Solicitor or Barrister: Which One Should You Choose? (Salary, Hours, Employers, Work Experience)

should you be a barrister or solicitor? a question as old as time. this is the type of video i would’ve loved to watch before going to university to really understand the different routes into a legal career. talking hours, salary, employers, training and work experience, i really hope this provides a useful insight into the world of law. i’ve chopped and changed so much in terms of my career and done ridiculous amounts of legal experience, so i feel like i’m in a good place to share some advice. i hope this helps! shoot any questions or video requests in the comments below. until next week…

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sub count at upload: 5,690

[danielroshe]

You actually just might’ve saved my future life, I wanted to be a barrister before in the crime and family sector however I didn’t realise how underpaid and hard it is. So I think now I would prefer the corporate sector as a solicitor because there’s a higher chance of success.

Thank you so much, you earned a new sub

[lorihyslop]

I choked when you said £100, 000 salary as a newly qualified solicitor - seriously considering being a solicitor now

[Shayan]

I am watching this video literally after 4 years of you uploading it but it's still very relevant.

[itzacelive]

I am officially being a lawyer, since the age of seven I have been interested in law, I want to be a solicitor ❤️

[annahefford]

Really good video - just to say that you wouldn’t be able to sit in court and take notes unless you were there in a professional capacity. Otherwise, you’d be asked what you were doing! Also, you didn’t mention direct access, which is something that many barristers now offer and this has to some degree blurred the line between the two professions a little. Am just trying to be helpful by adding this. I’m a barrister myself and have been for over 15 years. It was hard when I was trying to get into it 20 plus years ago and I’m sure it’s even harder now. Your advice at the end about doing work experience in things that you don’t necessarily want to do is absolutely spot on! Thanks for a great video.

[jordanownsall]

the LPC is now not needed as of September 2021, rather 2 exams now take its place called the solicitor qualifying exams (SQEs). Its a lot cheaper than an LPC (costs roughly £4000) and makes it more accessible (LPC can cost up to around £17, 000).

[mioszgapsa]

Thank you very much for this video. As someone who is not accustomed to the common law system and your way of qualifying lawyers I find this rather short video extremely useful. In my country, Poland, we also have quite a rocky road to become the barrister or the solicitor but as I see in the UK its utterly difficult.

[jonahdavis]

Schools for 11 years: teaching us the square root of pi and how to use an adverb correctly.
Schools 30 seconds before you leave: 7:03

[ishikakk]

I am only 13 but i wanted to start to gain more knowledge about law and ur video explained everything so clearly it really helped me know the diffrence a lot better

[samuelsulaimanbah]

Nice wanting to be a solicitor and am presently in law school, thank you for this, it helps a lot

[jessie]

Currently a first year law student. Can't believe how you got so much work experience in the first year.... I'm literally struggling to get one..

[eg]

To note, your Inn of Court or the Law School you attend do a lot of scholarships which will cover costs for GDL/BPTC + living costs for those going down the Barrister route! :)

[elizabethwright]

thank you for this video. i am 15 and have been passionate about law since i was a baby (good at arguing my point o guess). this helped so much, and has made me realise how much better being a soliciter would be so i thank yo iso much (may have just saved me!)

[craigwatkins]

Thanks for this video. I recently started in a county court as a court usher and have literally zero clue how anything works or who people are. I would ask people are they your solicitor and they would correct me, "no. They're a barrister." I would smile away thinking "isn't that the same thing?!?!?"

[oasacademy]

Good reading is "Secret Barrister" and "Fake Law" before making a decision

[omnipotence]

Thank you so much. I have always wondered which one would be a better choice.
You just got another subscriber!🙂

[Holly.smith]

i’m currently in my first year at sixth form and i been wanting to become a solicitor since i was a child i pray i get into the high street firms xx

[marrieluv]

This's the kind of video i've been looking for, thank God i found this. Thanks :]

[carolinabax]

I think it would be useful to also mention that for people going to the Bar, it's not entirely true that you have to pay for it all yourself - all Inns of Court have incredibly generous scholarships and lots of people get full scholarships, whilst many get close to that. In my opinion getting one of those actually does skim out the people that might not be right for the Bar, because if a panel of experienced barristers don't want to finance you even minimally maybe it should make you think about whether you want to go and splurge money on the course at all in the first place (though of course some people don't get a GDL one, but do get a BPTC one). Two of the Inns also provide residential scholarships if you get a scholarship, meaning that you get a year living in central London entirely for free (!!!) through them. Providers also have scholarships which you interview for by doing advocacy exercises etc, and some of those are also full scholarships.

[abbiewills]

Can’t wait to be a barrister👩🏽‍⚖️ 👩🏽‍🎓