So is Law Enjoyable?

[Therewego]

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I'm currently in year 12, close to completing the HSC and I'm looking into a law degree at a few universities.

I'm concerned mainly with two questions, and yes I realise they are subjective and opinionated but I'd like a range of opinions if possible.

Firstly, is a law degree at university enjoyable? tedious? suicide inducing?

And similarly, the career itself; Is practising law enjoyable for most people despite the inevitable stress?

[Frigid]

Originally Posted by Therewego

Firstly, is a law degree at university enjoyable? tedious? suicide inducing? And similarly, the career itself; Is practising law enjoyable for most people despite the inevitable stress?

yes; at times; statistically-speaking, yes; and yes but it depends what sort of work you do, as with all careers.

[Blackacre]

Originally Posted by Therewego

I'm currently in year 12, close to completing the HSC and I'm looking into a law degree at a few universities.

I'm concerned mainly with two questions, and yes I realise they are subjective and opinionated but I'd like a range of opinions if possible.

Firstly, is a law degree at university enjoyable? tedious? suicide inducing?

And similarly, the career itself; Is practising law enjoyable for most people despite the inevitable stress?

First, your question is way too subjective. Whether you find law enjoyable really depends on you.

That being said, from personal experience, studying law in uni turned out to be not even close to what I imagined it to be like while I was doing my HSC.
Here's what I learnt at uni
- to enjoy class, you really need to do ALL your readings, which sometimes you just can't possibly do, also you need to participate in class discussions, otherwise you'll find it boring
- how well you do in hsc is no reflection of how well you'll do in law school AT ALL. i know this sounds a bit racist but most asians who get into law don't deserve to be, it's because of all the tutoring they do (I'm asian by the way). this is an objective assessment because on observations.
- it's gets pretty stressful sometimes. unless you're on the ball and up to date all the time (again sometimes impossible), you'll find it stressful come exam time. in the 1st few years, it's ok because you share notes with friends but in the last few years when you start doing electives, you sometimes don't have notes to share and have to do it yourself and that's bloody stressful.
- finally, don't expect to get the same marks you get in high school, otherwise you'll have a mental breakdown. a credit average (low 70s) is considered bloody good in law school.

[twistedtigers]

Originally Posted by Blackacre

a credit average (low 70s) is considered bloody good in law school.

I didn't know that. I thought a credit average meant your law degree wouldn' get you work in the industry.

For me, law is amazingly stressful, really hard work and the best thing I've ever done. Be warned though, working in law (particularly starting out) is nearly all paperwork. If you don't love writing, shuffling papers and researching through mountains of crap to find your diamonds, it may not be for you.

You should really try for some unpaid work experience to get an inside view before you commit to law. Try sending out some unsolicited letters and see if you can get into an office anywhere for a week or so.

[Therewego]

Originally Posted by twistedtigers

For me, law is amazingly stressful, really hard work and the best thing I've ever done.

Wow I don't know what to think about that...I guess what you're saying is that it is rewarding but bloody hard, which is fair enough.

Thanks for the reply guys, apologies again for the subjectiveness which some of you pointed out. Might think about the work experience in future but too early for that yet I think.

Hmm just a thought, when you say it involves a lot of research and paperwork etc., is this particularly tedious? I like to read and write and writing itself is definetly one of my strengths but is it all law reports and legislative acts etc? Or more researching into an area to find out more information in relation to a case or whatever you may be doing?

[chewy123]

In unsw credit average is the average, so yeh..pretty competitive.

Like the advise you will get in any degree, only do it if you really enjoy it. I strongly advise you to combine law with something else, so you have something to fall back on if you don't like it.

[Blackacre]

Originally Posted by Therewego

Hmm just a thought, when you say it involves a lot of research and paperwork etc., is this particularly tedious? I like to read and write and writing itself is definetly one of my strengths but is it all law reports and legislative acts etc? Or more researching into an area to find out more information in relation to a case or whatever you may be doing?

It's more reading then researching. You'll do 95% reading textbooks and casebooks and 5% time researching. Most annoying thing is reading judges who write 10 line sentences (and i'm not kidding, i swear some of them can put 200 words into a sentence easy)

[melsc]

Originally Posted by Therewego

I'm currently in year 12, close to completing the HSC and I'm looking into a law degree at a few universities.

I'm concerned mainly with two questions, and yes I realise they are subjective and opinionated but I'd like a range of opinions if possible.

