As a parent, finding the time to take a long soak in the bathtub is a bit like trying to find the lost city of Atlantis – many have tried, and more will come to attempt the same thing, but the list of people who’ve ever actually achieved their goal is conspicuously void of entries.
Without so much as 30 minutes to yourself, the thought of changing career and delving into the complicated and fast-paced world of the legal system seems as utterly out of reach as becoming crowned the next Queen of our fabled undersea city from a moment ago. So, why even consider it? Right? Well, that’s where you’d be wrong. Whether your goal is to become the next Head of Criminal Law in Edinburgh, or whether you’d like to rise to the challenge of becoming a personal injury lawyer in New Orleans, there are ways and routes towards making that dream come true. Let’s take a look.
Mature students and online courses
Nobody ever said that education stops the moment you reach full-time employment. Online courses and night classes are designed for exactly the purpose of laying out a path for mature students to follow who wish to change what’s in their stars. Admittedly, sacrifices will have to be made in terms of using the little bit of time you have when the children are asleep to study, and this can be a challenge to stay focused and keep your eyes on the prize. If you’re reading this and thinking that you could possibly spare one night per week to study, you may be in with a shot of gaining the qualifications required for a career in law. You may also be surprised at the funding that could be available in your area for mature students.
Conversion course
Not many people know this, but if you already have higher education, such as a degree, you can convert your qualifications into legal qualifications through a purpose-designed conversion course. In the UK, for example, this is known as a GDL conversion course (GDL stands for Graduate Diploma in Law). This course can be taken part-time, and usually involves on-the-job training as a core principle – giving you a good working relationship with a law firm that could become your full-time employer when you graduate. Again, funding may be an issue. But where there’s a will, you may find away.
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