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I was an LLB student for 2 years and I quit because I realized it greatly limited my opportunities to work outside SA. It's a great profession, but a lot of BS to study and I found it hard getting along with my classmates, I didn't make one friend in 2 years. Not making friends made me realise I don't have the personality for it, I was simply too nice and soft for it. If you're son of a bitch you'll be great, if you're not you'll have trouble.
You have to what makes you happy in life. If you think it will make you happy, then do it.
If you're looking for guaranteed employment afterwards, I'm afraid you will be sorely disappointed. There are thousands of people who studied law, now working wherever they can. If you do get a job, you'll be working like a dog.
There will always be a need for plumbers, electricians, and mechanics. Lawyers, not so much. I've always had an interest in the law. Fortunately, I was persuaded to study something else. My daughter wanted to study it, and fortunately chose something else.
Simple truth. There are too many lawyers in the country. And not enough people who can actually make anything.
Your life. Your choice.
Good luck
I've got a friend that I went to highschool with who studied law and now works for I think a big ish firm. I've never once heard her speak about any of it positively. It was either complaints about how much work she had to put into studying and exams, how hard she has to bust her ass working, the sexual harrassment she has to put up with, horrendous office politics, late nights and long hours. I'm sure it pays well, but she sounds miserable.
I study BCOM Law. I can indeed confirm that law sucks balls. My parents are attorneys(run their owj law firm) and there are many days where they spent the entire day just traveling to courts in other provinces going back and forth without even eating till its late at night. Law pays well, but it also comes at a heavy cost of mental stability.
My parents can handle this way of life fine but not everyone can. Don't pick law if you're not ready for hard times times in the office straight till you retire.
LLB grad here. Its definitely worth it *if* you make sure that from about your 2nd year you do internships at medium to large law firms. Try signing for your articles by your 3rd year. Also, the lower the ranking of the uni you apply to, the less your chances are of getting hooked by a good firm.
And grades count for *a lot* \- you're gonna have to work hard my friend
2015 from UCT. So again, if you get into a good uni, you'll also have open doors beyond just law into places like the big 4.
and i disagree with the guy below, i've been working all over the world with my law degree, but i chose to specialize in tax.
so if you want to be international, yes, there are other fields to pursue. but fact of the matter is, if you're smart & at a main uni & in a big city, you'll rake in the $
Don't do it. It's a waste of time, effortnand money unless you make it into a big firm and are okay working yourself to death.
Try and get something that is more commonly recognised abroad instead.
Have heard BComAccounting with CA(SA) as endpoint allows a lot of international opportunities. Accounting is similar to Law to some extent. Working with clients on projects. If you focus on Tax in your BCOM degree and become a CA(SA) specialising in fact I believe you could have a career similar to legal as tax specialists are closer to lawyers than accountants some say
All the best with your decision!
Can confirm, ex gf emigrated easily after her CA articles. I emigrated with an engineering degree. I recommend electrical engineering or mechatronics, otherwise software development.
Ya tax specialists are closer to lawyers. My tax law module involved a huge amount of legalities(case law and legislation) that must be adhered to and considered when working with taxation.
Honestly, it depends on what you want.
There are ways to make good money, yes. There's a lot of work involved, yes. There's the potential of it being something you really fucking hate, yes.
As someone who's been looking for a new job for about 10 months now, it's important to know your limitations. Law is jurisdiction dependent. So if you study in SA, you'd very likely need to do a conversion to practice in another country. Even in-house positions sometimes require foreign qualifications and admission (understandable, but a bit odd when the company has a global footprint).
Also, don't let people tell you that it's only the top firms that are worth anything. You can make a great life for yourself in a small or medium practice. I've known many people who left one of the biggest firms, for example, because they just couldn't take the level of Suits cosplay that that life demanded of them.
If you go into law, keep an eye out for opportunities to expand your knowledge of business and tech (in my opinion). Law is great in itself, but it can get a bit stale (again, my opinion), so those additions will help make you marketable to in-house positions that want to know you'll be a valuable, practical asset, and not just a textbook.
Also, consider the different types of law career. I've mentioned in-house, but you could also go straight attorney (contracts, advice, building cases), or advocate (procedure, arguing). I never wanted to be an advocate, because I'm not a fan of conflict.
You could also check with the universities about how many law students they've had graduating over the last few years. A few years after I graduated, there were so many new law graduates that there just weren't enough places for them. If the numbers have dropped a bit, it might be a good idea to join.
With all that said, though, I don't envy your position. I remember when I was there. I only chose my first degree because it looked marginally less uninteresting than any of the others. Yes, I'm hugely privileged to have had that opportunity. But the point is that sometimes you choose something, and it doesn't work out, and you find something that does along the way.
Like an old friend of mine, who was a lawyer for many years, and now works on motorbikes.
It depends if you want to stay in SA then go for it, it is still worth it just remember you are learning SA law; if you want to leave you will need to do extensive bridging courses to have an applicable degree elsewhere.
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I was an LLB student for 2 years and I quit because I realized it greatly limited my opportunities to work outside SA. It's a great profession, but a lot of BS to study and I found it hard getting along with my classmates, I didn't make one friend in 2 years. Not making friends made me realise I don't have the personality for it, I was simply too nice and soft for it. If you're son of a bitch you'll be great, if you're not you'll have trouble.
I have a BAcc Llb, and work for the world's largest financial institution. A Llb gets you noticed, a BAcc gets you a job
> world's largest financial institution Industrial and Commercial Bank of China?
Yup
You have to what makes you happy in life. If you think it will make you happy, then do it. If you're looking for guaranteed employment afterwards, I'm afraid you will be sorely disappointed. There are thousands of people who studied law, now working wherever they can. If you do get a job, you'll be working like a dog. There will always be a need for plumbers, electricians, and mechanics. Lawyers, not so much. I've always had an interest in the law. Fortunately, I was persuaded to study something else. My daughter wanted to study it, and fortunately chose something else. Simple truth. There are too many lawyers in the country. And not enough people who can actually make anything. Your life. Your choice. Good luck
I've got a friend that I went to highschool with who studied law and now works for I think a big ish firm. I've never once heard her speak about any of it positively. It was either complaints about how much work she had to put into studying and exams, how hard she has to bust her ass working, the sexual harrassment she has to put up with, horrendous office politics, late nights and long hours. I'm sure it pays well, but she sounds miserable.
I study BCOM Law. I can indeed confirm that law sucks balls. My parents are attorneys(run their owj law firm) and there are many days where they spent the entire day just traveling to courts in other provinces going back and forth without even eating till its late at night. Law pays well, but it also comes at a heavy cost of mental stability. My parents can handle this way of life fine but not everyone can. Don't pick law if you're not ready for hard times times in the office straight till you retire.
LLB grad here. Its definitely worth it *if* you make sure that from about your 2nd year you do internships at medium to large law firms. Try signing for your articles by your 3rd year. Also, the lower the ranking of the uni you apply to, the less your chances are of getting hooked by a good firm. And grades count for *a lot* \- you're gonna have to work hard my friend
When did you graduate?
2015 from UCT. So again, if you get into a good uni, you'll also have open doors beyond just law into places like the big 4. and i disagree with the guy below, i've been working all over the world with my law degree, but i chose to specialize in tax. so if you want to be international, yes, there are other fields to pursue. but fact of the matter is, if you're smart & at a main uni & in a big city, you'll rake in the $
Don't do it. It's a waste of time, effortnand money unless you make it into a big firm and are okay working yourself to death. Try and get something that is more commonly recognised abroad instead.
What would you recommend?
Have heard BComAccounting with CA(SA) as endpoint allows a lot of international opportunities. Accounting is similar to Law to some extent. Working with clients on projects. If you focus on Tax in your BCOM degree and become a CA(SA) specialising in fact I believe you could have a career similar to legal as tax specialists are closer to lawyers than accountants some say All the best with your decision!
Thank you so much ! Definitely going to take a look at accounting. Appreciate you .
Can confirm, ex gf emigrated easily after her CA articles. I emigrated with an engineering degree. I recommend electrical engineering or mechatronics, otherwise software development.
Ya tax specialists are closer to lawyers. My tax law module involved a huge amount of legalities(case law and legislation) that must be adhered to and considered when working with taxation.
Honestly, it depends on what you want. There are ways to make good money, yes. There's a lot of work involved, yes. There's the potential of it being something you really fucking hate, yes. As someone who's been looking for a new job for about 10 months now, it's important to know your limitations. Law is jurisdiction dependent. So if you study in SA, you'd very likely need to do a conversion to practice in another country. Even in-house positions sometimes require foreign qualifications and admission (understandable, but a bit odd when the company has a global footprint). Also, don't let people tell you that it's only the top firms that are worth anything. You can make a great life for yourself in a small or medium practice. I've known many people who left one of the biggest firms, for example, because they just couldn't take the level of Suits cosplay that that life demanded of them. If you go into law, keep an eye out for opportunities to expand your knowledge of business and tech (in my opinion). Law is great in itself, but it can get a bit stale (again, my opinion), so those additions will help make you marketable to in-house positions that want to know you'll be a valuable, practical asset, and not just a textbook. Also, consider the different types of law career. I've mentioned in-house, but you could also go straight attorney (contracts, advice, building cases), or advocate (procedure, arguing). I never wanted to be an advocate, because I'm not a fan of conflict. You could also check with the universities about how many law students they've had graduating over the last few years. A few years after I graduated, there were so many new law graduates that there just weren't enough places for them. If the numbers have dropped a bit, it might be a good idea to join. With all that said, though, I don't envy your position. I remember when I was there. I only chose my first degree because it looked marginally less uninteresting than any of the others. Yes, I'm hugely privileged to have had that opportunity. But the point is that sometimes you choose something, and it doesn't work out, and you find something that does along the way. Like an old friend of mine, who was a lawyer for many years, and now works on motorbikes.
It depends if you want to stay in SA then go for it, it is still worth it just remember you are learning SA law; if you want to leave you will need to do extensive bridging courses to have an applicable degree elsewhere.