Lol, what kind of bullcrap is that? Most students in Tier 1 NLUs don't care about UPSC. In fact, the majority of the students who pursue UPSC are either students who joined law school through reservations or are considered the runt of their batch. Never heard a topper in our NLU say, "I will pursue UPSC" mostly they are after Tier 1 jobs and topper who do decide to pursue UPSC are the ones who managed to secure a PPO already.

The hierarchy of respect is as follows:

1. TC

2. Pursuing a LLM Abroad (Only with a scholarship). However, it's worth noting that getting through without a scholarship is not a big deal since many students manage to do so.

3. Pre-Placement Offers (PPO)

4. Day Zero placements (in Tier 1 or 1.5 firms)

5. Placements after Day Zero

6. Working as an in-house counsel

It's important to note that people who choose to pursue litigation are often considered the Dark Horses. The level of respect given to you would depend entirely on your performance. If you're a good student or have an impressive mooting record, your decision to pursue litigation would be respected.

Training contracts are overrated, Indian law firms pay much more if you break things down and look at it from a larger purview. Don't get fascinated by the glass buildings and huge cheque numbers abroad since it is all a veil for a swanky standard of living and higher tax structures. Parel or Okhla is a better choice by all means, thanks.

A Tier 2 placement seasons you for what the bigger firms already expect you to know. There is a reason why seasoned lateral hirings are at an all time high. Getting into Indus, Bharucha, Samvad, Link Legal, Wadia, HSA, Juris Corp or SNG before the "Big 7" (for Corporate & Commercial) makes more sense - since a lot of people like me expect a junior to literally know the all the ropes while working in the highest stakes involved. Further, please do not look down on in-house counsel roles since that is where the future is headed - they literally call the shots and get paid well for just delegating work to their empanelled list of law firms/counsels. Lastly, the boutique firms like S&R, TT&A, Veritas, Anagram, Touchstone/Resolut, Rajani, ICUL, Wadhwa, Stratage etc; also work on quality deals so having some exposure along such lines also seems like a great option. Best of luck!