The purpose of this short article is to explore some of the different career options available for those with a law-related skill.

New Career Opportunities

We have all, at some point in our lives, dreamed of a better life. For some, ‘better’ may mean a bigger house, nicer car, or regular holidays. However, when we investigate the real meaning of ‘better’ in this context, it normally means: more money to spend.

Completing a law course opens up new career opportunities for anyone with this new found skill. This is not surprising when one considers that the law impacts on all of our lives each and every day. A law-related skill is therefore a skill that is highly valued by employers.

Payscale, an American website specialising in salaries, commissions and bonuses, found that law-related skills increase a person’s chance of earning a higher salary.

Traditional Law Careers

Many people who study law do so with the idea of becoming a practising lawyer. However, this is not the only option available for anyone with a law-related skill. In fact, many people who intend to become lawyers soon change their mind when they realise that the profession is not as glamorous as they believed it to be, not least because of the long working hours and highly competitive working environment. Fortunately, there are many non-traditional legal career options available as legal skills are highly valued by employers, and society in general.

Taking a Law Course to Progress an Existing Career

Some people take a short law course (i.e. contract law) to develop their knowledge in a particular area of law to progress an existing career in a different field. So, learning about the law on top of having an existing qualification in a different area can open up new career opportunities. For example, Quantity Surveyors can earn a very good level of pay (often over £100,000 per annum) if they have a good level of knowledge about the law, particularly contract (construction / arbitration law). A Quantity Surveyor with a good understanding of the law can work as a Claims Consultant or even an Arbitrator, amongst other construction related careers. Therefore, a law course can be used in this type of situation to develop one’s existing career within a different field entirely.

Other Law-related Career Options

Harrison Barnes, an American legal recruiter, has provided some useful information for those who have a law-related skill. In his blog, he provides at least 60 careers that a person with a law-related skill may pursue without having to complete a law degree, bar exams, law firm internships, training contract, pupillage, etc, and in many cases these different career options are more rewarding in terms of salary. You can see all of the careers by visiting his blog post (the URL is set out below), but these are some of the careers mentioned:

- Arbitrator

- Banker

- Airline Pilot

- Investment Adviser / Stockbroker

- Salesperson

- Real Estate Developer / Agent

- Private Investigator

- Politician

- PhD Student

- News Commentator

- Motivational Speaker

- Military Personnel

- NGO - Human Rights Adviser

- Paralegal

- Private Judge

- Marketing Director

- Journalist

- Labor Union Representative / Negotiator

- HR Director

- Law Enforcement

- Contract Administrator

- Chief Executive Officer

- Chief Financial Officer

- Company Secretary

Conclusion

It is clear that a law-related skill is not only useful for somebody who wants to become a lawyer. Anybody with a law-related skill who is pursuing a career in any of the above areas shall have an advantage on those who do not possess the same skill. The law is highly valued in society, and those with law-related skills are highly valued by employers because it indicates that the person possesses the ability to be precise, and above average research, analytical, and drafting / writing skills, amongst other things.

If you would like to study any area of law, we have a range of long and short online law programs and certificates available that can be taken anywhere in the world. You can browse them here.

We hope that you found this article useful. If you wish to read the full article about other career options for those with law-related skills, you can find it here:

https://www.lawcrossing.com/article/900042904/60-nontraditional-job-you-can-do-with-a-law-degree-and-should-strangely-consider-doing/