What you’re feeling is entirely normal. I remember being torn between wanting to continue my postgraduate research in AI regulation or proceed with pursuing a legal career. Ultimately, I decided the latter. The reason being, I knew what my future after the research was going to look like because I was already there. However, you’re not, and I think that’s something you need to give yourself so you can make an informed decision in regards to your future.
In my opinion, I would advise that you focus on your masters first. It seems to be the thing you’re most interested in (at this current moment in time) and unlike a legal career as a Trainee Solicitor, it’s the only one of the two that you can obtain without feeling like you’re making a lifelong commitment, thus enabling you to have all the information you need to make a real decision as to where you want to go next. Of course, you can juggle both applications now, but what if that compromises the quality and results in a failure to secure your top choice firms/universities, or what if it results in a mental burnout? I feel like they’re risks that you don’t really need to take at this stage. Equally, what if you get both, and during the course of your masters you decide that you want to remain in the academic field, or pursue a career that best aligns with what you’re studying, so you decide to rescind the TC anyway.
I appreciate it feels like the pressure is on for the TC route as you’re in your final year, likely surrounded with people who are heads down applying for VS/TC’s and you think the time is now. But the truth is, there is no set timescale for either option really. And, if you want to avoid having regrets in the future, I would not rush anything right now. Regret does not come from waiting, it comes from making the wrong decision, and wrong decisions are typically made when they are not fully informed.
Hopefully this helps with your decision.
Good luck!
