Law Undergraduate - General Questions

[JAWBrown]

Greetings,

I'm a first year Law student with an interest in the economy and finance. I'm taking on extra-curricular study to familiarise myself with investment and the financial markets. I have a few questions that would further my research, if any of you would be so kind as to reply!

1. What job opportunities are there in the Investment/Finance sector for a graduate with a degree in a non-economic/business discipline?
2. Am I at a disadvantage with a Law degree?
3. How should I go about improving my employability?
4. Can anyone provide a fairly comprehensive list of IB's that offer summer vacation schemes?

Any other general information or advice is more than welcome. Thanks.

 

[Waterfield]

1 lots
2 no
3 intern at ib's
4 www.thestudentroom.co.uk > then go to investment banking or use the search tool for internship

 

[JAWBrown]

1 lots
2 no
3 intern at ib's
4 www.thestudentroom.co.uk > then go to investment banking or use the search tool for internship

Concise and helpful, thanks. After I started this thread I did stumble across that section in the student room but wasn't able to find any advice, or anyone with experience, specifically related to Law graduates; I shall keep looking.

 

[gooseman]

do you want to practice law within the financial sector? that's pretty lucrative provided you are good at it

 

[Waterfield]

You'd be surprised at the diversity of degrees at investment firms.

Apply for your uni investment club if possible and try to find ways to help out. Other things like volunteering etc will also help out (employers like people who have no fear of working and no gaps on the record).

Let me scronge up a website dedicated for university students getting into trading firms...

http://student2trader.com/

This will help somewhat, but I'd really aim for IB as a first choice.

wow they've updated the site a lot since I last read!

Anyhow, Good luck!

 

[JAWBrown]

do you want to practice law within the financial sector? that's pretty lucrative provided you are good at it

This is essentially my career goal at the moment, yes. I'm trying to explore other possibilities at the moment; such as being a trader myself.

Waterfield, thanks for the website. I'll snoop around it and see what I can find.

 

[scose-no-doubt]

Blankfien was a lawyer

 

[gooseman]

This is essentially my career goal at the moment, yes. I'm trying to explore other possibilities at the moment; such as being a trader myself.

Waterfield, thanks for the website. I'll snoop around it and see what I can find.

personally i'd struggle to bring myself to hire a lawyer as a trader simply on the notion that i can't reconcile doing such a vocational qualification only to give it up like that.

i know uk educations are not what you would describe as vocational but i group law with medicine, dentistry etc and can't understand pursuing an education to such a length only to drop it.

if you're a good lawyer you'll do well in finance. and i mean very well.

 

[arabianights]

Although you'll be bored stiff and work all the hours god sends...

If you want my advice, become a criminal defence lawyer out in the provinces somewhere. Far more entertaining.

Not that I know anything about law really.

 

[MrGecko]

I always thought lawyers (specifically barristers) would make good salesmen, there are alot of parallels*

* talk sh!t until you get paid

 

[arabianights]

You ever done jury duty dave? It's the funniest thing ever.

I got called up for it up north (I'm still on the electoral roll in Scotland to make sure my vote counts double ) but couldn't make it, hoping to do it down here...

I intend to nullify any law I disagree with, but to not inform anyone of this in advance

 

[scose-no-doubt]

I always thought lawyers (specifically barristers) would make good salesmen, there are alot of parallels*

* talk sh!t until you get paid

Easiest job ever. You retire to your quarters and see what someone else said years ago in a case similar to this. Then you what on your wig and tell them what you read. Then you give them an invoice for grands.

Wish I'd of known this in my misguided adolescent years.

 

[JAWBrown]

personally i'd struggle to bring myself to hire a lawyer as a trader simply on the notion that i can't reconcile doing such a vocational qualification only to give it up like that.

i know uk educations are not what you would describe as vocational but i group law with medicine, dentistry etc and can't understand pursuing an education to such a length only to drop it.

if you're a good lawyer you'll do well in finance. and i mean very well.

