UWS? (1 Viewer)

[Ronaldinho10]

Is the B Business and Commerce (Advanced Business Leadership)/B Laws a respectable degree? Most people suggest that prestige of the uni in the end does not play a big role but apparently UWS is an exclusion... Would i be better off at UTS business or Macquarie? Also i am not familiar with their Law school, any recommendations are appreciated.

 

[BLIT2014]

You'd be better of doing Business at Macq or UTS


For law courses, prestige matters...

 

[Ronaldinho10]

You'd be better of doing Business at Macq or UTS


For law courses, prestige matters...

I thought so hmm, i want to do a combined degree but i am not sure where i can find a good combined degree with my ATAR of 93~ |

 

[enoilgam]

For Law, prestige does count to an extent, although the rest of your CV will have a greater influence. With Commerce, it doesnt really matter, unless you are going for IB maybe.

 

[Ronaldinho10]

For Law, prestige does count to an extent, although the rest of your CV will have a greater influence. With Commerce, it doesnt really matter, unless you are going for IB maybe.

Yeah i think i will be leaning towards a career in Commerce rather than Law. Just not sure if it is worth taking on a Law degree at UWS as i have not seen any reviews or given advice about it specifically. I am not looking for a career in IB but it does seem like going to any of the Top 4 unis would be more beneficial?

 

[enoilgam]

Yeah i think i will be leaning towards a career in Commerce rather than Law. Just not sure if it is worth taking on a Law degree at UWS as i have not seen any reviews or given advice about it specifically. I am not looking for a career in IB but it does seem like going to any of the Top 4 unis would be more beneficial?

It's all the same to be honest - a degree plus decent marks is just a check box item, it's hardly a distinguishing feature on a CV.

 

[Confound]

I'd pick B Business and Commerce (Advanced Business Leadership)/B Laws at UWS. It's a great double degree. Just do your best and stop worrying about prestige and stuff and wonderful things will come your way

 

[Ronaldinho10]

It's all the same to be honest - a degree plus decent marks is just a check box item, it's hardly a distinguishing feature on a CV.

If that is the case it gives me many options but deciding is still going to be difficult. The problem for me is that i don't specifically know what career i want to do, so i am searching for a course that i will enjoy but still leaves with me with various career options. Thanks!

I'd pick B Business and Commerce (Advanced Business Leadership)/B Laws at UWS. It's a great double degree. Just do your best and stop worrying about prestige and stuff and wonderful things will come your way

That piece of advice is so heartwarming aha! I've got an early offer for that particular degree but it hasn't been my favoured preference... How is the Applied Finance course at MQ? Was just looking at it, is it really difficult maths?

 

[RishBonjour99]

It's all the same to be honest - a degree plus decent marks is just a check box item, it's hardly a distinguishing feature on a CV.

No one going for IB from usyd/unsw expects their university to be a distinguishing factor because a good bulk of other applicants who make the cut in sydney offices will also be from those universities. I really wouldn't want the person flicking through CVs to have no idea about the differences between universities (specifically marking etc)

Sometimes, going to uws may not allow your box to be 'checked'. IB is a long shot, I am interning at a big 4 at the moment and out of a cohort of over 70 ish interns (55 in audit, the rest in others), there is 1 guy from uws and that was his 'special fact about me'. So no, it is not 'all the same' - the students, opportunities available to you etc, vary significantly between uws and 'top' universities.

OP, if you have your mind set on studying a combined degree, specifically with law, just do it at uws because its very easy to transfer after 1 year if you feel the need to.

 

[Ronaldinho10]

No one going for IB from usyd/unsw expects their university to be a distinguishing factor because a good bulk of other applicants who make the cut in sydney offices will also be from those universities. I really wouldn't want the person flicking through CVs to have no idea about the differences between universities (specifically marking etc)

Sometimes, going to uws may not allow your box to be 'checked'. IB is a long shot, I am interning at a big 4 at the moment and out of a cohort of over 70 ish interns (55 in audit, the rest in others), there is 1 guy from uws and that was his 'special fact about me'. So no, it is not 'all the same' - the students, opportunities available to you etc, vary significantly between uws and 'top' universities.

OP, if you have your mind set on studying a combined degree, specifically with law, just do it at uws because its very easy to transfer after 1 year if you feel the need to.

Wow, solid reply thanks. Umm yeah if do take it up at UWS I may try to just smash it and possibly look for a transfer? The only thing is that I don't have my mind set on studying law specifically but just set on the combined degree. I just see law as being a great asset towards my skill sets and I find that it would interest me. The only other degree that interests me is information technology, but I am not sure how beneficial IT would be with my commerce degree in comparison to Law...

 

[RishBonjour99]

Wow, solid reply thanks. Umm yeah if do take it up at UWS I may try to just smash it and possibly look for a transfer? The only thing is that I don't have my mind set on studying law specifically but just set on the combined degree. I just see law as being a great asset towards my skill sets and I find that it would interest me. The only other degree that interests me is information technology, but I am not sure how beneficial IT would be with my commerce degree in comparison to Law...

