at 5:28pm:

Hey,

I'm sure you've worked out that the main route into becoming a Solicitor in Scotland is via University. Since you already have a degree you can choose the accelerated route, but bear in mind that the fees are steep - around £10,000 for the two year course. You will then have to complete the diploma in legal practice which costs another £5000 and places are limited. After this, you require to complete a two year traineeship. There are various areas which provide these other than law firms - local councils, you could work at the Crown office. Traineeships are also limited.

In relation to which university to attend, I went to Glasgow, apparently the support at Strathclyde is better but they were a tad snooty about my previous degree and weren't interested in having me there as a student. I'm now doing the diploma there and feeling rather spoon fed compared to my time at Glasgow, but I don't know whether the undergraduate degree would have been like that or it's just a diploma thing.

Earning capacity depends entirely on where you end up. A law career certainly isn't the meal ticket it apparently used to be but it can be very well remunerated.

It's extremely challenging, hard work and there are no guarantees that you will get the job you want.

However, don't let age put you off! I was 30 when I started. I'm halfway through my diploma at the moment and all being well, I'll start my traineeship in one of the large firms in September. I'm really glad I changed career (was nursing before) and most firms appreciate your life experience.

Good luck whatever you decide.

Hi

Many thanks for your reply. I undertook business at Uni, the main thing that appeals to me about law is the interest in the actual subject and also the fact that most of the work in law is team focused and involves working with people and not on my own as I have been doing.

May I ask though do you know of any useful websites for students such as ourselves that are doing law as a second degree, anything that provides advice and guidence on strenghtening applications, starting salary etc??

Thanks

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john deed Newbies Offline I Love YaBB 2! Posts: 13	Re: Accelerates Law course any advice or guidance Reply #3 - Jan 5^th, 2009 at 1:14pm i did the degree part-time at strathclyde - it wasn't difficult. the age thing is not a problem. I'm 20+ years older than the new graduates and got a traineeship.
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confused25

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Re: Accelerates Law course any advice or guidance
Reply #4 - Jan 8^th, 2009 at 3:30pm

john deed wrote on Jan 5^th, 2009 at 1:14pm:

i did the degree part-time at strathclyde - it wasn't difficult. the age thing is not a problem. I'm 20+ years older than the new graduates and got a traineeship.

Hi John Deed,

Many thanks for your reply. I was wondering if I could ask a small favour. I am in the process of writing my personal statment for the LLB program and I am drawing blanks. As a fellow mature student do you have any pointers as you were successful in entry to the course.

Thanks

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john deed Newbies Offline I Love YaBB 2! Posts: 13	Re: Accelerates Law course any advice or guidance Reply #5 - Jan 15^th, 2009 at 10:19am The part-time course is different. If you've got a previous degree and are prepared to pay the £11k then you get in automatically. I didn't have to compete with the youngsters for a place.
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badfelafel Full Member Offline I Love YaBB 2! Posts: 59 Glasgow Gender:	Re: Accelerates Law course any advice or guidance Reply #6 - Feb 25^th, 2009 at 9:33pm I'm 33 and almost finished the diploma - went back to do the 2 year LLB when I was 31, and have a traineeship. Age is no problem, so if you're genuinely keen go for it!
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