Law is one of the most popular careers for both law and non-law graduates in the UK and is also one of the most competitive. With over 3.5% of every undergraduate studying law, the profession is undoubtedly competitive with rewards to match.

Law determines so many parts of life and provides the framework which supports society. Laws are made to protect us from the risks we all enter into on a daily basis and Lawyers are responsible for monitoring this. They help to fix the problems in society between private individuals, the state, and businesses. Due to the complexity of the law and the sheer number of laws and offences people require specialists to help them understand the law and make informed decisions.

Lawyers specialise in particular areas and then provide guidance through the maze of statutes, and infinite interpretations for the Courts. Lawyers can be sectioned into three distinct groups:

Solicitors, Barristers and Legal Executives. These are supported by Paralegals and other support staff. The legal sector does not stop there though. It extends into a range of other careers such as legal journalism, teaching, academia and the police force to name but a few.

Even though there are three distinct groups, the diversity within those groups is extensive and that is reflected in the type of work and the potential earnings. For example, The Law Society recommends a minimum wage for solicitors of £16 500 whilst at the highest end trainees can begin on more than £96 000!

Getting a placement really is a must if you would like to get to the higher end of this scale. In law these placements can be categorised into two types, one for aspiring Solicitors and one for aspiring Barristers.

Those for want-to-be Solicitors, these placements are known as Vacation Schemes and usually last for one or two weeks during the university holidays. Law students are eligible in their second year whilst non-law students are eligible only in their final year. Competition is fierce. Although less so for the winter schemes as many second years are not organised enough to meet these earlier deadlines so in this case the early bird really does catch the worm.

Wannabe Barrister on the other hand are encouraged to participate in placements called mini-pupillages at Barristers Chambers. These are more difficult to achieve simply because there are fewer available.

If you plan ahead and research your applications you should be able to participate in a placement and improve the likelihood of accomplishing Pupillage or obtaining a Training Contract. It is not uncommon for placement participants to be offered a position on the basis of their placement.

One final remark is that law firms are businesses and want to make money. Experience in the sector or sectors that a law firm specialises in will always be an asset and placements in other related industries will also bode well with employers.