Routes into Professions

Becoming a professional will require training and education. Some professions require you to have a degree in order to practice, others do not. Some will require you to have a specific degree, some will be more flexible about the degree you hold.

Training to be a doctor or a lawyer usually involves a route which takes you from a specific degree through work-based training before you become properly qualified. Even here, there will be alternatives to studying for a medical or a law degree. Some professions will have a ‘conversion’ course which will allow you to progress from a different kind of degree.

Some professions have their own professional qualifications. For example, accountants tend to work their way through qualifications set by ACCA, AAT or ICAEW at the same time as working.

Other professions do not require you to have a degree in order to practice, although you may need to have a certain amount and type of work experience in order to become a member of a professional body or to sign up for professional qualifications.

Most professions will endeavour to provide options in terms of routes into any vocation.

The best place to find information on the routes available into any given profession is the website of the professional body or bodies relevant to the sector you are interested in.

TotalProfessions.com aims to provide a link between practising and aspiring professionals and professional bodies. See our More About Professions section for information on what it means to be a professional, what role professional and regulatory bodies play and more. Use our Profession Finder to find out about professional bodies representing various sectors. Browse through Sector Summaries to find information on the routes into various professions.

Here are some examples of the information professional bodies provide on the routes of entry: