Work experience/ internships

[shutthatbloodydoor]

DD is a 2nd year law student and is currently trying to find something for next summer, even if it's just a couple of weeks.

Most of the major law firms are understandably in London or the big cities, how on earth do they expect students to pay for transport and accommodation if they don't live locally?

The rail costs are prohibitively expensive, we could possibly run to some cheap Travelodge type place but there are lots of students and families that just couldn't do it.

It seems terribly unfair.

My DH has a pretty stellar law career and is often asked what you need to make a go of things in the city ( and more importantly sustain it).

He always says never underestimate the requirement of a rock solid constitution .

Whereabouts are you based Shutthatbloodydoor?

I may be able to make some suggestions.

My former senior partner always put stamina at the top of any list of the attributes required for partnership. I think i might characterise it as 'resilience' but there isn't a lot of difference.

OP - my DSS1 graduated in 2016. He has done significant internships for three summers in a row (accounting/consulting/asset management) and has an offer for an investment banking internship. All of his internships were well paid, the last two startlingly well (and accommodation costs 5' walk from the office were met, albeit not luxurious). The costs involved in his internships were the many hours of preparation for the process of obtaining them (letters/interviews/assessment centres). But the actual internships are paid, handsomely.

As I said Bobo, law vac schemes are paid but not the same silly money that financial internships pay. But on the plus side they do only last for two to three weeks each, not eight to ten like the investment banks.

I'm not sure what you mean by "plus side". Surely you believe that interns learn a lot more in eight weeks than in two? DSS1 learned absolutely masses in his two eight-week internships - and it was also long enough for him to gain a realistic idea of whether he liked the industry.

Bobo it's on the plus side on the accommodation side that vac schemes are only two to three weeks long because of the much more modest rate of pay. If they lasted eight weeks at that much more modest rate of pay then, obviously, that could cause greater issues of access.

To be fair, two to three weeks is ample for law firms to see if they like someone and ample too for students to see if they like commercial law. Eight weeks would be complete overkill.

Also Bobo, I tend to think that the long internships right through the summer vacation don't give the students enough holiday time, particularly if they're at a high pressure uni. But then my work ethic may not be especially highly developed :) Anyhow, I think they're too long.

DSS1 didn't think his internships were too long - he thought they were fantastic and that he learned absolutely masses. He's going to do an internship in a law firm too, though as you point out it won't be as long. We'll see what he thinks, both of commercial law and of the quality of the shorter internship.

Bobo your DSS1 isn't a mother who likes to see her DC having some down time too during high pressure university courses. That said, my DDs who did vac schemes seemed to think they were fit for purpose (one accepted the offer of a TC, the other is now a judicial assistant in the Court of appeal, before taking up a pupillage to do public law). One of my sons has just spent a long hot summer in London doing ten weeks of financial interning and seemed to enjoy it a lot, but from a mother's perspective, and given that he's in his final year at Oxford, I would have preferred him to have had some time off to do nothing at all.

Sorry, Court of Appeal.

Interestingly, my DSS1's mother does tend to vociferously argue against internships and pro-holidays. This annoys the hell out of DSS1

Ah but that's the bad mother isn't it Bobo, who can't do any right?

I don't want mine not to do internships, I just like them to have enough time off too.

I think it's important to recognize that a lot of "time off" is not what some young people want or need. They are in a hurry to get on with life.

Bobo surely the art to cultivate is that of arriving at the same destination by the pleasantest route?

Absolutely, and I know quite a lot of young people who find idleness incredibly unpleasant!

Bobo what I'm describing is hardly idleness! Not knowing how to relax or have downtime is not a valuable trait. All work and no play makes Jacques a dull boy etc etc.

I don't think that it's dull to be engaged with the world to the full and hungry to learn when you are young. And it certainly doesn't mean that you won't be able to relax and enjoy the fruits of your labour (and allow your family to enjoy them) in due course. I think you have to let young people follow their dreams. Plenty of time to be bored in their old people's home.

Bobo you are seriously taking this too far! I don't see how daughters doing two week vac schemes rather than ten week internships makes them unengaged with the world....

You make everything seem like such hard work actually, when it really doesn't need to be.

Don't students spend their Summers travelling these days?

I spent the summer after year 1 Greek Island hopping and the one after year 2 travelling around the US .

Well lots do Carl, and if they can swing a free return open ended air fare to HK in return for a three week paid vac scheme then so much the better!

I hope mine have these adventures. I look back on those two summers very fondly. Not to mention the whole year between university and law school!

That's DH's only regret actually. That he didn't take any time off to go travelling...don't get me wrong, he's been all over the world on holiday and with work, but not the same thing really.

There's an awful lot of time left after an eight-week internship to go travelling. Like... 8 weeks . Plus the Christmas and Easter holidays.

DSS1 split one of his internships in two - 5 weeks in June, and 3 weeks in September. He had the whole of July and August "off".

Oxford doesn't break up until the end of June if you include the ninth week big parties as part of term, which mine do, and if you have to go back for pre-season training in the second week of September that does not leave any time once you've stuck in ten weeks of interning, as DS3 did.

I meant DS2. DS3 was....travelling! :)

I think a lot of people who didn't travel feel that Carl. Still, you can do that together if he takes early retirement!