Has anyone else gotten an AC with a firm and then realised it may not be right for them? I know this is an extremely lucky position to be in overall, but I’m genuinely a bit torn.
I’ve got an in-person AC for a City firm’s spring vac scheme in a couple of days. It is technically full service, but in reality it’s pretty specialised. I actually did a first-year scheme with them and they’re a perfectly fine firm, it’s just that they don’t really do much of what I’m keen to train in.
I come from a biotech background, so I’m really drawn to firms with a strong life sciences / tech focus, and I’ve become particularly interested in IP and patent litigation after another vac scheme last summer. Obviously I don’t pretend to know exactly what I want to qualify into yet, but I do have a general direction that this firm does not practice in at all really.
I keep hearing totally conflicting advice: some people say “just train anywhere and get qualified”, others say “follow what genuinely interests you”. Normally I’d just suck it up and go to the AC anyway. But I’m completely bogged down right now, I’ve got two assignments due the day after the AC. I’m also at a very northern uni, so attending would mean about £100 out of pocket (not reimbursed), around 8–9 hours of travel, and then a 6-hour shift at work that night 😫. I’d basically be awake for 24+ hours straight.
On top of that, I’m really fortunate to have already secured a summer vac scheme with a firm I’m genuinely excited about, and I’ve still got a few other applications/processes ongoing. I really don’t want to sound ungrateful, I know ACs are valuable and hard to come by, but I’m struggling with the idea of spending so much time, money and energy on something that I’m not sure is right for me. Now I'm spending all day trying to prep for it, when I could be working on my assignments or my diss.
Has anyone else been in a similar position? What did you do?
I’ve got an in-person AC for a City firm’s spring vac scheme in a couple of days. It is technically full service, but in reality it’s pretty specialised. I actually did a first-year scheme with them and they’re a perfectly fine firm, it’s just that they don’t really do much of what I’m keen to train in.
I come from a biotech background, so I’m really drawn to firms with a strong life sciences / tech focus, and I’ve become particularly interested in IP and patent litigation after another vac scheme last summer. Obviously I don’t pretend to know exactly what I want to qualify into yet, but I do have a general direction that this firm does not practice in at all really.
I keep hearing totally conflicting advice: some people say “just train anywhere and get qualified”, others say “follow what genuinely interests you”. Normally I’d just suck it up and go to the AC anyway. But I’m completely bogged down right now, I’ve got two assignments due the day after the AC. I’m also at a very northern uni, so attending would mean about £100 out of pocket (not reimbursed), around 8–9 hours of travel, and then a 6-hour shift at work that night 😫. I’d basically be awake for 24+ hours straight.
On top of that, I’m really fortunate to have already secured a summer vac scheme with a firm I’m genuinely excited about, and I’ve still got a few other applications/processes ongoing. I really don’t want to sound ungrateful, I know ACs are valuable and hard to come by, but I’m struggling with the idea of spending so much time, money and energy on something that I’m not sure is right for me. Now I'm spending all day trying to prep for it, when I could be working on my assignments or my diss.
Has anyone else been in a similar position? What did you do?
