Is law really the death sentence that everyone makes it out to be? (1 Viewer)

jaydizzlegear

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See guys? he/she doesn't deny it, he/she goes to macquarie for law, and is really angry about it, so takes it out on the internet.
 

neo o

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He's just a troll shitting up the professional forums. They were shitting all over doctors too in the med forum. Just ignore him.
 

KindlyBlue

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I work in a law firm, and am a mature age student. I would advise getting a job as an admin assistant or receptionist at a law firm as a par time job or something while you do your degree, or at least go and spend some work experience in a law firm before you start, as it puts law in a completely different light. Yes its really hard, but if you enjoy it, then you will enjoying studying it. Torts is not going to be fun, never is, but you grin and bear it so when you get to the interesting subjects you really enjoy it.

Go and get some insight from a law firm.

As the previous person said, only students with a D or HD average get into the top firms anyway, so be prepared to start on a normal income when you finish uni, your not going to be earning millions until you have some experience under your belt, and even then, only large scale corporate law pays the big bucks.
 
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Law's difficult, but not any moreso than any other university degree, in my opinion. I mean, I just completed my law degree, and yes, there were moments when I wanted to kill myself, but I'm sure if you stuck me in an Architecture or Engineering degree, I'd similarly want to neck myself too...
Not tryna start an argument here but there is definitely a real real difference in the difficulty of achieving high grades in law compared to some other degrees (generally).

Degrees like arts, which, for me at least (and SO many other people I know) are an absolute joke compared to law. I spend 0 hours studying for my arts degree weekly, and only invest time when assignments approach (and even then I usually start 2-3 days before its due) - and still manage to achieve HDs. Of course, there are majors under arts, such as languages, which I contemplate would require MUCH more effort to achieve good grades, but in general combining law with Arts is a good choice because most people don't need to put in nearly as much effort as they do with law. Again, same goes with more general degrees like Commerce and Science where you get to pick majors (although science has the disadvantage of higher contact hours).

Don't get me wrong, the degrees you listed there like engineering, architecture - even particular majors under Arts/Commerce/Science are conceivably as difficult as law. But I think it is misleading to say that a law degree is not any more difficult than any other degree at uni
 
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D94

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Don't get me wrong, the degrees you listed there like engineering, architecture - even particular majors under Arts/Commerce/Science are conceivably as difficult as law. But I think it is misleading to say that a law degree is not any more difficult than any other degree at uni
And it is misleading by saying those degrees (namely engineering and science) are 'conceivably as difficult as law'. Do you think law is the benchmark of intellectual difficulty in academia?
 

RishBonjour99

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Not tryna start an argument here but there is definitely a real real difference in the difficulty of achieving high grades in law compared to some other degrees (generally).

Degrees like arts, which, for me at least (and SO many other people I know) are an absolute joke compared to law. I spend 0 hours studying for my arts degree weekly, and only invest time when assignments approach (and even then I usually start 2-3 days before its due) - and still manage to achieve HDs. Of course, there are majors under arts, such as languages, which I contemplate would require MUCH more effort to achieve good grades, but in general combining law with Arts is a good choice because most people don't need to put in nearly as much effort as they do with law. Again, same goes with more general degrees like Commerce and Science where you get to pick majors (although science has the disadvantage of higher contact hours).

Don't get me wrong, the degrees you listed there like engineering, architecture - even particular majors under Arts/Commerce/Science are conceivably as difficult as law. But I think it is misleading to say that a law degree is not any more difficult than any other degree at uni
maybe because half of the arts/law students are actually dropkicks in law and scrape credits?
Don't get me wrong, there are that top few who are excellent in Law units but the majority seem to struggle with law. On the other hand, people who come from science/maths background tend to do much better in law (observation confirmed by Contracts Lecturer too).

Once you figure out how to actually approach a law exam and study for law - it really isn't that difficult. It is a lot of WORK, but conceptually, it isn't as difficult.

Can confirm, it is a shit ton harder than Commerce units to get a HD in Law. I think its just the benchmark for getting a HD is so much higher in law compared to most other degrees. E.g. there are people who graduate with a 90+ WAM in UNSW Engineering - the highest from a USYD law is typically 85.
 

D94

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Can confirm, it is a shit ton harder than Commerce units to get a HD in Law. I think its just the benchmark for getting a HD is so much higher in law compared to most other degrees. E.g. there are people who graduate with a 90+ WAM in UNSW Engineering - the highest from a USYD law is typically 85.
Just because the standards of achieving a HD is higher, doesn't objectively mean it is 'harder' or requires higher intellectual capability.

