There has been a flood of online courses with advertisements popping up everywhere promising to enhance your skills, broaden your knowledge and boost your career prospects.
One popular course platform even IPO’d[1] earlier in 2024 in the SME (Small and medium enterprises) segment with a bumper listing.
However, these courses are often a financial investment. For law students and practicing lawyers, the question arises: are these courses genuinely useful?
Whether you’re a law student looking to specialize, a junior lawyer building expertise or a seasoned professional exploring new practice areas, these insights should help you invest your time and resources wisely.
1. Should You Do Courses?
The decision to take a course should be guided by your specific goals and the context of your career. Here are some key considerations:
Why Do You Want to Do a Course?
There are plenty of reasons why someone may be thinking about doing a course.
- Exploring a New Area of Law: If your aim is to explore a new area of law, before going ahead and booking yourself on a course, consider if there are other, perhaps more effective ways to achieve this objective. For instance, doing an internship with a practitioner specializing in that area can provide hands-on experience and deeper insights. Practical experience is more useful and valuable than the theoretical knowledge provided by a course. Another option could be doing some reading by yourself — diving into articles, legislation, and case studies— which can also be incredibly informative. Courses are one way to learn, but they are not the only way.
- Career Advancement & Continuing Professional Development: If you are aiming for a specific job that requires specialized knowledge, a targeted course might be beneficial. However, success is not guaranteed by just completing a course but also demonstrating that the course has led to upskilling.
2. Which Courses Should You Do?
Once you’ve decided that doing a course is the right path, the next step is selecting the right one. The market is flooded with options and it is often difficult to choose the right one especially when there may be a high opportunity cost associated.
Here’s how you can navigate the selection process:
Selection of the Course is Crucial
- Evaluate Your Objective: Determine what you want to achieve with the course. Is it a deep dive into a niche area of law, a general overview, or a skill-building exercise? Your objective will guide the type of course you should look for.
- Monetary Considerations: The price of a course is not always indicative of its quality. An expensive course isn’t necessarily the best, and a cheaper course isn’t always inferior. For exploratory purposes, a cheaper course taught by a practitioner in the field might suffice. For career advancement, especially if a job requires in-depth knowledge, investing in a comprehensive and reputable course might be worth the cost.
- Instructor Credibility: Scrutinize the instructor’s credentials. Marketing can often paint a picture that doesn’t reflect reality. Ensure that you check whether the instructor has substantial experience and expertise in the area they are teaching. Research their background and look for reviews from past students. Always useful to be aware that reviews on an owned website may not necessarily be independent or genuine – independent reviews should always be given higher weightage
Course Evaluation Checklist
To help you make an informed decision about your next course, we’ve created a comprehensive evaluation checklist. Use this practical tool to assess any course you’re considering.
You can also download a Word version of the checklist by clicking on the button below:
This checklist serves as your decision-making framework. While you may not need to check every box, paying attention to items you couldn’t check can help identify potential issues or areas needing further investigation. Keep this checklist handy as you explore different course options.
3. Making the Course Count
Merely enrolling in a course and adding it to your resume is not enough. Here are some tips to ensure you gain real value from your investment:
Gaining Knowledge is Key
- Active Participation: Engage actively with the course material. Participate in discussions, complete assignments, and seek feedback. The goal is to gain a deep understanding, not just a certificate.
- Practical Application: Try to apply what you learn in real-world scenarios. If it’s a course on negotiation skills, practice these skills in mock scenarios or real-life situations. Practical application cements learning and demonstrates real competency to employers.
Resume Considerations
- Substance Over Certificates: Recruiters and employers can often see through a resume padded with courses that don’t reflect actual knowledge or skills. Focus on the substantive knowledge and skills gained rather than the certificate itself.
- Showcase Your Learning: When discussing courses on your resume or in interviews, highlight specific takeaways and how you have applied them. This demonstrates not just learning but the practical utility of that learning.
Conclusion
In the end, whether to take a course and which one to choose depends on your personal and professional goals. It’s important to be clear about why you want to take a course and to critically evaluate the options available to you. Always prioritize learning and practical application over merely collecting certificates. A well-chosen course, actively engaged with and effectively applied, can indeed be a valuable tool in your legal career. It can help you to explore new areas, build new skills, and advance your professional prospects.
Remember: The most valuable course is not necessarily the most expensive or prestigious, but the one that best aligns with your career goals and provides practical, applicable knowledge for your legal practice.
[1] Initial Public Offering: https://www.investopedia.com/terms/i/ipo.asp#:~:text=An%20IPO%20is%20an%20initial,equity%20capital%20from%20public%20investors.
Leave a Reply