My future.

[penlid]

Hi. I'm 17 years old and i am startingt apply for university.
I am intending on applying for a law degree as i enjoy law at college and like the idea that a law degree looks good on a cv. < that is not my main reason, i DO enjoy the subject.
However, i have a huge passion for media, ever since a young child. I still see myself having a media career but i know a media degree won't be safe as a back up or look as good as law. Also, i know that a media degree isnt that necessary in a media career and jobs in the media are very popular and has alot of competition and is also unstable at first.
So i'm just asking whether studying law is the right decision? It is something i enjoy, a good job and a nice degree to have as backup if pursuing media fails. But i know i dont have the same flare and passion i do for media.
Please lend me some advice... it is EXTREMELY welcome :)

[Buenchico]

Take a look at where a Law degree might lead you:
http://www.prospects....s_law_job_options.htm

Then look at what a Media degree might lead to:
http://www.prospects....ation_job_options.htm

Decide where you REALLY want to go in life and, just as importantly, what you REALLY think that you'll ENJOY studying. A degree course lasts (at least) 3 years, at a time in your life when you should be having FUN. (There are dozens of reasons going to Uni but the number one reason should be to enjoy it. Do you want to spend 3 years of your life studying some very dry academic texts, alongside other people who enjoy that sort of thing, or do you want greater freedom of expression? BTW, I'm not knocking the more rigidly academic subjects with that question - My own degree is in Maths!)

Actually, while I've asked the question, I think that you've already answered it. Spending 3 years of your life doing something which is unrelated to to your greatest passion, and for which you believe you have the greatest flare, would seem to be absolute madness to me. Opt for the Media course! ;-)

Chris

[Mosaic]

The thing is that whatever you study, you must develop a back-up plan as getting a degree is no guarantee of getting job, even one related to your specialism. The degrees you mention have been very popular in recent years and there are literally hundreds of recent law grads and media grads, and jobs are just few and far between. So your choices might include: do law or something related to an'academic' subject, and spend three years doing something that your heart is not in; do media, enjoy it - or, heaven forbid, find that the course you are on is disappointing; take a year out, do voluntary work of some kind (which may lead to paid work, and certainly puts experience on the CV), and use the time to sort out more options.
Colleges still have a tendency to process as many kids as poss straight into Uni because it looks good on their statistics, so if you mention at college your intention to take time out after A-levels (should this be what you decide), expect a lukewarm reception.
Please be very cautious about heeding older folk - relatives especially - who spout on about 'proper' subjects.

[Eve]

Do you need to get a degree? Could you do what you love and get into the media at a junior level and work your way up? You could always study part time or take a gap year and try out the media option and see how you find it.

A law degree is well respected, however, I can assure you of a ridiculous amount of law graduates out there who have been unable to get work in the legal field, even at a very junior level to gain experience, let alone a job with any potential of qualifying, including those who have gone on to do further postgraduate courses required to become a solicitor or barrister.

Competition is extremely fierce and out of the two main areas which provide a lot of work at a junior level for experience, property law jobs are pretty much non-existent at the moment and personal injury (mainly low level road traffic accident related claims work) is full of junior paralegals on pretty low wages and graduates will be up against people who have been working their way up from scratch.

It's also not the best fallback plan, especially in current times, it's a career you have to really really want to get into to have the tenacity to make it. It's a lot of hard work to get there and the hard work doesn't stop. Gaps are also not particularly well regarded.

I did a law degree then went on to qualify as a solicitor, spent time working in private practice then moved into legal recruitment.

The amount of graduates out there is frightening. It was hard enough to get qualified when I was coming through, I don't envy those trying to get training contracts and pupillages now. For anyone wanting to get a decent legal job at the moment, unless they are something special or incredibly well connected, experience is key.

[bushbaby_de]

I have an alternative spin on this... I did a law degree, partly for the reasons you have set out. However I had no intention of applying to be a solicitor, for the reasons spelt out by some of the other posters. What I found was that applying for non-legal jobs on the back of a legal degree opened a lot of doors for me as it is a well respected degree, and I think I have done better from it than if I had studied something more specialised or vocational. That said, I'm not sure it will open doors into the world of Media!