Those who graduate with a 90+ WAM in engineering are in the top 50 in the entire engineering cohort of all years and all majors combined. That's the top 50 out of 10,000 students. Break that up into the actual graduating year, and that is about the top 10 out of around 2500 students.
 

RealiseNothing

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Yer tbh all the science/law people at usyd I know say that science is harder and that physics/maths/stats make law a walk in the park in comparison.

Law probably mark harder, that's about it. Though I'm not sure if this is even true anymore since science got rid of scaling last year.
 

isildurrrr1

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Just because the standards of achieving a HD is higher, doesn't objectively mean it is 'harder' or requires higher intellectual capability.

Those who graduate with a 90+ WAM in engineering are in the top 50 in the entire engineering cohort of all years and all majors combined. That's the top 50 out of 10,000 students. Break that up into the actual graduating year, and that is about the top 10 out of around 2500 students.
you get a 80 WAM in law you can apply for oxferd bcl and be a gun.

Tbh people shouldn't circlejerk a degree. Law just requires a lot of time and dedication.
 

RivalryofTroll

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Yer tbh all the science/law people at usyd I know say that science is harder and that physics/maths/stats make law a walk in the park in comparison.

Law probably mark harder, that's about it. Though I'm not sure if this is even true anymore since science got rid of scaling last year.
Law just likes to implement a bell curve system (in a cohort full of bright/capable students) and that's about it.

you get a 80 WAM in law you can apply for oxferd bcl and be a gun.

Tbh people shouldn't circlejerk a degree. Law just requires a lot of time and dedication.
Basically this.

A law degree isn't insanely difficult or anything but the amount of independent study you have to is significantly higher than the average student (arguably most students).
 

Aerath

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Not tryna start an argument here but there is definitely a real real difference in the difficulty of achieving high grades in law compared to some other degrees (generally).

Degrees like arts, which, for me at least (and SO many other people I know) are an absolute joke compared to law. I spend 0 hours studying for my arts degree weekly, and only invest time when assignments approach (and even then I usually start 2-3 days before its due) - and still manage to achieve HDs. Of course, there are majors under arts, such as languages, which I contemplate would require MUCH more effort to achieve good grades, but in general combining law with Arts is a good choice because most people don't need to put in nearly as much effort as they do with law. Again, same goes with more general degrees like Commerce and Science where you get to pick majors (although science has the disadvantage of higher contact hours).

Don't get me wrong, the degrees you listed there like engineering, architecture - even particular majors under Arts/Commerce/Science are conceivably as difficult as law. But I think it is misleading to say that a law degree is not any more difficult than any other degree at uni
You're not starting an argument - I think your point has merit, particularly for Arts, which is, for the social sciences side of things, pretty much law-lite. I did a BA as well, and you're right, I pretty much only studied around exam time, if that, whereas law was a constant struggle throughout semester.

In saying that, my original point still stands. Law is arguably a social science, to an extent, so, yes, if you're comparing Arts to Law, yeah, most would say that Law is more difficult. But query whether Law is anymore difficult than say, Science, or Engineering, or Medicine. In my opinion, it's just that law students bitch more - something that I know I'm incredibly guilty of.
 

loversinjapan

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obviously just opinion and based on personal experience

law - not difficult in and of itself but hard to grasp/stay on top of because of its complexity i.e. just the sheer amount of shit you have to read. if you have decent time management skills and an interest or desire to study it, it's not a death sentence - it's a challenge, but no degree is easy if you are trying to get the most out of it brah

arts - it can either be an absolute joke (you can do the absolute absolute minimum and still get by) or an amazing experience (if you go beyond the recommended readings, engage in the material and generate insight etc) but i've read texts and written essays the day that they're due and gotten hd's

education - someone please save teacher education
 

RishBonjour99

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Just because the standards of achieving a HD is higher, doesn't objectively mean it is 'harder' or requires higher intellectual capability.

Those who graduate with a 90+ WAM in engineering are in the top 50 in the entire engineering cohort of all years and all majors combined. That's the top 50 out of 10,000 students. Break that up into the actual graduating year, and that is about the top 10 out of around 2500 students.
Fairly sure I made it explicitly clear that law is not 'harder' or requires 'higher intellectual capability'? (pls see 'it is a lot of WORK, but conceptually, it isn't that difficult')

There are engo/law students who received first class honours in both so difficulty probably isn't too different.
 

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