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University Ruined My Life!
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PFCGino
Posts: 8 Forumite
Okay so the title is possibly a little bit dramatic.... but I think people, especially students looking to University to better themselves, should listen to my story just to see if University really is the best way to go. I'll warn you now my story isn't short - but it's not too long - however I will try to condense it as much as I possibly can.
Basically I've wanted to study law, and be a lawyer for many, many years. It was, and still is, my dream to be a top-earning solicitor. So the natural choice was to hit University and study Law. So that's exactly what I did - I knuckled down and was accepted onto an undergraduate Law course at Swansea University, and graduated in 2006. I was the proud holder of an LLB in Law, and not only that I would have fancy letters after my name!
Now, my financial situation at this point was, to say the least, pretty miserable. Not only did I have the standard student debt of around £12,000, but I had credit card debt (£600) and used my interest-free overdraft of around £2,000 over the three years. At various points I tried to get part-time jobs, however my commitments to the University's Law Clinic (which beefed my CV up no end) coupled with the fact that I wanted to go home during holidays meant that I wasn't a very good candidate - I did have a few jobs but they were short-lived for these reasons. I would also like to point out, that my bank pretty much convinced me to get my credit card, by saying that if I spent money on it, they would give me book vouchers - and buying at least 5 textbooks a year at £30 a pop meant that was a pretty attractive offer. Still, not a lot of people told me the consequences of credit card debt.
So, fresh out of uni, my careers advisor at both University and College had drummed it into my head that there are two ways to continue your career in Law. Training Contract (Solicitor) or BVC (Barrister). I opted for the training contract route, so spent hours and hours every day applying for training contracts, applying for law work, but five months went past with not a single bean. I really had to start thinking about my future here.
I was working at the time, part-time, in a golf-course bar and was still applying for loads of jobs. Eventually, come October time, I realised that almost six months have passed since graduating, and I was in danger of being at the golf-club 100% of the time. I took a sink-or-swim decision to start a Master's degree at University of Portsmouth in Business Law, thinking that it will increase my chances of a job. To fund it, I took out a Graduate Development Loan.
The boss's daughter at the golf-club worked in a law-firm and a chat with her about a possible vacancy led to my first legal job! One thing I couldn't fathom though, was that she worked in the firm as a fee earner, but had no legal qualifications to speak of. I didn't worry about that too much though, I was happy to get my foot in the door.
I soon found out that my law degree meant diddly-squat. I was effectively an administrative person, and my achievements at University meant nothing! There were people at the firm who were 18 and just left college doing the same job as me. The final straw came when one of them was promoted above me, despite having began later than me. Admittedly the firm wasn't a very good firm in terms of employee care, but I began to get unhappier as time went by.
Anyway, whilst there I met my wonderful girlfriend, and learnt a bit more about the legal profession aswell. I learnt that law degrees aren't what employers were looking for, and that they weren't actually required to do the job I wanted to do. My new full-time job meant my Masters went to part-time, however I completed it in 2008, graduating in the June.
I eventually moved firms, expecting that opportunities would be rife. I was still in a great amount of debt with my student loan, GD Loan, credit car and overdraft, but I was earning and had the potential to earn a lot of money. Well, that's what I thought.
My repayments of the Loan, coupled with all the other payments, meant that I took out a personal loan with the bank - believe it or not the interest was a lot lower, and I managed to clear my debt down.
It soon transpired that my Law Degree and Masters meant nothing at this new firm, and it is apparent now that it won't mean a lot in the future either. I consider myself to be bright and quick-learning, however I was stuck (and still am stuck) at the bottom of a very long ladder, three years after initially graduating!
I was told about a thing called the Institute of Legal Executives - ILEX - which provided a fast-track, cheaper (my mounting debt meant that the cost of the Legal Professional Course was a massive factor in when I started) way of becoming a solicitor. Further research showed that anyone can start this course, and qualify as a solicitor. I signed up, because my LLB degree meant I could skip various parts of the course, however in terms of the amount of time it takes to complete the course there is absolutely no difference whatsoever. Not only that, although it's cheaper, it is still not cheap and I have had to find well over £1000 to pay for this, with most of it being put on two credit cards, through necessity alone.
I am currently about to finish my ILEX course in January, to begin the three-years of qualifying employment. I am still at the bottom of the ladder, and still in huge amounts of debt. I am resentful that I wasn't given the ILEX option at any point until relatively recently, because if I was able to consider it seriously the amount of debt I am in would be reduced significantly. I may be on £17.5k a year, but considering my qualifications I don't think it's anywhere near what I should be on. If I had started this ILEX course instead of starting University - I would be fully qualified now and earning a significant amount - WITHOUT THE DEBT.
