After You Graduate

There are many choices available after gaining your degree. You will leave Southampton with a wealth of skills and a competitive edge, whatever career path you choose.

You may be looking for relevant paid employment straight away, or planning to undertake further study – in which case you could become part of Southampton's 5,000-strong postgraduate student community and have access to state-of-the-art learning resources.

You might be considering a switch into a completely different field, or you may be unsure of where to go next. Whatever your situation, the Careers and Employability Service offers a wide range of services and support to students at all stages of their University life. 

What happens to law graduates?

After further study and training about 40 to 50 per cent of Southampton law graduates progress into the legal professions, while nearly 50 per cent make careers in other fields such as criminology, business, human resources, international relations, journalism and education.

Careers directly related to a law degree

• solicitor - advises individual and corporate clients on legal aspects of their personal and business affairs and conducts legal business and negotiations on their behalf.
• barrister - presents cases in court under instruction from a solicitor. Barristers may specialise in criminal practice and undertake criminal prosecution or defence in all courts.

Careers where a law degree is recognised

• voluntary – advice work is just one aspect of the voluntary sector that appeals to many law graduates. An advice worker responds to requests for help and assists clients by providing information and confidential advice on a range of issues;
• trading standards officer - enforces a wide range of consumer legislation to promote fair, safe and equitable trading;
• chartered accountant - provides professional services to a wide range of fee-paying clients, including audit/assurance, tax, business advisory and management consultancy;
• human resources officer - develops and implements policies relating to the effective use of human resources;
• patent attorney - works to establish the originality of an invention. Offers advice on legal and technical issues and drafts detailed technical definitions and descriptions;
• journalist;
• education – such as lecturing and law librarianship;
• politics – not only in legal departments but in a range of roles in local, regional and national government;
• publishing – many roles require the mix of skills law graduates have.