Not sure if I want to do law anymore (1 Viewer)

[timeslowsdown]

Basically I'm enrolled in science (advanced)/law @ UNSW. I'm passionate about the environment (climate change in particular), and hence I'm planning to major in climate systems science. But my real passion is to apply this knowledge through policy formation + consultancy on a government/company level. I chose to do the law for this reason and because I also have an interest in how society works/is structured. But I'm having MASSIVE second thoughts. I'm not sure if I'll find it interesting or it will be necessary for the kind of work I want to do. I know I can always drop down to a single degree but I just feel stressed about it all.

In addition, I know it's very early, but I'm interested in doing a masters in environmental law at usyd. If I do find law ok, do you think doing a 6 year combined degree (includes honours for science) AND a 1 year masters is a waste of time? Do you think a law degree is necessary, or will my science degree + masters suffice?

I'm not asking for reassurance that I've made the right decision because I'm totally unsure. I want honest opinions. Thanks

 

[OzKo]

You're probably better off dropping the Law component of your degree and then doing the masters after you finish your Science degree.

You don't really need to be lawyer to be involved in policy and consulting.

 

[tattoo2200]

Note having a law degree from a prestigious university provides more versatility when applying for certain jobs. For example skills that you develop whilst studying law are not only applicable in the court but also can be transferred to other more important aspects of life for example communication or thinking outside the box. Employers all know how useful and valuable having a law degree is and enables you to stand out. Especially if you are looking a job in policy and consulting it is EXTREMELY helpful to have a law degree especially from UNSW. And if you dont like it you can always drop it. Always remember VERSATILITY is very important

 

[Aerath]

If you don't want to be a lawyer, there's no shame in dropping your law degree. If you want to be a lawyer, awesome - if not, that's fine as well. It won't restrict your options if you don't want to be a lawyer.

 

[deswa1]

You haven't started uni yet... Why not give it at least a few weeks? Don't go in with the mindset you'll hate it because then you will

 

[shinebright]

You don't need to study law to be involved in policies or consultation. It's not a compulsory requirement.
From what I hear from other people, if you want to do law you need absolute conviction that law is what you want to study to enjoy it. Considering the readings and the work involved, I guess this makes sense. Having a half-hearted mind towards law wouldn't be the smartest thing to do, I mean say compared to arts (flexibility) compared to law where it is quite focused.
I do think that masters is a bit unnecessary, if you're doing honours for science as well. If you're already at unsw, why not do the masters there?

 

[OzKo]

You don't need to study law to be involved in policies or consultation. It's not a compulsory requirement.
From what I hear from other people, if you want to do law you need absolute conviction that law is what you want to study to enjoy it. Considering the readings and the work involved, I guess this makes sense. Having a half-hearted mind towards law wouldn't be the smartest thing to do, I mean say compared to arts (flexibility) compared to law where it is quite focused.
I do think that masters is a bit unnecessary, if you're doing honours for science as well. If you're already at unsw, why not do the masters there?

Well if the passion is Environmental Law, it would make sense to do a course which is heavily based around this.

The issue with a standard LLB/JD is that they teach you a wide variety of things which may not be too relevant to Env. Law.

 

[timeslowsdown]

Well if the passion is Environmental Law, it would make sense to do a course which is heavily based around this.

The issue with a standard LLB/JD is that they teach you a wide variety of things which may not be too relevant to Env. Law.

Yeah that's what I'm thinking. So on a practical level, do you think the LLB is unnecessary for me? I'm finding it really hard to determine what degrees are needed for the field I want to get into.

 

[OzKo]

Yeah that's what I'm thinking. So on a practical level, do you think the LLB is unnecessary for me? I'm finding it really hard to determine what degrees are needed for the field I want to get into.

Personally I think it is.

Usually I would say that if you're interested enough, it's always good to have a Law degree under your belt but at the moment you're a bit unsure and you're looking at an extra year of uni (if we count Bach. + Masters as four years) which will probably be miserable if you're not into it.

I would personally recommend keeping Law for maybe the first few weeks to see if it's for you while ALSO talking to industry professionals and getting advice from them as well.

 

[shinebright]

Also, why not consider other universities? For example, UTS and Macquarie both have environmental law (I think, might wanna check up on it). Since the degree is specifically environmental law, I would assume it would be much more relevant to what you want to do than per say science law.

 

[timeslowsdown]

Also, why not consider other universities? For example, UTS and Macquarie both have environmental law (I think, might wanna check up on it). Since the degree is specifically environmental law, I would assume it would be much more relevant to what you want to do than per say science law.

Yep I've already checked out macquarie. They do a bachelor of environment/laws. The bachelor of environment is basically a bachelor of science but more specific; its the same as a science degree at UNSW i.e you can major in climate science, but also has mandatory environment units. I compared the two, and they are essentially the same. I chose UNSW over macquarie because the climate science research centre is probably the best in Australia. But the science part isn't the problem because macquarie's program is still a combined degree with law.

 

[timeslowsdown]

Personally I think it is.

Usually I would say that if you're interested enough, it's always good to have a Law degree under your belt but at the moment you're a bit unsure and you're looking at an extra year of uni (if we count Bach. + Masters as four years) which will probably be miserable if you're not into it.

I would personally recommend keeping Law for maybe the first few weeks to see if it's for you while ALSO talking to industry professionals and getting advice from them as well.

Thanks for the advice - yeah I think I'm going to try it and try to find someone at the uni to talk to

 

[chewy123]

At UNSW law I think there's only this 1 environmental law subject which I enrolled in out of desperation but later dropped. To be honest the stuff you learn at uni will have very little impact on what you will do in real life. That environmental law elective is probably just about ~1% of the laws that exist. A law degree is definitely not 'necessary' but like someone else said it's the lawyerly skills that will make you attractive. Law degree helps train the way you think..etc.etc. and it will be useful but not essential.