lawyer

Finished your degree but don t want to go into law? Or maybe you just don t want to pay all that money for the Legal Practice Course ?

Don t worry, there are still plenty of career options available.

Law looks good on any CV and employers know about all the hard work which must have gone into getting your diploma.

You re not really limited to any single career choice you can do all jobs which don t require a diploma or qualification in a certain subject.

But some career paths are more suited to law graduates because of 1) the skills needed or 2) the career has some use for your legal knowledge. Let s have a look at some of the best non law careers for law graduates:

Graduate recruitment can be pretty broad and involve any number of sectors. The application process will be lengthy and challenging; in fact it s a similar to the process you need to go through to get a training contract. You will need to firstly get through the initial application, then maybe a phone interview and finally attend an assessment centre. There is also a diverse range of entry requirements for graduate recruitment.

Sometimes the minimum entry requirements are a 2:2, which would be rare for a training contract. However there are also the sort of 2:1 and 320 UCAS points as a minimum requirements that would be expected from magic circle law firms. The following sectors will find your degree especially beneficial:

• Retail
• Recruitment
• Civil Service
• Banking
• Accounting / Tax
• General Business

There will be legal elements to these roles; think how useful your knowledge of contract will be in retail. Or consider how useful your soft skills will be in a graduate business role. Your ability to construct logical arguments, digest complex documents and problem solve will be invaluable.

There s a reason they call them law makers! Become a politician and actually be the one putting forward complex legislation and confusing law students and judges for years to come.

Obviously it s going to be massively beneficial to have a good general overview of the law if you re going to be changing it in the future. Not just because you will be able to understand complex legislation easily, but because your law degree should have given you the chance to form your own opinions about legal areas you believe are unfair or need improvement.

Also the skills you learn on your law course will be very beneficial. You will know how to think on you feet, argue your case and demonstrate excellent attention to detail. All vital skills for politicians.

Teaching can come into two categories. Firstly you can teach as an academic at a university, but this may require you to spend money on a masters or other postgraduate course. But if you really enjoy writing academically and explaining complex legal ideas to others then it s a good career choice.

You can also teach in colleges at AS/A levels which will require you to take the PGCE teaching course. This is a great career choice if you enjoy working with young people and look forward to the challenge of moulding them into the solicitors or barristers of the future.

If you studied another course (which is on the primary school syllabus) with your law degree you could teach in a primary school. Your law degree would hopefully demonstrate your ability to perform to a high standard. This could mean you are able to secure a senior role like a head teacher in the future.

Being a legal author is a great way to comment on a wide range on legal issues, and because of all that time you spent on essays your writing skills should be up to the job. This is an especially good idea if you took English, Media or International Relations with your law degree.

Have you also considered more of an online journalism career?

This could simply involve writing a blog ; if you follow the Editors Code of Practice  and write something interesting then you could make a career out of your reputation. This can of course be monetised by adverts on the blog or freelance writing (such as on law firms website). Just because you don t work for the BBC doesn t mean you re not a journalist.

Have we missed something obvious? Tell us in the comments!

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