SQE Advice Full Time working

[OanaL]

Hello everyone,
I need your advice as I am not sure if this is feasible for my situation to become a solicitor at this moment but maybe there are people here that have gone through the same and made it.
I am working as a Legal Counsel in The Netherlands, in an offshore company and I was thinking to qualify as a Solicitor. That’s more of a challenge because I always like to study and to challenge myself and also to understand better the English system, feel more confident in my role and have something strong to support me in my career.
That being said, can anyone tell me how long you need to study? From what I read it looks impossible because of the time but want to make sure I understand all good.
As for the work experience I understand that working as a legal counsel counts to that.
I also have two kids (4 and 6) so I will be able to study in the evenings.
I have a master degree in law from UK and a bachelor in law from a romanian university.

Looking forward to some advice and if there are similar posts, please let me know!

Kind regards,
Oana

 

[Ram Sabaratnam]

Hi @OanaL

It’s great that you’re thinking about taking SQE. From what you’ve said, I don't think qualifying as a solicitor through the SQE is impossible. You're right that it can be challenging, but I have seen people in situations very similar to yours pull this off successfully. I think the key is structure and finding a good prep provider. Given your current situation with childcare and work, I'd also have a conversation with your employer to see how flexible they can be in terms of giving you time off to write the exams and even to study/revise for the exam.

For studying, I think it'll be important to consider when you're able to focus more deeply (e.g. setting aside evenings for lighter study and weekends for deeper revision). I've met people working full-time who've done the SQE, but almost all of them have taken SQE1 and SQE2 a year apart in order to make the workload more manageable. It could take as long as three to four years alongside work and family, but it’s certainly achievable.

I think one of the most important early decisions you'll have to make is with respect to your course provider. If you can find a course provider who gives you a clear, structured timetable with built-in prompts for revision, that'll be good. This will help ensure you’re not just passively moving through content, but actively recalling the material. BARBRI, for example, offers a flexible but structured approach from what I've been told, though there are other strong providers.

If possible, I think it’s worth speaking to people who’ve studied with different ones and getting to sample their materials. This matters because providers cover the SRA-specified content in different ways. I think it's really important to find materials that feel intuitive to you, so you can learn and recall it more easily.

I'd also recommend reviewing this EXCELLENT thread by the brilliant @average_jo123 which covers some points that will be relevant to you as someone studying for the SQE with a full-time job and caretaking responsibilities.

Best of luck and let us know if you have any questions