The problem is really the English education system. If you don't know what you want your career to be when you're sixteen, you're instantly at a disadvantage. Whether or not you pick the right A Levels and degree is basically down to luck.

There is also a vast difference, especially in the Law, between the study of the subject and the practice of it. Once you obtain a degree and you go on to do the Legal Practie Course, then it becomes almost entierly vocational. I'd love to 'switch' degree if it were possible and pursue something that I would have a longevity of interest in, but it's just not practicle so I'm trying to explore ways around it.

Thanks again.

 

[Sang Froid]

The problem is really the English education system. If you don't know what you want your career to be when you're sixteen, you're instantly at a disadvantage. Whether or not you pick the right A Levels and degree is basically down to luck.

There is also a vast difference, especially in the Law, between the study of the subject and the practice of it. Once you obtain a degree and you go on to do the Legal Practie Course, then it becomes almost entierly vocational. I'd love to 'switch' degree if it were possible and pursue something that I would have a longevity of interest in, but it's just not practicle so I'm trying to explore ways around it.

Thanks again.

I obtained my Law degree in 2008. I now work in a hotel. Unless you are at one of the 'top' universities, finding a career in law is becoming increasingly difficult. Since Labour butchered the universities and essentially opened them up to any chav that can get a loan, there are now more graduates than jobs. I decided not to do my LPC as this meant getting into further debt. I weighed up the options... do my LPC take on another 9 grands worth of debt and maybe, just maybe get a ****ty training contract with some back street firm working my balls off photocopying for the next three years while I try to pay it back. I took the easy way out. In hindsight I never really wanted to be a solicitor anyway. My Mum is a surgeon and chose law to keep her happy. I wish I'd have followed my heart and taken some kind of degree with computers, if you can switch and you're thinking about it, do it now before you regret it like I do.

I'm just relating my story, I obviously know nothing of your circumstance and of course I sound bitter at the system. I'm not saying don't pursue a law, it can be very lucrative and a diverse career, you can achieve what ever you want if you put your mind to it. I was just a bit pissed off with this whole 'old boys network' that law still surrounds itself with and I didn't just want to be a mediocre solicitor so I thought I'd be a mediocre trader instead and work my ass off for just above minimum wage in hotel.

Go figure.

 

[JAWBrown]

I obtained my Law degree in 2008. I now work in a hotel. Unless you are at one of the 'top' universities, finding a career in law is becoming increasingly difficult. Since Labour butchered the universities and essentially opened them up to any chav that can get a loan, there are now more graduates than jobs. I decided not to do my LPC as this meant getting into further debt. I weighed up the options... do my LPC take on another 9 grands worth of debt and maybe, just maybe get a ****ty training contract with some back street firm working my balls off photocopying for the next three years while I try to pay it back. I took the easy way out. In hindsight I never really wanted to be a solicitor anyway. My Mum is a surgeon and chose law to keep her happy. I wish I'd have followed my heart and taken some kind of degree with computers, if you can switch and you're thinking about it, do it now before you regret it like I do.

I'm just relating my story, I obviously know nothing of your circumstance and of course I sound bitter at the system. I'm not saying don't pursue a law, it can be very lucrative and a diverse career, you can achieve what ever you want if you put your mind to it. I was just a bit pissed off with this whole 'old boys network' that law still surrounds itself with and I didn't just want to be a mediocre solicitor so I thought I'd be a mediocre trader instead and work my ass off for just above minimum wage in hotel.

Go figure.

I know exactly what you mean and I appreciate your insight.

I'm heavily into networking at the minute, I've established a few connections and I hope in the future they sprout into work placements, perhaps training contracts. It has been an up-hill struggle so far, but I enjoy the challenge.

A better way to describe how I feel would be: I'm not really "thinking about switching", it's more a case of with heinseight I would make different choices. I love studying law, and I'm performing very well.

 

[blancspa]

marry it

 

[JAWBrown]

marry it

How?

 

[blancspa]

How?

dunno , given up civil law long ago, you can try to innovate

 

[syed2011]

You can only see the Finance Career