Graduated from RG with a first and a vac scheme (did not convert) - is it crazy to do a one year course in economics?

[matpart]

Graduated with a first from a good university. Have a vac scheme, open days, insight scheme and brand ambassador role under my belt but never managed to get any other vac scheme or direct TC ACs, which might have had to do with me not polishing my apps due to a slight uncertainty whether law is for me. Clearly, I am capable of doing well in the subject both academically and professionally, but now that I have graduated I am not so sure. I have been advised to self-fund for the LPC (I would be able to afford this) but recently became aware of (and gained an offer for) a Graduate Diploma Course in Economics at Birkbeck. I think it would be a great idea to do something slightly different for a year, and although I definitely feel like I would want to do law in the future, I would regret not exploring something else for a year. Let's say I discover law ultimately is what I want to do for a career - would it be dumb to do this economics course? Let's say I keep applying for vacs/TCs the following year while doing the economics course - would this be viewed badly by law firms?

Thanks!

 

[M&ALawyer]

Hi there,

Definitely go for the course in economics if you want to do it before doing the LPC!

I was in a similar situation to you, where I graduated and decided to take a year out to work in an economics related sector. Knowledge of economics allowed me to understand client's commercial positions/priorities, read markets/trends, see which practice areas I wanted to work in the future, complete AC case studies to a higher standard, and generally think more about the business of law. I am also a strong believer in exploring as many options as you can before deciding your career and perhaps you may come out the degree wanting to explore something other than law.

You will be pressed in interviews on why commercial law given you explored a different area (I faced this question in practically every interview I had). Rather than view such questions with concern you can use it to your advantage. It is an opportunity to explain how your degree has provided you with USP's in knowledge/skills relevant to the firm (e.g competition/M&A/understanding client's positions in legal decisions/business development), but also allow you to explain how you logically ruled out other career choices and decided to dedicate yourself to commercial law. In my mind it makes sense to look at the "commercial" through an economics degree as well as "law". If it were a masters in say mathematics/computer science etc it would be a bit harder to explain than economics so I honestly wouldn't worry.

Best of luck!

 

[Jessica Booker]

I don't necessarily agree with the above.

Moving away from law has got a risk attached to it, and if your applications have potentially not be tailored enough because you weren't sure whether law was right for you, I am not convinced an economics course is going to help overcome that.

If anything Economics could be more difficult to explain than say a tech course, which would be of more interest to some firms than an economics course.

However, from what you have said, it sounds like you are not set on a legal career yet, so exploring options is not a bad thing, but you just have to accept this does take you away from law more so than the LPC and you’d therefore have to have some evidence to really balance that out, especially more modern experience (not relying on the rings you did pre Economics course).

 

[matpart]

I don't necessarily agree with the above.

Moving away from law has got a risk attached to it, and if your applications have potentially not be tailored enough because you weren't sure whether law was right for you, I am not convinced an economics course is going to help overcome that.

If anything Economics could be more difficult to explain than say a tech course, which would be of more interest to some firms than an economics course.

However, from what you have said, it sounds like you are not set on a legal career yet, so exploring options is not a bad thing, but you just have to accept this does take you away from law more so than the LPC and you’d therefore have to have some evidence to really balance that out, especially more modern experience (not relying on the rings you did pre Economics course).

I am working as a bartender in London while doing this course. I am also undertaking an internship at a boutique energy law firm in December. Would it be better to just not mention the economics course when applying then and saying I took a year out to work?

 

[Jessica Booker]

I am working as a bartender in London while doing this course. I am also undertaking an internship at a boutique energy law firm in December. Would it be better to just not mention the economics course when applying then and saying I took a year out to work?

You’d need to declare the course if you were doing it.

The internship will help to some extent (depending if you apply before or after it happens).

 

[HorsesForCoursesNeighNeighNeigh]

Graduated with a first from a good university. Have a vac scheme, open days, insight scheme and brand ambassador role under my belt but never managed to get any other vac scheme or direct TC ACs, which might have had to do with me not polishing my apps due to a slight uncertainty whether law is for me. Clearly, I am capable of doing well in the subject both academically and professionally, but now that I have graduated I am not so sure. I have been advised to self-fund for the LPC (I would be able to afford this) but recently became aware of (and gained an offer for) a Graduate Diploma Course in Economics at Birkbeck. I think it would be a great idea to do something slightly different for a year, and although I definitely feel like I would want to do law in the future, I would regret not exploring something else for a year. Let's say I discover law ultimately is what I want to do for a career - would it be dumb to do this economics course? Let's say I keep applying for vacs/TCs the following year while doing the economics course - would this be viewed badly by law firms?

Thanks!

I guess the question is do you actually want to do law now, or not? I.e. are you wanting to spend the next year making yourself a stronger TC candidate, or wanting to explore other career options and take time out?

If you're looking to get a TC ASAP then I would focus everything around that, and try to get employment/further training that would help towards that--like legal, consultancy and City jobs. Going for the LPC with student loans would also make more sense than going for an unrelated diploma. Under that plan--if you did want to do a bite-sized exploration of other areas, have you checked out uni summer schools and considered doing a 1 month course at somewhere like the LSE in a topic that interests you? Personally in your situation I would look to get a good City job (preferably with a legal dimension), not self fund, spend a month doing a fun short course and the year really focusing on TC applications.

Or maybe you don't actually want to do a TC anytime soon and would like to work in the City for a while first? In which case I'd probably just go straight into grad jobs or (if you're planning on working for a few years in the City) I'd do a full master's--I don't see what help a diploma would be, most people will have a master's? You shouldn't have any difficulty getting a good master's at LSE/King's/UCL in a City-related area, maybe even take it two years part time while doing a full grad role? Although do bear in mind that by going this path it will mean that if you eventually choose to transition to law it will be harder, not least as you will be taking huge salary cuts for a while.

 

[matpart]

Thank you for your very insightful answers, @Jessica Booker and @HorsesForCoursesNeighNeighNeigh. I do realise my plan sounds very all over the place, and that it perhaps could be seen as unorthodox to want to do law but at the same time want to do something quite different. I guess on a deeper level my reason is personal - I do feel like I want to do the LPC (or SQE next year), or an LLM, but I have this feeling I would regret not taking a gap year just to see what it's like stuyding another subject. And that if I end up self-funding the LPC or committing to an LLM this year, it would be way worse from an employer's perspective if my gap year occurred after finishing said courses in 2022. My idea with taking a year to do something else straight after my LLB was that if I do finally make a decision to settle for law down the line, I could "get back on track" with my heart fully in it in 2022 while doing the SQE or an LLM. Thus, I wouldn't be applying for TCs while doing an Economics course, which, as you pointed out, would seem odd, but rather in a year's time during the SQE or a good LLM.

Perhaps I overstated my insecurity about law when I was writing the post above. I do genuienly like law. I have done internships at City law firms and loved the people and the environment, and I do find the work stimulating. But as often happens during big transitions in life I guess I might just be a bit scared of taking the next step, wrongfully thinking that this step will close all other doors and I won't be able to do anything else related to my other interests (economics, finance) ever again. Thus, my reasoning was that a gap year would not hurt, and since the difficulty in securing any sort of employment these days have left me without any grad schemes, an economics diploma could be an idea.