Hi all,

Guess this question has probably been discussed numerous times on here before, but I'm going to raise it again anyway. For me, and most others I would imagine, the one thing holding them back from doing an LL.M is the cost. Not just the fees (its only 1500E in the Netherlands for example) but the fact that its another year as a student, not earning money, building up debt, sponging off your parents, etc, etc.

As for my situation, I'm about to finish my two year legal traineeship with a commercial firm following my LL.B and Diploma in legal Practice (Scottish LPC equivalent)and now want pursue a career in International/Human Rights law, for which, it seems, a masters is highly desireable. I probably have more debt than most from my LL.B and managed to accumulate some more by taking a year out to go travelling and then surviving on paltry trainee wages for the past two years - probably a total of about £20k.

So what do people think, generally, of weighing up the costs of an LL.M with the benefits, and also, of my particular situation. Would appreciate any comments/pearls of wisdom you may have.