[Omnidragon]

The problem about law is not uni - that's all fine. It's that the actual industry is very overrated and this sets high expectations for new lawyers, which leads to depression when they realise it isn't half of what it's made out to be. Everyone thinks lawyers rake it in and must be able to drive porsches by 30 years old.

Reality is most lawyers, corporate ones included, are like any other white collar person out there; struggling to buy a house in a very very ordinary suburb, paying 30% of their salary toawards rent and working late hours sometimes.

A lot of people who get into law school were high achievers in high school with high hopes (how many of you got 99 UAI +?). The world is your oyster as they say it. But when you start your job, you're back to Square 1 - your pay is not much bigger and perhaps even lesser than your 'not-so-smart' accountant or engineer friend that you've always snobbed off for not being able to get a UAI over 90. The work you do can barely be described as interesting. If you're in litigation, for example, you spend a lot of time sorting documents and doing discovery. The real saving grace is that 10 min glory when you sit down with your parent's friends to gloat about this amazing legal battle you were involved in - but you didn't tell them your role was pushing trollies from the court to counsel's office or numbering pages of evidence you discovered from the opponent.

Don't get me wrong though - I'm in no way bitter about it. I think to do law, you really need to enjoy it. But if you're going in with the hope of rolling in cash, you're in the wrong place and will probably set yourself up for disappointment. I've got some friends who are, however, very into the whole law thing and they love their mooting, debating and analysing legal points. Those people will survive the mundane first 10-15 years and reap the benefits later on. You need to ask yourself whether you're one of these people.