Firstly, is a law degree at university enjoyable? tedious? suicide inducing?

And similarly, the career itself; Is practising law enjoyable for most people despite the inevitable stress?

If you have an interest in it, than yes it can be very enjoyable but if you do it for the wrong reasons you are likely to find it torturous.

tedious? Hell yes, you read case after case, often saying the same thing or read them all to find out something new has developed has contradicted it. Its a lot of work, its 5 years of hard work but its not all bad.

suicide inducing? when you're pulling an all nighter or feeling like the past few years have left you knowing nothing, yes it can be, but it is worth it.

Is practising law enjoyable for most people despite the inevitable stress? Yes, I have found the practice of law to be much better than the study and it is stressful but you generally know that going in.


Good luck and I hope this helps

[sickk]

Originally Posted by melsc

suicide inducing? when you're pulling an all nighter or feeling like the past few years have left you knowing nothing, yes it can be, but it is worth it.

So theyr you have it...
It IS suicide inducing, but the suicide is worth it : P

[pearling]

Great thread I know doing combined law is really intense - how do current law students find the work/life balance and also Ive been hearing about law socieites and clubs, exactly what do you do in them and how active are they? And i heard mooting comps is another thing law students are into - would love to hear you guys experience on these kind of things.

[Blackacre]

Originally Posted by pearling

Great thread I know doing combined law is really intense - how do current law students find the work/life balance and also Ive been hearing about law socieites and clubs, exactly what do you do in them and how active are they? And i heard mooting comps is another thing law students are into - would love to hear you guys experience on these kind of things.

straight up answer

work/life balance
if you want good marks then you wont have much of a work/life balance unless you just naturally click with law
if you just want ok marks, you'll be fine, you can manage to get by on friends notes etc, in this case, you'll have a pretty good work/life balance

lawsoc stuff
meeeeh. not really worth it. if you want to employers to notice you. just get good marks and get some work experience. extracurricular stuff is overrated. i personally spent A LOT of time on extracurricular stuff for while, found out it didn't matter all that much in the end.

mooting stuff
i coordinated the unsw mooting comp one year. it's interesting if you're into it. but VERY time consuming. once you get the case, for the next 2 days you're doing nothing else but the case if you want to win. i'd advice doing it 1st year but MOST ppl don't continue after 1st yr.

[shona1990]

As for a job in the industry, I highly suggest you try to get a week of work experience. I work as a paralegal, and personally I really enjoy it. It's a lot of hard work (especially studying law on top of working full time!), but it is enjoyable, and I think it's worth it in the long run. You have to be able to cope well under pressure. But if you stay organized and keep on top of everything, it's really not that bad.

[sickk]

what exactly does a paralegal do? (sorry, newb question...)

[kevinx2]

Originally Posted by sickk

what exactly does a paralegal do? (sorry, newb question...)

Paralegal - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[Lara1986]

Originally Posted by Therewego

I'm currently in year 12, close to completing the HSC and I'm looking into a law degree at a few universities.

I'm concerned mainly with two questions, and yes I realise they are subjective and opinionated but I'd like a range of opinions if possible.

Firstly, is a law degree at university enjoyable? tedious? suicide inducing?

And similarly, the career itself; Is practising law enjoyable for most people despite the inevitable stress?

Law degrees are enjoyable if you are suited to it - if you hate reading a lot it's probably not for you. I wouldn't say it is the most difficult degree out there, but it isn't easy. For example, my other degree was a business degree and it was infinitely easier and less time consuming.

It can be very tedious at times, but at others it can be the complete opposite. It really depends on the unit - eg some of the more foundation, theory based units are extremely tedious but some of the electives that have more of a social justice/practical slant i found far more interesting and less tedious.

I wouldn't say suicide inducing unless you were already inclined that way lol



I suppose it all comes down to the same question for studying it and practising it - why do you want to do it? If you want to do it because you are interested in the work and are willing to commit a lot of time to it in the early years, it is enjoyable.

A lot, as far as career, depends on choosing the right area of law and place for you. Eg I have comparable marks and experience to friends who are working in top tier firms in corporate areas of law, but I do not want to work in those areas and I would be far happier working in a small western sydney specialist family law firm.

Do what you want to do, what you enjoy, and if you have a passion for any particular area follow it. Don't choose based on prestige or money or you'll end up more stressed and bored than you need to be.

Hope that helps