Would you still recommend a grad job in London?

[daffodyle]

DD will graduate in next couple of years and hoepfully go into the law. What with Brexit and ludicrous rent costs in London, is it still worth it as a graduate?

Rents and house prices are dropping in London at the moment.
www.theguardian.com/money/2019/jan/23/uk-rents-fall-for-first-time-in-a-decade A room to rent near me is about £500 a month (outer london) but more like £700 a month further in. Net pay on £10k is about £5500 a month so you could certainly afford to rent a whole one bed flat to yourself if you earn that even.

I am a bit biased as a London lawyer with 2 London lawyer daughters but we find it okay, better than okay, very god - high pay, good work. Love it. It remains the case that three years after you finish your training contract you could be on £100,000 at the better firms (and a lot more if you become a partner). So yes I still think it is worth it.

Net pay on £10k is about £5500 a month

I think you mean £100,000.

Net pay on £10,000 pa is about £800 a month.

Its not about money surely.

For many careers some London experience is useful. London is also a world city and a great place to live for a few years. It is expensive so unless you go on to earn the sort of salary Xenia is talking about, it is best to do it when you are young and single, happy to rent an ex-Council flat and take the night bus home.

I know many young people who are Barristers in London. Zone 1 living is not so
easy to find at £700 a month. Location is important if you need to travel to a variety of courts all over the south east and south west. Having an easy commute to a variety of stations is vital for sanity!

The City lawyers are well paid and have one single base so it’s less stressful to live a bit further out and commute to work.

I think it depends on the life you want. It’s very hard work and rents are still high if you want the chic or popular areas. However if your DD wants this life then it’s worth it. If she wants a quieter provincial life, with lower costs but lower earnings, then that route is possible too. I think you have to analyse what type of person you are, then go for it! It’s difficult to know what effect Brexit will have but the city lawyer market won’t collapse overnight and Barristers in most areas of work should not be overly affected.

(Oops yes, my £10k was obviously £100k above - which is the published pay for the bigger law firms at 3 years post qualification experience).

It may not be all about the money but if a lawyer has a city training contract and then at least 2 years PQE on their CV they would pretty much be a top pick for any regional firm should they wish to move out of the city at any point. If you are single and free and dedicated to a career in law then early career is the best time to do it. It is easier to start there if your grades allow and move out than to start elsewhere and break back in.

Yes, I always say the same - much easier to move down as it were than move up later.

You’ve got two questions there

• should you go into the law
• should you work in London

Basic position - very bad idea IMO to shell out on the post grad training without a training contract in place. If she is good enough to get into city type firms I would still start there and move regional later. If we are talking say high street law I wouldn’t do that in London and to be frank wouldn’t do it at all unless it is private paying clients - legal aid has been decimated and lawyers dependant on it paid a pittance for what they do.
City trainee and junior salaries can easily be seen on eg rollonfriday.com