It's getting to the stage now where I'm continuing to pay for my ILEX course and my outgoings are slowly creeping towards my income. It's got to the point where me and my girlfriend, despite being 23 and 25 respectively, are worrying about having a future together, because my mountain of debt is so huge. We can't even consider getting a house at the moment, and with this amount of debt I expect my credit history is shot to pieces!
So let that be a lesson to all you potential law students at least - make sure you are given every available option before you embark on your course!!
That is all
Basically I've wanted to study law, and be a lawyer for many, many years. It was, and still is, my dream to be a top-earning solicitor. So the natural choice was to hit University and study Law. So that's exactly what I did - I knuckled down and was accepted onto an undergraduate Law course at Swansea University, and graduated in 2006. I was the proud holder of an LLB in Law, and not only that I would have fancy letters after my name!
Now, my financial situation at this point was, to say the least, pretty miserable. Not only did I have the standard student debt of around £12,000, but I had credit card debt (£600) and used my interest-free overdraft of around £2,000 over the three years. At various points I tried to get part-time jobs, however my commitments to the University's Law Clinic (which beefed my CV up no end) coupled with the fact that I wanted to go home during holidays meant that I wasn't a very good candidate - I did have a few jobs but they were short-lived for these reasons. I would also like to point out, that my bank pretty much convinced me to get my credit card, by saying that if I spent money on it, they would give me book vouchers - and buying at least 5 textbooks a year at £30 a pop meant that was a pretty attractive offer. Still, not a lot of people told me the consequences of credit card debt.
So, fresh out of uni, my careers advisor at both University and College had drummed it into my head that there are two ways to continue your career in Law. Training Contract (Solicitor) or BVC (Barrister). I opted for the training contract route, so spent hours and hours every day applying for training contracts, applying for law work, but five months went past with not a single bean. I really had to start thinking about my future here.
I was working at the time, part-time, in a golf-course bar and was still applying for loads of jobs. Eventually, come October time, I realised that almost six months have passed since graduating, and I was in danger of being at the golf-club 100% of the time. I took a sink-or-swim decision to start a Master's degree at University of Portsmouth in Business Law, thinking that it will increase my chances of a job. To fund it, I took out a Graduate Development Loan.
The boss's daughter at the golf-club worked in a law-firm and a chat with her about a possible vacancy led to my first legal job! One thing I couldn't fathom though, was that she worked in the firm as a fee earner, but had no legal qualifications to speak of. I didn't worry about that too much though, I was happy to get my foot in the door.
I soon found out that my law degree meant diddly-squat. I was effectively an administrative person, and my achievements at University meant nothing! There were people at the firm who were 18 and just left college doing the same job as me. The final straw came when one of them was promoted above me, despite having began later than me. Admittedly the firm wasn't a very good firm in terms of employee care, but I began to get unhappier as time went by.
Anyway, whilst there I met my wonderful girlfriend, and learnt a bit more about the legal profession aswell. I learnt that law degrees aren't what employers were looking for, and that they weren't actually required to do the job I wanted to do. My new full-time job meant my Masters went to part-time, however I completed it in 2008, graduating in the June.
I eventually moved firms, expecting that opportunities would be rife. I was still in a great amount of debt with my student loan, GD Loan, credit car and overdraft, but I was earning and had the potential to earn a lot of money. Well, that's what I thought.
My repayments of the Loan, coupled with all the other payments, meant that I took out a personal loan with the bank - believe it or not the interest was a lot lower, and I managed to clear my debt down.
It soon transpired that my Law Degree and Masters meant nothing at this new firm, and it is apparent now that it won't mean a lot in the future either. I consider myself to be bright and quick-learning, however I was stuck (and still am stuck) at the bottom of a very long ladder, three years after initially graduating!
I was told about a thing called the Institute of Legal Executives - ILEX - which provided a fast-track, cheaper (my mounting debt meant that the cost of the Legal Professional Course was a massive factor in when I started) way of becoming a solicitor. Further research showed that anyone can start this course, and qualify as a solicitor. I signed up, because my LLB degree meant I could skip various parts of the course, however in terms of the amount of time it takes to complete the course there is absolutely no difference whatsoever. Not only that, although it's cheaper, it is still not cheap and I have had to find well over £1000 to pay for this, with most of it being put on two credit cards, through necessity alone.
I am currently about to finish my ILEX course in January, to begin the three-years of qualifying employment. I am still at the bottom of the ladder, and still in huge amounts of debt. I am resentful that I wasn't given the ILEX option at any point until relatively recently, because if I was able to consider it seriously the amount of debt I am in would be reduced significantly. I may be on £17.5k a year, but considering my qualifications I don't think it's anywhere near what I should be on. If I had started this ILEX course instead of starting University - I would be fully qualified now and earning a significant amount - WITHOUT THE DEBT.
