Uni Stuff > Law
Are you studying law - why?
HossRyams:
So I was just wondering... What are your thoughts on law school and post-law school? How should you decide whether law is best for you?
I've wanted to study law for a while - that's kind of been the plan after exploring the sciences (particularly in work experience) and found that I definitely wasn't cut for it. When realising I'm more a humanities person, I came to the conclusion that I'd aim for an Arts/Law course at Monash (or Arts @ Melbourne -> JD) after having talked with lawyers, visiting a corporate law firm (Corrs Chambers Westgarth) and meeting various lawyers with different specialisations and being recommended it over and over. I sincerely enjoyed my visits and talks and it has encouraged me to look further into this option but...
I'm just really worried that I'm among the apparently many people who THINK they're suited for law, but isn't. I've done a fair amount of research online and it's been the most frightening thing. People seem to regret their decision in enrolling into law school (seems to be mostly in the US though..?) and they make it seem as if every student who thinks they're cut for law is about to make a grave mistake. Stress/depression/debt/not enough time... A lot of these common themes are consistently appearing in my research and making me doubt my choices.
The annoying part of it all is I'll never unless I try. The lawyers I've met said that law school is just that dreadful thing you have to get through but it's worth it... But is that simply because they've landed a job? Are job openings that limited? I don't want to just foolishly believe I'm the exception but I don't want to miss the opportunity either.
Thanks in advance. :)
ninwa:
Honestly, with all that research and experience, you are going into law school far more informed than I would say 99% of first year law students.
People in the US regret it because:
1) they do not have HECS over there; instead, they must borrow exorbitant amounts of money to pay off their school fees, which carry interest and must be repaid regardless of how much you earn (unlike HECS debts); and
2) the lawyer job market in the US is atrocious, meaning lots of graduates can't actually get the income they need to pay off those loans (this should give you a rough idea)
The job market in Australia is nowhere near as bad, although it is obviously still challenging particularly if you are aiming to go into a top or mid tier firm (like Corrs).
Stress: yeah, it's stressful, but it's not as bad as it sounds particularly if you're only reading about US experience. Their law schools sound far more stressful than Australian ones. Workload can be high if you are aiming for top marks but it's also possible to cruise through semester doing nothing (because most law subjects do not have assessments throughout semester), cram everything in the last week before exams and do relatively well (do not recommend this though, it's playing Russian roulette with your degree).
Depression: lawyers have one of the highest suicide rates I believe (after dentists). This I assume primarily stems from the lack of work/life balance that comes with being a high-flying lawyer, but that's not the only career path you can take. If you are talking about depression in law school I honestly don't know what the statistics are, but Monash has some good support systems for that.
Debt: HECS is amazing. Government pays some of your fees and the rest is on an interest-free loan (subject to inflation only) which you only pay back after you reach a certain level of income (around $50k/year from the top of my head). You really don't need to worry about this. Australian university students are some of the luckiest in the world.
Jobs: considering that every university in Victoria offers a law degree, you can imagine how many law graduates there are every year. So yes, competition for internships and junior lawyer jobs is quite intense. But a law degree also opens up pathways to other careers (see the link in my signature for some ideas).
Feel free to ask more questions!
HossRyams:
--- Quote from: ninwa on June 06, 2013, 11:17:22 pm ---Honestly, with all that research and experience, you are going into law school far more informed than I would say 99% of first year law students.
People in the US regret it because:
1) they do not have HECS over there; instead, they must borrow exorbitant amounts of money to pay off their school fees, which carry interest and must be repaid regardless of how much you earn (unlike HECS debts); and
2) the lawyer job market in the US is atrocious, meaning lots of graduates can't actually get the income they need to pay off those loans (this should give you a rough idea)
The job market in Australia is nowhere near as bad, although it is obviously still challenging particularly if you are aiming to go into a top or mid tier firm (like Corrs).
Stress: yeah, it's stressful, but it's not as bad as it sounds particularly if you're only reading about US experience. Their law schools sound far more stressful than Australian ones. Workload can be high if you are aiming for top marks but it's also possible to cruise through semester doing nothing (because most law subjects do not have assessments throughout semester), cram everything in the last week before exams and do relatively well (do not recommend this though, it's playing Russian roulette with your degree).
Depression: lawyers have one of the highest suicide rates I believe (after dentists). This I assume primarily stems from the lack of work/life balance that comes with being a high-flying lawyer, but that's not the only career path you can take. If you are talking about depression in law school I honestly don't know what the statistics are, but Monash has some good support systems for that.
Debt: HECS is amazing. Government pays some of your fees and the rest is on an interest-free loan (subject to inflation only) which you only pay back after you reach a certain level of income (around $50k/year from the top of my head). You really don't need to worry about this. Australian university students are some of the luckiest in the world.
Jobs: considering that every university in Victoria offers a law degree, you can imagine how many law graduates there are every year. So yes, competition for internships and junior lawyer jobs is quite intense. But a law degree also opens up pathways to other careers (see the link in my signature for some ideas).
Feel free to ask more questions!
--- End quote ---
Thanks so much for your response! I was actually reading through all your law-related posts, and I looked through that 2011 Reading Guide while you replied to this post haha! :)
That's definitely relieving, but I suppose my concern is how I'm supposed to know whether this is the right decision. How did you know you wanted to study law?
And does it really steal your time that much? I've always thought I've been fairly good at managing my time and having a good balance in my life - but I'm afraid that's only because I'm in year 12, and I have 4 subjects this year, leaving me with time to do sport, music, see friends, be an internet junkie and still study quite a bit. Do you find studying law far more difficult than VCE?
But yeah, I'm not entirely set on being a solicitor or anything. It seems the degree aims to enhance a style of thinking close to my own (ofc mine is still noob :D) so I thought that I should take it and then after having studied it for a while, then decide which career is best for me :O
Hmm I may or may not flood you with questions in the near future hahaha :D
Edit - typo
Art Vandelay:
for what its worth, im doing law because I could see myself working in a lot of fields that require/would heavily benefit from a law degree. also, and you probably know this, but if you do arts/law then you only have 2 law subjects per semester for first year, so most people learn to manage their time. having said that, cramming is a lot harder even for the first year subjects im doing, when compared to cramming for vce, as it's a lot easier to fall behind cos theres more independence regarding lectures/doing readings
but socialising/study balance was easier for me to achieve at uni than at high school
HossRyams:
--- Quote from: Art Vandelay on June 07, 2013, 12:02:10 am ---for what its worth, im doing law because I could see myself working in a lot of fields that require/would heavily benefit from a law degree. also, and you probably know this, but if you do arts/law then you only have 2 law subjects per semester for first year, so most people learn to manage their time. having said that, cramming is a lot harder even for the first year subjects im doing, when compared to cramming for vce, as it's a lot easier to fall behind cos theres more independence regarding lectures/doing readings
but socialising/study balance was easier for me to achieve at uni than at high school
--- End quote ---
Thanks for your reply!
I'm not really a cramming person... (Usually I'm organised but... Then again, still a year 12 student!) Do all students essentially have to cram because there's just so much content or is it possible to be organised enough to handle the subjects at a good pace? (Is that a stupid question? bahaha) I just keep hearing about the absurd amount of readings and the heavy workload -> cramming, oh, and 'basically living in the library'. :|
It's nice to hear an improved balance by uni though!
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