Dear S, long time listener first time caller here. I'm about to start my LPC (with a TC lined up) in less than a month and I don't know if I can do it. I know that law isn't for me but I don't have anything else lined up and I'm not entirely sure how to go about transitioning to a more exciting career in data with my humanities degree. Should I call it quits now or stay for the two and a half years?
Ooph. Okay so this is really hard. A few considerations (and know that I say these judgement free, but this is a really important choice and I think it's worthy of asking tough questions):
Would you have to pay back any money to your firm? Would that be a financial difficulty for you or could your family cover it without issue? (If your firm have paid for your GDL, they'll likely want you to pay something back)
What would your life look like if you don't start the LPC and you're unemployed for 6 months? A year? More than a year? Hopefully this wouldn't be the case for you but it absolutely does happen. Would you live at home or would your parents pay your rent? If you'd be at home, is that a sustainable situation for theoretically upwards of a year? How would that impact your mental health? Would you be able to travel to job interviews easily or would finding a job be logistically difficult? Would you be near friends or without your support network?
What else would you do? Are you currently qualified to do that? Do you need further education or experience? Have you talked to people in the field to confirm your understanding?
What I'm trying to get at is: the decision isn't just 'do I want to do law or not?' It seems pretty clear that you've already worked that one out. The decision is: would my life be worse taking the 2.5 years to train as a lawyer or not?
It's not surprising to regulars here that I did not like law. But for the situation I was in at the time, it was the right choice to continue my TC -- I needed a visa, and no one was paying my rent but me, and I needed to be in London so I could find another job in London. I also didn't know what else I wanted to do, so it was a good stepping stone -- it was miserable but it was well paid and it's a useful qualification and a good notch on my resume belt.
You may be in a similar situation or you could be happy to live at home for a bit and be based in London and have a great relationship with your parents and be clear about your path and what you need to do to get there.
Law is a serious commitment, particularly when you know you don't want it long term. So it's a tough question. You have to decide whether sucking it up and putting up with it for 2 years would put you in a better position than the alternative, and that's highly circumstance dependent. I would spend some time really digging into the practical logistics of what not starting your TC would mean, and how you would cope with that. I'd also talk to some people in the industry you'd like to be in and factor that into your choice -- if you'll need another 2 years of schooling to do what you want, it's probably better to get that out of the way asap (I can almost guarantee you will feel less up for going back to school after some time in the working world). If it's the kind of industry where they like people to have some other experience, then law might make sense as a starting point. It will likely depend on the industry, and it's well worth finding out the answer before you make any choices.
And one last thing: are you the kind of person who would be able to leave? It's so easy to get stuck in law -- you likely won't get paid NQ levels switching careers, and that can be a hard pill to swallow after getting used to a certain lifestyle. You'll also have gotten older, all your friends will be earning more, and you'll be going back to square one. And it's exhausting trying to find a new job while you currently have one, especially one as demanding as big law. If you realistically think you won't be able to leave, don't start. You'll ruin your life that way.
Good luck babe. I'm rooting for you. Let me know if you need any clarifications -- and let me know what you choose.