Caroline landed dream job after shunning university

A newly-qualified solicitor has given hope to students after getting her dream job – despite not going to university.

Caroline Gray, 29, left school after completing her A-levels and went straight into work as an office junior for law firm Fisher Jones Greenwood.

She has climbed the career ladder, completed her training and managed to become a solicitor, while holding down a full-time job.

Her message to students who have just received their A-level results is: “Don’t dismiss the value of experience, because working in the profession you are interested in counts for a lot.”

Miss Gray’s unusual career path started after she achieved two A grades and one B at A-level at Colchester Sixth Form College.

She said: “University never appealed to me and I wanted to start working. I started as an office junior in the post room and gained really good experience.”

She moved on to working as a legal secretary and spent several years training as a legal executive – specialising in family law.

By 2007, she had qualified, but had to wait two years before she started practising.

So, while working in the firm’s Colchester office, she was able to begin a graduate diploma in law – the equivalent to a law degree.

By 2009, she was working as a legal executive and had started studying for the legal practice course, her final step before becoming a solicitor.

Miss Gray passed in July and is looking forward to the graduation ceremony in September.

She said: “It is a relief and I am very proud of what I have achieved.”

She has done it while earning a salary, allowing her to avoid debt and buy a house.

She said: “I have never regretted doing it this way.

“I was aware it would take longer, but gaining the knowledge and experience and working every day around lawyers helped a lot.

“It is difficult. You have to be strict with yourself.

“Sometimes the last thing you want to do when you go home is get your head in the books, but if you are determined you can do it.”

With rising university fees, and no guaranteed jobs for graduates, she is delighted with the decisions she has made.

Kate Taylor, a partner at Fisher Jones Greenwood, said: “She has worked incredibly hard. It is not easy to study while doing a full-time job.

“She is a valued member of the family team and will make a very good solicitor.

“It is extremely important to us we look to give people the opportunity to progress and achieve their potential, and do all we can to support them.”

Miss Gray now works in the company’s Clacton office.

Source: Adam Cornell, Essexcountystandard.co.uk, Monday 22nd August 2011