It's important to appreciate that in the United Kingdom there is a strict division between solicitors and barristers.
What are the main differences between the two?
There are a couple but the three most significant differences in my opinion are in terms of how solicitors and barristers are employed, what their job roles entail and the timing in which they come into a case/deal with a client.
(a) Employment - solicitors are usually employed by law firms whereas barristers are usually self-employed. Barristers normally trade as sole-traders but they often come together under one roof called chambers and they share resources such as clerks, and overheads. It's therefore actually possible for two Barristers who belong to the same chambers to be up against each other in court!
(b) Job roles - solicitors spend a lot of time communicating with clients, assessing cases, dealing with the other parties solicitors and filing the necessary paper work. On the other hand, Barristers represent their clients in courts and tribunals, draft court documents, and provide specialist legal advice on certain areas of the law. It must be noted that the proportion of time spent on each of these varies depending on the type of law you choose to practice. A commercial barrister will not spend as much time in court as a criminal barrister.
(c) Timing - barrister’s tend to come into a case when a dispute has arisen, but solicitors can usually be with clients from cradle until grave. For example, solicitors can help set up the company, help review employment contracts internally, draft shareholder agreements etc.
For more information on the differences between the two, I would recommend reading the article "what kind of lawyer do you want to be?" which can be found from the Chambers Student website.
Once you decide whether you want to become a solicitor or a barrister, there is then a process you have to follow before you can qualify as a fully fledged solicitor or barrister.
I detail the procedure to qualify as a barrister here.