Career progression v debt payments

franny

Good afternoon everyone.

I studied law at university and in 2005 completed the LPC (a postgraduate law qualification). I left Uni with a fair few debts that I am paying back. I am on a DMP and with my current position I am left with around £40pw to love on after rent, bills, debt repayments and Oyster Card.

My quandry is that I am looking to train as a solicitor but unfortunately unless I am able to secure this training at a big firm I fear that I will need to take a pay cut to commence my training. This will leave me in a financial mess and am just wondering if anyone else has had a similar problem. Shall I bite the bullet, start my training and take the financial woes for a couple of years or wait, pay some more off my debts and hold out.

Thing is, the reason I have left it this long is to ensure I got my finances in order but I am getting annoyed that the debts I have run up from University are so far preventing me from furthering my career.

Thanks for reading and any advice would be a great help.

Fran

Mozette

Without knowing figures, it's a bit difficult, but you need to work out the long term benefits vs the short term pain, and just how severe that pain will be.
Is there any possibility of working for a while to clear the debts, then doing your training? Sorry - not sure what the procedure is.

Sea78

Are you on a DMP with someone like the CCCS? Would you be eligible for any grants while doing the next part of your training?

sea xx

mummytofour

I have no idea, i suppose that in an ideal world we would all have our debts as the number one thing, then allow ourselves life after. However life is short and you just have to do the best thing you can. Part of the reason I got my head out of the sand and on to a DMP was to give my family some life chances and for myself to gain an education instead of working for min wage.

franny

Thanks all

I am on a DMP with the CCCS. I'm thinking that I shall probably stay in my current role and see if I can get a little bit more stable financially before I take a hit.

Figures wise, I wouldn't be surprised if I would get paid up to £5k less annually while training. It's something I really want to do and am eager to get started but the financial woes do play on my mind.

The CCCS could amend my DMP and that would be a great help so I think that might be the way forward.

Thank you all for your help.

neverdespairgirl

I suppose it might depend on what area of law you want to go into, and what your qualifications are like.

If you are post-LPC, you are in a good position, IMHO, to get a relatively better-paying job. What do you do at the moment? Have you considered working for a law centre, etc, which would help with experience as well? Or a paralegal, converting into a training contract later on?

Of course, if you have spectacular results in your degree and LPC, and want to do commercial law, a training contract at a big city firm would probably be a pay rise!

My OH worked in a law centre, doing employment and benefits work, for 2.5 years until he started pupillage. He was earning (a few years ago, now) £26k in the law centre.