I am studying accounting but I can do a law degree conjointly (law is undergrad in NZ). I didn’t get in to second year law, they cut 3/4 of the class after one year in law, as my GPA was a little low, but I’m confident I can raise that and get in.
The only thing is that I didn’t like the first year law courses that much (I can’t say I overly enjoy accounting either), but some of my friends got in to law and many people studying accounting are also doing law. I don’t want to be left behind and miss out on good jobs in business because I don’t have a law degree. But I also don’t want to be a lawyer, I’m more aiming for Big 4 and other business related careers.
It is currently the ultimate utility degree. Become an accountant and you just get to count beans in all their many splendored varieties. (Not that there is anything wrong with that.) Get a law degree and even if you never practice law a day in your life (although there are a huge number of actual law careers) and you still have tremendous opportunities available to you. In the C-suites and business generally it is a self-defense measure.
Of course, it is entirely possible that I may be a tad biased.
yeah, what he said. there are a *ton *of things you can do with a law degree besides actual lawyerin’. i’d put it alongside the MBA and, in my business, the MPh as a super-useful utility degree.
that said, and i hate to be that guy, but . . . if you don’t particularly like accounting or law, you might find it’s a pretty long slog! i say that because i’ve just rounded the corner on 3 years into my PhD, and if you’re going to do anything that intense for that long, there’s got to be some strong internal motivation. anyway, good luck with it!
Ditto the others’ response. Also, a legal education is a good education to have. You learn to think critically and objectively . . . something I certainly didn’t learn while getting my undergraduate degree in U.S. History. It’s a versatile degree, and many employers (especially here in the U.S.) like hiring people who “know the law.”
That said, if you don’t enjoy the courses, you won’t excel as much as someone who likes them. It’s really a personal choice for you.
Become an accountant and you just get to count beans in all their many splendored varieties. (Not that there is anything wrong with that.)
I would disagree with that. I have a Canadian C.A and U.S, CPA and have worked around the world. I am now in Bermuda in a management role, far flung from the days of counting beans. A law degree is a good education but an accounting degree also gives broad opportunities in business, education, management, not for profit work etc.
I have worked in Africa in a non-profit (almost all U.S based NPO’s scramble for some accounting/finance support), in South America for a large company on a 2-month basis while travelling, and in various overseas markets.
If you are interested in travel, an accounting designation is more desireable as law tends to limit you to the jurisdiction of your degree. A C.A (for commonwealth countries) and a CPA allow you to work almost anywhere.
I know lawyers who don’t practice law but are doing other interesting things. One guy even represented some big name rock bands getting them gigs. What else could I do with my chiropractic degree? Not much. I’d never want to be a lawyer, but the degree itself could open doors to other areas.
I agree as well with the general thoughts being shared. I’m in my second year of law school, and I don’t intend to be a “practicing attorney”, rather, a “recovering law student”. For me, this was a step that would open doors and provide new skills to continue my career path (I use that term very very loosely).
That being said, I have been very disappointed in the entire law school experience. Law school has not been the bastion of intellectual stimulation, philosophical debate nor critical thinking that I had envisioned. Perhaps it once was, but with few exceptions (small classes with phenomenal professors who have a niche), most classes are dull and unstimulating. The majority of professors no longer encourage discussion (rather they actively discourage debate) and simply seek for the readings to be regurgitated in class, classmates seem unprepared and uninterested, and, on a personal note, I have issues with many facets of the american legal system.
However, I have not lost sight of what I hope to accomplish with this process. I am planning on completing an L.L.M. degree in International Law immediately after my J.D. Rather than remain in the U.S., I will attend school in France (which has a civil law system), in order to both study a system different from ours, and to also learn from those with a different world view (and hopefully different teaching view) than I have found here. I think this will best prepare me for a return to the “real world.”
Good luck in your decision. I think you will find the law degree useful, regardless of what path you follow.
You are the perfect candidate for a law degree. Seriously, if it’s anything like the US, you can’t go wrong with having a law degree. I got my law degree thinking that even if I didn’t like practicing law, it would be as good or better than an MBA to advance me from engineer to executive.
hey Einstein, instead of having two degrees in areas that you apparently don’t like (your words) and are not very good at (poor grades) find something that you are actually good at and like. The last thing anyone wants is a shitty lawyer. The last thing any company wants is a shitty accountant. The last thing you would ever want to be is a combination of shitty lawyer and shitty accountant.
Law school is like an Ironman. You better not start it unless your are really committed to finishing it. Otherwise, you almost certainly won’t finish it.
Law school is like an Ironman. You better not start it unless your are really committed to finishing it. Otherwise, you almost certainly won’t finish it.
I know lots of people who went to law school with no desire to be a lawyer. Also, The OP said he’s in New Zealand, where law is undergrad, not a professional degree.
Don’t know about NZ, but in the US a law degree is not worth it unless you want to be a lawyer. Yes, there are lots of folks w/ law degrees here who end up in other fields, some very lucrative (at least formerly lucrative) like private equity, IB, real estate development, but those folks could have easily gone into the same fields without the law degree. Lawyers end up successful in other fields because lots of highly motivated, intelligent people go to law school – not because of the law degree.
hey Einstein, instead of having two degrees in areas that you apparently don’t like (your words) and are not very good at (poor grades) find something that you are actually good at and like. The last thing anyone wants is a shitty lawyer. The last thing any company wants is a shitty accountant. The last thing you would ever want to be is a combination of shitty lawyer and shitty accountant.
It seems to have worked for President Obama. Law degree, a little social work, get hooked into the fine Illinois political machine and presto…President of the United States.
For me, this was a step that would open doors and provide new skills to continue my career path (I use that term very very loosely).