It's getting to the stage now where I'm continuing to pay for my ILEX course and my outgoings are slowly creeping towards my income. It's got to the point where me and my girlfriend, despite being 23 and 25 respectively, are worrying about having a future together, because my mountain of debt is so huge. We can't even consider getting a house at the moment, and with this amount of debt I expect my credit history is shot to pieces!
So let that be a lesson to all you potential law students at least - make sure you are given every available option before you embark on your course!!
That is all
0
Comments
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This is why people should research careers before going off to uni.
http://www.prospects.ac.uk/
I'm going into I.T. and have looked at requirements and such to get into my particular area, which is why I am doing something fun at university rather than something typically boring.0 -
I agree. Much of the above is my own fault, and the reason for my post is to highlight how much it really can affect you if you make the wrong choices! My biggest regret in life is doing my masters degree.0
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Ah, everyone regrets something in their life.0
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I had a quick look, and am I right in thinking that solicitors are only looking to take on people as Legal Executives and follow that training process these days? That seems to be a shorter and probably cheaper method for the prospective solicitor, so they get sort of an apprentice to help for a few years, and then a knowledgeable solicitor, rather than a graduate who needs to learn the same all over again?
However you are presumably are in theory more qualified than a legal executive, but need a way to actually start work?
I assume that other graduates go into other jobs, or work in corporate legal?0 -
OP, the two mistakes you have made are:
* Your primary motivation is money. You are not going to have a fruitful and satisfying career if you continue with this thinking.
* As already mentioned, you should have done this research before embarking on your degree.
g_attrill, you are correct, although the ILEX qualification is well respected, it will never be as well respected as the LLB/ LPC route. Also, the former will never earn as much as the equivalent that took the latter route (but money is not everything!
). Gone ... or have I?0 -
Well a law degree is incredibly different from the day-to-day work in a law firm. It is no longer a requirement to have a law degree to become a Solicitor. I wanted to do what's called the LPC (Legal Practice Course) and in hindsight should've done it instead of my Masters. The problem with that is, you can't become a solicitor unless you do a training contract - there are more law graduates out there than available training contracts so that is never an option for me (I got a 2.2).
Law jobs are more about experience now - which is fair enough but it puts people like me at a disadvantage - I've spent so much money I don't have to try to get me the best job but it's backfired completely.
Solicitors will lean towards the ILEX qualification because, in the firms that pay for you to qualify, it is cheaper and the same result is borne. Not only that, you can work whilst you do it - which is an advantage.
ILEX is the way forward. I would recommend it as opposed to a law degree any day of the week.0 -
Oh and DMG - you can do a mini-version of the LPC once you have an ILEX qualification, as I understand it it is cheaper too. Not only that, Legal execs and solicitors are on a par and the Legal Executive role is everchanging - to 'equalize' solicitors and legal execs.
Oh and I work to live, not live to work. I enjoy what I do which is why I don't mind being on rubbish money. I want to be at the top of my profession - I have been in education solidly since pre-school - that's twenty years. Why can't I aim high? Money is everything when you're in a lot of debt, trust me.0 -
OP, the two mistakes you have made are:
* Your primary motivation is money. You are not going to have a fruitful and satisfying career if you continue with this thinking.
* As already mentioned, you should have done this research before embarking on your degree.
g_attrill, you are correct, although the ILEX qualification is well respected, it will never be as well respected as the LLB/ LPC route. Also, the former will never earn as much as the equivalent that took the latter route (but money is not everything! ).
Well if we are leaving sex out of the picture here, yes it is. :rotfl:
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As far as I can see, unless you want to go into lecturing, Masters degrees are a huge waste of money and time. Unless you cen get your employer to pay for it!
I sometimes regret doing a degree, when I look at friends who are earning more than me and have been working since 16, the figures for doing a degree just don't add up! And with even more kids going to higher education every year, degrees are just going to become even more devalued and financially just not viable...
My problem was at 16 I just didn't know what direction I wanted to take, so just progressed through education (pushed by the teachers at my Grammar school).0 -
As far as I can see, unless you want to go into lecturing, Masters degrees are a huge waste of money and time. Unless you cen get your employer to pay for it!
I sometimes regret doing a degree, when I look at friends who are earning more than me and have been working since 16, the figures for doing a degree just don't add up! And with even more kids going to higher education every year, degrees are just going to become even more devalued and financially just not viable...
My problem was at 16 I just didn't know what direction I wanted to take, so just progressed through education (pushed by the teachers at my Grammar school).
That would depend what you apply into.
The job I am going for (and am currently working as a placement student) starts on £27k. I think thats ok for a starting salary for a 22 year old.0
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