how hard is a law degree?

[beansmum]

Honestly. Am I mad to even consider it as a single mum, who will be living on the other side of the world from all her friends and family? Or is it ok? Any advice? It will be in NZ, so probably a bit different from doing it in the UK.

I did a law degree about 13 years ago it is certainly not that hard i found you need to work consistently.Will you have any support.

I don't think it is the degree itself that is hard (I know for a fact Dh did far less work on his law degree than I did on my teaching degree for example), it is just the competition to get onto the course that is so tough. There are a lot of peope going for limited places, so entrance requirements are high, especially at the red brick universities.

Well, that is the case in the UK. Not sure wabout in NZ.

It was very hard to get in at red brick when i did it also very hard to get pupillage but still think if you are determined could do it.As long as baby lets you sleep.Im afraid dont know about situation in new zealand

I am a law lecturer. I think the answer is that it depends where you take the course. I would rather not say where I teach as don't want to identify myself but my students work extremely hard and are constantly moaning that they have more work than students on other courses. We expect at least a 35 hr week but really you need to do more to do well, at least at certain points in the course. My university is, however, highly competitive and all the students are full time. If you could take a part time or modular course it may be better. Will your child/ren be at school?

Could I ask whether you intend to stay in New Zealand long term (I see that your profile says Edinburgh). The reason for asking is that if you intend to practice you should ensure that your degree is in the jurisdiction that you will be working in. You can transfer and NZ law is based on common law so there are many similarities but you would be better doing a distance learning course from a UK university (probably open university) if you intend to come back. Note too that Scottish law is very different from English law.

I don't mean to put you off but it can be tough and it is competitive so you have to be very motivated.

I am staying in NZ for good (as far as I know!) so that is one less thing to worry about. I should probably try and speak to someone in NZ about it, it does sound like the university system over there is completely different to the UK. Entrance to the first year of the LLB is open to all students with the right qualifications and there are no limits on numbers. They have much stricter requirements for entry to second year, basically you have to pass everything and everyone has to like you. Sooooo, I will definitely get onto the course if that's what I want.

Nobody has said I am completely mad, so I think I will see how the first year goes and then decide. I would do 2 Law courses in first year, and 5 other first year courses, probably English, history and Maori. Then in second year I could carry on with law or switch to a BA majoring in English or history, with a minor in the other one of those. Sound like a plan?

Go for it good luck.

Beansmum - that sounds fantastic. I think law is one of those things that it's difficult to know whether you'll enjoy till you start it as it's not something people tend to have studied at school. Having a taster along with other things before you make up your mind sounds brilliant.

I think a law degree is well worth having even if you don't become a lawyer as it teaches you lots of useful skills and makes people think you're clever for some reason!

Good luck with the decision and application.

It's bloody hard but worth it-I do about 45-60 hours study per week, depending on which tutors I have that week , and I am high 2.2, low 2.1 level. But I am doing it at a "hard" uni, so it might be different elsewhere xx

From the course info I have it does look a bit insane once you get into second year, but ds will be at school and after school clubs and there will be lots of other people struggling with it as well. I'm not stupid, I think I will cope. If I don't it wont be the end of the world, I'll switch to something else. If I REALLY enjoy it I could do a joint LLB/BA in 5 yrs. I would be getting pretty old by then though.

I never want to leave! I love it here, dd loves it, it's fantastic. You don't like the work when it's there but you miss it when it's not IYSWIM!!

I'm going to do it! I'll choose my courses carefully so that after first year I can continue with either a LLB, a BA or a LLB/BA joint degree. It's very strange to think that by the time I am finished ds could be 9! eek.

I know what you mean about the work, I've done a few OU courses since ds was born and I hate them, but when I'm between courses I don't know what to do with myself.

What I've done this year to take away some of the intensity next year is get the reading lists for october-june from this year's year 2 students, and get through the basic reading over summer. That way, when I go to lectures I know the subject matter so can take in the details properly, and when I get next year's reading lists I just need to re-read my notes and do the more recent/over-ruling cases and further reading, which should bring it down to about 40 hours a week, hurrah!

Ilovebunting - that sounds sensible. Is your ridiculously long week mainly just reading by yourself?

It'll be at the University of Canterbury. They do make you take a lot of other courses in first year, but after that it's just law for another 3 years which I'm not sure I would enjoy. I don't like the idea of just studying one thing so maybe a double degree would be a good idea. I am definitely going, I'm just not quite sure what I'm going to study when I get there but this way it looks like I wont have to decide straight away.

I did it at nightschool when working full time. It was hard but I did it (to the complete detriment of my social life!) but I didn't have kids then and lived on my own.

If you are not sure you will enjoy it then don't do it. Its very hard to learn all the cases, and there is a LOT of reading to do, some of it quite hard to wade through. I did it because I really enjoyed it.

If you study during the day and have childcare then it should be relatively easy to fit every thing in. Some people on my course had children, AND full time jobs, and were really frazzled each year by exam time.

I didn't become a lawyer as I finished my degree at 40 and they just want young un's for trainees, but it has really been helpful since both in work, private life etc and I am unspeakably proud of myself for doing it!

The thing is, I wont know if I'll enjoy it until I try! I'm not worried about all the reading and studying, I'm worried that I might get fed up with reading and studying the same thing without a break and without a chance to think about other things that interest me. I have nearly convinced myself that a double degree would be the best plan. I would be 31 when I graduated, is that too old do you think?

I'm quite excited now, I've got my first year courses sorted and there are a few different options for second year. If I go for the double degree I could study 4 subjects right up to 5th year, half law, then my arts major and two other arts subjects. I wouldn't get bored with that!

When/where did you do yours?

And do you think I am too old?

And how hard was it?

You don't REALLY read the same thing-obviously you just do law and it does overlap, but for example this year we did civil 1 (Roman Law), which is basically interesting history with a bit of law thrown in, Tort, which is great fun, mothercare have been sued a lot! Criminal, which is gross yet hilarious and constitutional, which is more about democracy, legal philosophy, the commons etc, so all v different once you get into them. I'm doing it at Cambridge so we occasionally get reading lists 8-10 pages long (dd gets shouted at a lot during those weeks ), but that is because they like to push their "average" students , but by the same token you can get away with reading part of the stuff on them and still know plenty, and the 18 y/o's are too busy finding boyfriends and getting drunk, so you are not losing too much by having your evenings wiped out by the dd!

I didn't find it 'reading the same thing' for the 4 years:
The various subjects are so diverse that I found it more like doing a lot of different subjects. Iirc I did contract, public law, criminal, land law, landlord and tenant (very useful!!!) European, IT law (which was very new at the time and really interesting). Agree with Ilovebunting that the contract and tort stuff is vital in all areas of my life!
Obviously the subjects might be different in NZ but the diversity will be the same I am sure. Ask for the sylabus at the college that will give you an idea. If you then pick subjects which will help in your 'private life' you will have a very useful qualification!

I can't beleive that 7 years after I finished it that I can't remember half the subjects

I have the course info, but tbh the names of the courses don't mean that much to me! The first year courses will probably give me a better idea of what sort of thing I want to do and how much variety there is likely to be.

Beansmum - go for it! Becoming a solicitor/barrister in New Zealand is similar to Australia, I think, and is a darn site easier than the final step here in the UK. (Pupillages and traineeships are a nightmare to get).

You will NOT be too old - don't worry about it!

Do yourself a favour, though, and try to get some work experience in the area which you are interested in over your summer holidays/ term breaks. The legal fraternity is a small club, and once they 'know' you, you have a much better chance to get a good job when you are qualified.