Retrain as a solicitor at 35

[oopsididitagainn]

Is it too late?

I'm 35 and in a job I hate as a senior manager at a marketing agency. It pays well at 55k so I stay, but I feel stagnant and with little room for progression. I know for certain I don't want to be doing the same thing in 5 years time.

I'd love to retrain as a solicitor but have no prior experience of law at all, although I do have a 2.1 degree from a top 5 university but in a totally unrelated field. I know I can do a conversion course, but I worry about the long hours in the first couple of years while gaining QWE etc as well as the potential pay cut as I have 2 toddlers to take care of (they're 3 and 4 currently). I can afford to do the conversion course part time as my job is fairly flexible, it's post course that I'm most worried about as I'm probably not as young and hungry as someone who is in their early twenties trying to gain entry in the same field and can't put in the same amount of hours as I have childcare needs to take care of as well.

Just wondering if anyone has done it, thought about it, any experience they'd be willing to share (good or bad) about retraining in general, would love to hear it all! ☺️

To see if it really interests you, I’d do an OU law course for a year - that’ll tell you if you really want to move to law or if it’s not a real desire.

converting is hard though and time intensive - and with two toddlers this may be too much for you (I know it would’ve been for me). Is it possible for you to go part time to pursue this?

One of my colleagues did her PhD with three small children but the woman had amazing energy levels and was hard as nails plus she had a DH who earned very well so was ok for money and he did his fair share from what I can gather.

I retrained as 6 years working in the NHS was enough for me but I didn’t have children to take care of. I was still in my twenties and living in shared houses so it was much easier. I was mobile so off I went and relocated completely, twice in the end. Look at what’s around you job wise post qualification.

Sorry can't help with the training part but I'd look carefully atthe job prospects in your area.
Theres a lot of law graduates struggling to get 1st jobs at the moment, even those who are in a position to relocate

Do it.

I did at 33 with 3 kids and no DH to support.

I'm in Family Law now, and I love it. It's very, very hard work, but for me, it has been absolutely worth it.

Look into the SQE.

Good luck.

Before you even consider doing any courses I'd talk to solicitors working at the kind of firms you'd be targeting to understand what working as a solicitor is really like. Hours, billing targets, competition for TCs, promotion requirements, etc.

You need good selling skills and to hit billing targets to progress. Simply embarking on study won't tell you what it's like to practice or if you'd be suited to it.