lawyer

#I m studying law – but I don t want to be a lawyer

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A career in law is high-pressured, competitive and challenging, and only those who have a real passion for the subject stand a chance at success. It's definitely not the right path for everyone – unhelpfully, many people only find this out once they've already started studying law at university.

At this stage there are two options. Either you can pack it all in and start afresh with a new course – committing to more fees and more studying – or you can choose to stick with it, knowing that you ultimately don't want to be a lawyer.

This second option might initially sound like a waste of time, but it really isn't. In 2012. 17,495 UK students gained a qualifying undergraduate law degree, but only 5,302 traineeships were offered and under 1,000 pupillages. This goes to show how competitive the industry is.

The result is that fewer law graduates end up in a legal career than you might think. A study by the Higher Educational Statistics Authority in 2012 showed that only 45.8% of UK law graduates in 2009 were now working in the legal sector.

Even if you don't think a legal career is your cup of tea, a law degree is still an amazing qualification to have. In a competitive jobs market where only three quarters of graduates have a job six months after graduating, a strong degree could be what gives you the edge.

A strong reputation

You meet some new people around campus or out in town. They ask you what subject you're studying, to which you reply law . They come back with something along the lines of Ooh, look at you!

This doesn't stop when you become a law graduate. There's an implicit respect for the subject, shared not only by friends and peers, but employers too. This is reassuring when you consider a recent Good University Guide study revealed that 61% of employers said that the most important factor when considering graduates for a job is their degree.

Having a decent grade in a law degree could be what gives you the edge, no matter what job you're applying for.

What career options are there?

Law trains students in research, analysis, criticism and communication. You have to engage in problem solving, memory recall and wider theoretical discussions - sometimes all at the same time. These skills are useful in all kinds of professions.

Data acquired by the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) revealed that 54.5% of law graduates in 2009 got jobs in the professional, scientific and technical activities sector which, although including the legal profession, also covers accountancy, PR, advertising and recruitment.

After this category, 8.9% went into public administration, 6.7% into finance and 6.3% into education. This shows the wide variety of jobs that law graduates end up doing.

Make the most of it

One benefit of realising early on that you don't want to be a lawyer is that you won't have to spend hours applying for training contracts, going to law careers fairs, doing vacation schemes and all the other things that aspiring solicitors and barristers have to do.

This gives you time to figure out what career you really want and, crucially, how to start making it happen. You might decide that you want to go into journalism and start writing for the student newspaper. Or you might decide politics is for you and join the debating team. Extracurricular activities are great on any CV because it shows determination and gives you something to talk about at interviews.

You can also make some smart choices with your module selection. Those that want to go into the legal profession are more likely to choose highly practical topics such as commercial or employment law. You'll have a bit more freedom to pick topics that either interest you or apply to other careers; for example, media or human rights law. Remember, you can always sit in on other lectures that interest you too.

Career decisions are some of the hardest you'll ever make and should never be rushed. If you're having a bad time with your degree, you should look to speak to your university's support staff before making any big decisions.

For those of you who are sure that a career in law is not the right choice: this isn't the end of the world. Sticking with your degree until the end could well be the best choice for your future career.

guardian