Hey, I wanted to ask generally if you haven’t got a vac scheme offer, training contract or paralegal offer in your final year of university. Would you still do the SQE by itself? If you still apply to law firms on the SQE will they question why you’re not working at a firm whilst doing the SQE as a paralegal? Would it be a less favourable position you put yourself in compared to other candidates who are doing that?
I was just wondering as I’ve been struggling a lot in my final year of university with extenuating circumstances. I just haven’t gotten a lot of time time to spend on sending many applications and fear I may just have to go down this route
I was in this same boat, as I graduated in 2024
you can do the sqe if you feel its best for you, i don't think firms would question you if you are not working at a firm whilst doing the sqe as landing a paralegal job itself is a competitive process too, i would say to keep your experiences varied, whatever you do spend your time working as can always be linked back to law with transferable skills so don't worry, use that time to get as much experiences as you can, a bonus if its areas you're interested in as you can start figuring out areas of practice you enjoy and don't enjoy
as for less favourable position, i know people that completed the sqe that still struggle to land a tc and i know people that haven't done the sqe that landed a tc, and those that were paralegals, ultimately you still have to go through the same application process, whether you believe the sqe will help you there is your decision, use your experiences to your advantage each person's will be different
each person's path to success will look different so honestly don't worry you should feel proud of getting yourself through your final year, take some time to celebrate your milestones too!