Postgraduate profile: Ryan Hunt

Ryan Hunt studied economics, politics and law at Dublin City University. Having graduated in 2015, he is now doing a master in laws (LLM) at Trinity College Dublin

“I’m currently working four days a week, two days as an intern in a solicitors’ firm and at the weekend as a sales associate. I study a master in laws at Trinity College, Dublin, where I have classes three days a week, along with a 25,000 word thesis. Following my postgrad, I want to go on and begin training to become a solicitor.

“Career prospects in the legal sector are improving, although the competition for the most lucrative positions has increased.

"I believe I will have the choice whether to stay in Ireland, or to explore opportunities abroad. My focus at the moment is on my studies, as I have still a long while to go until I achieve my goal of becoming a solicitor.

“A number of factors influenced by decision to do a master’s, the first being that I believed I needed a qualification that was specified to law. While I covered all the core areas at undergrad level, a master’s in law allows you to learn about some of the more emerging areas, such as aviation law, in which Ireland is now a global leader.

“Another reason is that once I started earning a salary it would be quite difficult to go back to being a student again. Better to pursue it now before I have any financial obligations.

"I was highly impressed by the range of module choice on offer, and the calibre of lecturers that Trinity Law School has. Some of the finest legal minds in the world are at your disposal, with the greatest indicator of this being the international complexion of class groups.

“Irish students are in the minority, and the level of experience in the legal sector by many classmates is impressive, and certainly inspiring.

“The course can certainly be challenging at times, especially given the extensive reading requirements.

“Much of the day-to-day work requires contributing to online forums hosted by the university, where lecturers post related articles to the module and ask students to respond, which then form a part of your grade for that class.

“Some of the classes require students to form groups to consider a proposal, or to form debate teams to argue a particular issue.

“I found this invaluable as it allowed me to hear the views of students who came from very different backgrounds, whose viewpoint is one I never appreciated before.”