Is there a particular reason you are looking at a combined degree e.g. you may be under the impression that a single commerce degree isn't competitive enough (it is!)?
IT and Law are obviously very different. If you go into IT and you will have very specific technical skills. You go into law and you will have much broader and more applicable skills for general jobs etc. For example, in one of the projects I've been a part of, there is clearly a shortage of IT people in the firm who are always occupied and hard to get them assigned on the team - so there is definitely a growing demand for it. Note though that 'demand' for something should never dictate what you pick to do. If you are good enough at what you do, any employer will hire you regardless of how competitive that field may be. I just have 0 interest in IT and don't want myself to be too technically bogged down at this stage. If you do want good technical skills that are still applicable in a range of things - I would do commerce/engineering.

And the other thing you should probably note is that one of the reasons comm/law students looking to get into 'top' finance jobs are doing law (typically at usyd/unsw) is because it gives us time. 5 years to stock up on RELEVANT internships (i.e. I've just finished 2nd year at the moment and most of my mates are already interning at top firms - some through university (unpaid) and the exceptional ones get in despite penultimate year rule). It is still extremely hard to get a grad job at a management consulting firm or top IB but these sort of things along with solid marks, involvement in university and developing soft skills through those definitely help. The most important thing though is that the job market is much much broader than any particular profession and you are more likely than not to find a good grad role once you graduate.

 

[Ronaldinho10]

Is there a particular reason you are looking at a combined degree e.g. you may be under the impression that a single commerce degree isn't competitive enough (it is!)?
IT and Law are obviously very different. If you go into IT and you will have very specific technical skills. You go into law and you will have much broader and more applicable skills for general jobs etc. For example, in one of the projects I've been a part of, there is clearly a shortage of IT people in the firm who are always occupied and hard to get them assigned on the team - so there is definitely a growing demand for it. Note though that 'demand' for something should never dictate what you pick to do. If you are good enough at what you do, any employer will hire you regardless of how competitive that field may be. I just have 0 interest in IT and don't want myself to be too technically bogged down at this stage. If you do want good technical skills that are still applicable in a range of things - I would do commerce/engineering.

And the other thing you should probably note is that one of the reasons comm/law students looking to get into 'top' finance jobs are doing law (typically at usyd/unsw) is because it gives us time. 5 years to stock up on RELEVANT internships (i.e. I've just finished 2nd year at the moment and most of my mates are already interning at top firms - some through university (unpaid) and the exceptional ones get in despite penultimate year rule). It is still extremely hard to get a grad job at a management consulting firm or top IB but these sort of things along with solid marks, involvement in university and developing soft skills through those definitely help. The most important thing though is that the job market is much much broader than any particular profession and you are more likely than not to find a good grad role once you graduate.

I am not really under the impression that it is not competitive enough, i have been stuck on the idea because i am under the impression that it would broaden my options and career paths as a graduate. That is also taking into consideration the fact that i do not have a specific career path in mind at this stage. I do have quite an interest in IT, i took on 3 IT related subjects in the HSC hahaha (maybe a bit overkill) the only thing i am trying to figure out is if it is more of a hobby rather than a career i could take on. The only thing is i could not see myself programming or anything of that technical nature although i do enjoy many other aspects of IT.
Through the years at Uni i'll most likely be seeking and applying for internships , as you said though i would probably need time to do so (3 year degree would be tough to do so). Realistically with my ATAR i don't think i could enter a law course other than UWS, so whether this hurts my chances taking into consideration that i will most likely not be pursuing a career practising in Law. Acquiring experience and industry connections would be easier at a top uni like UTS apparently, so yeah many decisions to make. Thanks heaps for helping out as well man.

 

[enoilgam]

No one going for IB from usyd/unsw expects their university to be a distinguishing factor because a good bulk of other applicants who make the cut in sydney offices will also be from those universities. I really wouldn't want the person flicking through CVs to have no idea about the differences between universities (specifically marking etc)

As I said earlier, IB is probably one Business field where prestige comes into play. On the second point, for most professions, marks don't really play a big role in the hiring process. Once you have reached the cut-off, the business wont even look at it any more. Moreover, most recruiters only know the basics about uni marking systems and some dont know anything. I had to explain to a top tier law recruiter that the Australian system didn't work on "As, Bs and Cs".

Sometimes, going to uws may not allow your box to be 'checked'. IB is a long shot, I am interning at a big 4 at the moment and out of a cohort of over 70 ish interns (55 in audit, the rest in others), there is 1 guy from uws and that was his 'special fact about me'. So no, it is not 'all the same' - the students, opportunities available to you etc, vary significantly between uws and 'top' universities.

My point relates more to "prestige", but if we are talking purely opportunities, then UNSW/USyd definitely have the edge over UWS. You are exposed to far more things at those unis because employers naturally target them as they have the biggest talent pools.

All that being said, uni prestige is a factor for very few professions. Ive been to countless job interviews and hardly any employer has commented on my degree or even my grades (which are quite high). Even though I went to a lesser uni, I managed to secure an excellent opportunity which is extremely hard to obtain for most people 6 months out of uni. Ive also worked for two other major organisations and I've never felt that my uni held me back. I secure roles by working hard on my skills and experiences and to be honest, that's the major factor in securing work post uni.

 

[Confound]

That piece of advice is so heartwarming aha! I've got an early offer for that particular degree but it hasn't been my favoured preference... How is the Applied Finance course at MQ? Was just looking at it, is it really difficult maths?

The maths in the Applied Fiance course at Mq is really simple maths. The whole degree is pretty much a breeze