hi! firstly, i wanted to say i love love love your blog. you’re so inspiring and your posts are beautiful. i’m an a level student and i was just wondering if you could explain like the pros and cons of a law conversion. i’m probably going to study english with history at uni but i’m also considering just doing a law degree as its apparently a LOT of content to cover in just one year. do you have any advice? thanks so much!
god, thank you so much. this means a lot. also, terribly sorry for the late reply as i was off tumblr for the holidays.
oooh well. my system of education is american (because the philippines was colonized lmaoooo), so i’m not very familiar with a-levels and conversion and such. i’m so sorry.
that said, i can walk you through pros and cons and some considerations!! long post ahead.
CONSIDERATIONS: what are you more interested in? i had to receive a uni degree in english before entering law, but if you have the option of jumping straight into law, it is a good idea IF you truly know you want to be a lawyer.
so you have to know if this is something you really want to do, as even i have regrets (ish) even after going through a full english degree and finally entering law school. you also have to consider what kind of person you are and how you work. personally, i’m very free spirited and creative, and this makes me struggle in law school, whereas in english, this was something that helped. consider what your personality makes you more naturally suited to!
if you are unsure, english is a good time to decide on what to do. if you realize you prefer it, you can continue! if not, go straight to law or transfer in.
ENGLISH DEGREE, PROS AND CONS
- if you like academia, and are considering teaching someday, this is definitely for you.
- lots of research interests, can branch out into more popular topics. i did a paper on spirited away and alice in wonderland once.
- the people are great. for some reason, english professors are some of the most interesting people i know.
- makes you an excellent writer and researcher, and very articulate. if you want to continue into law, you will have a wonderful and clear command of language.
- lots of reading. often you will be reading boring things. but you still have to write long papers about said boring things.
- this shouldn’t scare you, but it’s tricky to get a job that pays well afterwards. this is what i know from experience, at least. even in the academe, especially in the UK, teaching positions, especially at unis, are hard to get.
- can be lowkey elitist in the works that are considered “worthy of study”
LAW DEGREE, PROS AND CONS
- it’s interesting in its own way. it’s a very dynamic field, and a very dynamic course. cases are sometimes fun to read (in my country, theres a famous “small penis case) everyone reads, and the pedagogy is intense.
- what youre doing seems really tangible. in the sense that you know where you want to go, and what youd like to do, and maybe how you would like to help people. this is different from english where i seemed to have had an existential crisis every week about if what i was doing had a point.
- (whispers) can be very very well paying if you’re a good student
- you’ll meet very intelligent and inspiring classmates and professors who will challenge you to do your best.
- if you go straight into it while not knowing if it’s for you, all the hard work seems pointless and you may feel demotivated. (from experience, sadly)
- it is very, very, very, very, VERY hard in law school. memory work? cold calls? mountains of things to read? mean professors? yes.
- everyone is brilliant so you generally feel like a flaming piece of dog poo. if you’re unlucky to be placed with people who are mean and competitive, then it’s going to be hard to do well.
- certain types have a harder time adjusting. like i said, it’s much harder for people who can’t sit down and study for two hours. you need to be super disciplined and be ready to get things done.
- idk about the Law School atmosphere in your country, but in mine, professors like to terrorize the students. the passing grade is 75 percent. it’s not fun.
- one has to be accustomed to failure. it’s not something bad, it just happens regularly.
that’s it from the top of my head!!!! please don’t hesitate to message if you have more questions, and please update me as to which one you choose. i know you’ll do well in whatever it is. best of luck, love.
