Typical career path: paralegal → lawyer → firm partner.
Key points: ①Judicial examination; ②Experience.
Professional status: As a high-income class recognized by society, lawyers are a symbol of identity and status. After joining the WTO, lawyers are one of the biggest beneficiaries. Lawyers who understand English and international law have very good career prospects. However, due to the oversupply of domestic law undergraduates, the social recognition of the quality of law undergraduates has declined, and the employment situation is not very good. However, the demand for outstanding graduates, especially graduate students, is still relatively large.
Salary level: A lawyer's income can be calculated in two ways. One way is to get a salary, the firm pays the salary, and the lawyer is responsible for litigating the case. Depending on ability, those with a high annual salary can get 300,000 yuan or even millions of yuan, while those with a low annual salary can only get 6,543,800 yuan. The other is that the lawyer does not receive a salary, but is affiliated with a law firm, and the lawyer has to find clients by himself. Depending on the business commission, it generally ranges from 30% to 70%. Moreover, the income will also vary depending on the special differences in economic laws, labor laws, and intellectual property rights. Generally speaking, a young trainee lawyer only earns about 1,000 yuan a month. As experience accumulates and the source of cases increases, income is directly linked to an individual's ability. After a few years, it is normal for things to be completely different.
An old horse knows the way: the first problem to be solved is to pass the national judicial examination. This exam usually registers in July every year and takes the exam in September. Its biggest feature is that it is difficult and has a low passing rate. In 2003, nearly 200,000 people took the exam, and more than 17,000 passed the exam, with a pass rate of 10%. The passing rate in 2004 was 11.22%. The review materials for the Judicial Examination require a huge amount of reading and a lot of knowledge points to memorize. At the end of the review, it’s about who is more resilient and who can endure the most hardships. We should believe that heaven rewards hard work. Making a review plan depends on the implementation. No matter how difficult it is, it should be completed without compromise. Generally speaking, it is reasonable to plan to complete the exam in two years. Since you can only apply for a practicing certificate after one year of internship, after getting the certificate, you can find a law firm for another year, and you can directly engage in legal practice after graduation.
The second is work experience. Law is a "secular" subject, and many teachers in the field of law are involved in legal practice. In other words, if you have the opportunity to win the favor of teachers and help them "do odd jobs" during college, then you will already have the most valuable internship experience in your job search when you graduate. Especially graduate students, who have high professional standards and have frequent contact with tutors, can make full use of the conditions to accumulate experience. If your teacher isn't the kind of person who has one foot in the ocean and one foot in the boat, you can also ask them to introduce you. They must have many classmates and friends who open offices. In addition, during my breaks, I will work part-time (internship) in some law firms and the legal departments of foreign companies, which will be of great help to me in finding a job after graduation. If I do well, I'll probably stay there after graduation.
Sometimes, a teacher is an expert or even authority in a certain field. He will have access to many resources, which is a rare commodity. Pay more attention and communicate regularly. After graduation I want to go to a law firm. If they are willing to introduce you, it is much better than casting a net in the sky.
Finally, if you fail to pass the judicial examination when you graduate, you still have a chance. It is not necessary to have a qualification to be a paralegal. You may still have a chance.
2. Civil servants: competition is fierce.
Occupation status: The popularity of registration for civil service examinations in recent years has clearly reflected the attractiveness of this profession: stability, high income, low work pressure, and complete welfare guarantees.
Key points: ① civil service examination; ② social relations.
Salary level: Directly proportional to the regional economic development level, various incomes are generally much higher than the regional average wage level.
An old horse knows the trick: when taking the national civil service examination, the two-discipline major is not that important. Law is usually required, but many positions will indicate on the application brochure that party members are required. When courts and procuratorates recruit people, they have very detailed requirements for disciplines and often indicate "Civil and Commercial Law Major" or "Criminal Law Major." The biggest advantage of being a civil servant or going to the court or procuratorate is "stability", but their income is not as good as that of lawyers, so people often become lawyers after entering the court for a few years.
A senior who graduated from the law school in 2001 and a senior who graduated in 2000 went to the Insurance Regulatory Bureau (Shanghai). In fact, the current salary of civil servants and courts is good, but compared with the prospect of becoming a lawyer, it is inevitable that people feel unwilling to do so.
In addition, even if the experience and identity of student cadres are not currently valued by companies, they still have certain advantages in civil service examinations, especially in interviews, in terms of political quality, responsiveness, and sensitivity to current affairs. , The requirements for organizational capabilities are more stringent. It is recommended that students who are interested in taking the civil service examination go online in advance to find a book such as "Civil Service Examination Guide", read it carefully, and practice their relevant abilities in a targeted manner. The acceptance rate for the Civil Service Examination is also quite low, and there is basically no hope of getting good results. So it is necessary to prepare before the exam.
In terms of relationships, some of my classmates have no relationships at all, but if they do, they can get much more convenience than others in the admission process. It is very unfair to those ordinary competitors to operate in advance. of.
3. Staff of the company’s legal department: good pay and high requirements.
Typical career path: assistant → supervisor → senior legal advisor.
Occupation: At present, only large companies in China have set up this department, and the number of positions is very small compared to the talent supply.
Key points: 1. Foreign language proficiency; 2. Professional skills.
Salary level: The annual salary offered by the legal department of foreign-funded companies is about 50,000 to 654.38+ million, while that of large private companies and state-owned enterprises is only 20,000 to 70,000. But one year of experience can increase your annual salary by about 20,000.
An old horse knows the ropes: Like all other positions recruited by foreign companies, excellent foreign language reading, writing, listening and speaking skills are crucial to getting a position in the legal department. Many companies even send foreign interviewers, so there is basically no chance to communicate in a foreign language.
Usually popular majors such as civil and commercial law and international law have greater social demand and better employment, but popular majors mean more applicants and more intense competition.
It would be best if you can get an internship opportunity. Having a few months of experience will set you apart from other candidates. Because many graduates apply for jobs at other companies and don’t even know what they want you to do, so think about what you would do if someone else revealed your company’s troubles during the written examination?
The job description of a senior legal advisor for a large foreign-funded company is: 30 to 40 years old, a bachelor's degree in law, 3 years of work experience in a foreign company, and more than 2 years of non-litigation work experience in a law firm. In other words, as long as you can successfully cross the first threshold, in a few years, you can "casually shake hands with senior executives" like those legal consultants in Hong Kong movies.
Personally, I think it is best to be a corporate legal advisor.