granddaughter wants to be a solicitor

Person_one

Nicki wrote: »

In what way "randomly insulting" and in what way "for no good reason" given that in post 33 you concede that a degree in media studies would not, as I said it would not, be a good entry qualification for a career in law :rotfl: :rotfl:

I would class my post which you've objected to as being very specific and targeted advice and not random in the slightest.

Calling it 'ridiculous' seems pretty insulting to me.

Person_one

poet123 wrote: »

It is disparaged for good reason by people who actually know the relative value of particular degrees. It does not fare well in the employment stats of Alumni. That is a fact, not an opinion, not given to disparage but to ground in reality those who would consider doing such a degree and then live to regret it.

Is that not reasonable or advisable?

It is completely laughable to equate that degree with English Lit.

It may not be as well thought of as English Lit, but really, English Lit is just the study of one particular type of media, isn't it?

Nicki

Nope. English literature degrees involve an understanding of history and the way in which the language has developed from anglo saxon, learning semiotics, and exposure to a wide range of complex tests. I'd be amazed if a media studies student was asked to study Beowulf for example, or an English literature student allowed to do their thesis on Eastenders.

poet123

Person_one wrote: »

It may not be as well thought of as English Lit, but really, English Lit is just the study of one particular type of media, isn't it?

Really, it isn't.

Or it may be thought of as such in its simplest form by those who haven't studied it or seen a syllabus recently.

Person_one

Nicki wrote: »

Nope. English literature degrees involve an understanding of history and the way in which the language has developed from anglo saxon, learning semiotics, and exposure to a wide range of complex tests. I'd be amazed if a media studies student was asked to study Beowulf for example, or an English literature student allowed to do their thesis on Eastenders.

Well I didn't say they were the same, I also think you're confusing Eng Lit with English language studies a bit.

Why is studying Beowulf intrinsically of higher value than studying Eastenders though? Eastenders is massively popular and has lasted about 25 years or thereabouts, even if it is rubbish (and to be honest I think Beowulf is rubbish too!)

Shakespeare and Dickens were the Eastenders of their day.

Person_one

poet123 wrote: »

Really, it isn't.

Or it may be thought of as such in its simplest form by those who haven't studied it or seen a syllabus recently.

Well I don't have a degree in it, but I do have an A at A level. You'll have a hard time convincing me that Jane Austen is inherently more worthy of study than Joss Whedon just because she's been dead a few hundred years.


Anyway, sorry OP I've completely derailed your thread. I'll leave it now and hopefully you'll get some good advice that helps your granddaughter without doing down those who make different choices. Good luck to her, I hope she does well in whatever career she chooses!

poet123

Person_one wrote: »

Well I don't have a degree in it, but I do have an A at A level. You'll have a hard time convincing me that Jane Austen is inherently more worthy of study than Joss Whedon just because she's been dead a few hundred years.


Anyway, sorry OP I've completely derailed your thread. I'll leave it now and hopefully you'll get some good advice that helps your granddaughter without doing down those who make different choices. Good luck to her, I hope she does well in whatever career she chooses!

I won't be trying;) All I will say is that longevity usually means that there is quality and substance to be found there, rather than transient hype.

marywooyeah

I'm on my way to becoming a solicitor so wanted to offer the OP some advice, shame to see the thread has descended into a personal argument but in any case:

It is very difficult to get a training contract and even harder to get a pupillage - if your GD wants to become a solicitor she needs to start honing extra curricular skills such as taking part in advocacy competitions, writing for a magazine such as Student Lawyer or Lawyer2be and gaining positions of responsibility.

When she gets to uni there will likely be a student law society and being an active and productive committee member looks great on your cv as does being a student ambassador or the like. As she is so young is she the type who would do a Duke of Edinburgh Award? One of my friends was offered a pupillage interview as they were impressed by his extra curricular achievements. A 2:1 is a must for the majority of the firms and as well as shadowing a solicitor/barrister she could request to marshall a Judge - many Magistrates Courts offer summer shadowing schemes.

If she does decide to go the ILEX route it's a good course (I've got a level 3 qualification with them) but it does incur a lot of extra costs such as joining ILEX (which currently costs £150 a year :eek:) and the number of colleges teaching the course is in decline but you can still become a solicitor once you have become a Legal Executive and it is a very good route to get into law whilst earning.

well I wish her the best - she may want to give some thought as to which area she'd like to practice in, some areas are highly competitive (eg commercial law) and some are very specialist (eg marine law).

Nicki

Person_one wrote: »

Well I didn't say they were the same, I also think you're confusing Eng Lit with English language studies a bit.

No, I think you have no idea what an English degree entails, as evidenced by the fact that you think it comprises one element of a media studies degree. :rotfl:

http://www.whystudyenglish.ac.uk/you-will/literature.htm gives an overview of what the English degree in most UK universities will comprise.

I'm not completely surprised that you think Eastenders has as much merit as Beowulf and that you don't appreciate Jane Austen though, given your earlier posts on this topic. For someone who is so sensitive to the feelings of media studies graduates, you've certainly gone out of your way to make English lit graduates feel good about their degree .

I got an A in English at A level too by the way. Doesn't mean I am on a par with those who studied it at degree level however. Though I do also have a post grad diploma in English which I studied as a hobby.

Filey

Well certainly lots of helpful information there!

Many thanks to all those who took the time to offer advice. The last thing I want to do is put her off, but forewarned is forearmed, as the saying goes. She is of course very young and not many children of barely 14 either know what they want to do or if they do then follow it through so I shall not be at all surprised if she changes her mind. I certainly don't think she has any idea of how much hard work would be involved.

Fortunately for her she speaks fluent French, all acquired painlessly as she went to school in France for several years, so whatever she decides to do she has that in her favour.

Where else than MSE can anyone reach such breadth of advice! I love it!