ok, so one of my old school friends has decided, on a hopeless whim, it seems to me, to go back to college with the idea of taking a law degree and becoming a solicitor. several years ago, on a similar whim, my elder sister did the same thing, aged about 33, which i have to say always struck me as extremely foolhardy; to her credit, though, she sailed through all the academic stuff and actually secured a training contract last September which she's due to start in September next year.
it sounds harsh to say it, but frankly i never thought she'd make it. she's very bright, and very charming, but i've known so many people who've been forced to give up on the idea, and usually with much better credentials (younger and more experience/contacts, usually) that it just didn't seem possible.
now, this friend of mine is 30, and left school at 16, so first she has to get her A levels (equivalent). she's no more than average in terms of pure intelligence. she's done very little career-wise since leaving school. she has very few contacts. i've told her repeatedly - and sensitively - that she could scarcely have chosen a tougher field to break into: the supply of new graduates never seems to let up, and from what i hear, demand has more or less collapsed. but it just seems to bounce off her. she honestly seems convinced that she'll become a glamorous lawyer (Allie McBeal style - her example!) earning lots of money. yeah, cos your average provincial solicitor is really raking it in these days!
it's not going to happen, is it? anyone working in the field care to confirm my fears? and just what the fuck is it about the industry that still seems to retain this allure, this deluding promise of dash and glamour?
here's a couple of links from The Law Gazette website. the second one is by a struggling graduate, whose shrill, spoilt sense of entitlement i find fucking disgusting, btw.
http://www.lawgazette.co.uk/blogs/news-blog/how-should-oversupply-lpc-graduates-be-tackled
http://www.lawgazette.co.uk/opinion/comment/the-training-contract-lottery
it sounds harsh to say it, but frankly i never thought she'd make it. she's very bright, and very charming, but i've known so many people who've been forced to give up on the idea, and usually with much better credentials (younger and more experience/contacts, usually) that it just didn't seem possible.
now, this friend of mine is 30, and left school at 16, so first she has to get her A levels (equivalent). she's no more than average in terms of pure intelligence. she's done very little career-wise since leaving school. she has very few contacts. i've told her repeatedly - and sensitively - that she could scarcely have chosen a tougher field to break into: the supply of new graduates never seems to let up, and from what i hear, demand has more or less collapsed. but it just seems to bounce off her. she honestly seems convinced that she'll become a glamorous lawyer (Allie McBeal style - her example!) earning lots of money. yeah, cos your average provincial solicitor is really raking it in these days!
it's not going to happen, is it? anyone working in the field care to confirm my fears? and just what the fuck is it about the industry that still seems to retain this allure, this deluding promise of dash and glamour?
here's a couple of links from The Law Gazette website. the second one is by a struggling graduate, whose shrill, spoilt sense of entitlement i find fucking disgusting, btw.
http://www.lawgazette.co.uk/blogs/news-blog/how-should-oversupply-lpc-graduates-be-tackled
http://www.lawgazette.co.uk/opinion/comment/the-training-contract-lottery
