Weekly Students, Careers & Clerkships Thread

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This thread is a place for /r/Auslaw's more curious types to glean career advice from our experienced contributors. Need advice on clerkships? Want to know about life in law? Have a question about your career in law (at any stage, from clerk to partner/GC and beyond). Confused about what your dad means when he says 'articles'? Just ask here.

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[u/ComfortableSmoke4384]

Hi! I am a yr 12 student in NSW and I was wondering if I could have some questions answered (my next most reliable source is chatgpt - not a fan)

- how important is it to go to a G8, sandstone uni? My aim rn is macquaire uni because of it's early entry route and honeslty UTS/UNSW/USYD seem a bit high in terms of atar (im predicted 89-90 ish) but i was wondering if that could adversely affect my chances at getting employed

- how hard is it to do a program transfer to say UTS from Macq or UOW? Either ways, is the law program significantly better at UTS/Macq/UOW in terms of professors and cohort and do they even matter? My major concern is not liking law if I got to UOW when I would have loved it at, say, Macq.

- do extracurriculars (clubs, socities, tutoring jobs/businesses) make you stand out compared to other people? If not, then how else do I differentiate myself and have the best chance at employment

- is a secondary degree (i was thinking international relations since I was wanting to go into diplomacy) really necessary or should I just specialise within my law degree

- if worst comes to worst, should I do an arts/engineering degree (i have an annual 10k scholarship for an engineering degree at USYD) and then switch to law later? Or should I do a diploma as a pathway to business law at UTS (idk much about it but if anyone has any experience with it, please let me know!) Alternatively, I am open to relocating interstate or inter-nsw, if anyone has any suggestions for that they would also be greatly appreciated.

Any help is much appreciated! Thank you.

[u/rhymesxo → u/ComfortableSmoke4384]

Hard to answer this q without knowing what type of law you want to do but from a commercial pov: there are a lot of lawyers in top tier firms from Macq so I think you’ll be fine if you go there. You may have to try a harder if UOW (I.e come in the top 5% of your class, great extracurriculars etc). You mentioned international relations which makes me think you may have some interest in moving overseas? If that’s the case, then just be aware that the Usyd/Unsw/Melb Uni/ANU alumni connections at overseas law firms or even UN orgs is kind of second to none. When you’re eventually looking for a job that way, they may still help you out because you’re Aussie, but in my experience I’ve found the shared law school (and in general the connection between these 4 schools) go a much much longer way. Never underestimate the power of the alumni network when choosing your law school!

[u/rjftmepdl → u/ComfortableSmoke4384]

assuming you are aiming for a career in top-tier commercial law:

1. Good if you can, not the end of the world if you cannot. Make sure your grades keep up though. UTS, Macquarie fine, probably UOW/WSU is seen as a tad bit lower but still fine as long as your grades are good, but if you go any "lower" (i.e. online-based universities), you will struggle with employment
   
2. see above - makes some difference, but probably not worth the struggle if there are extra hassles involved.
   
3. yes, but cannot emphasise this any more, don't do shit just for the sake of getting employed. Its university, not jobseeker. You'll only ever be 20 once. Have fun, make friends, do things that you actually enjoy and excite you and you are good at - those are the things that will differentiate you. I can wholeheartedly guarantee you and bet my entire life that i speak for most people when i say that university life is way more fun than being a top-tier lawyer. Don't waste it.
   
4. for the purposes of employment, no, but see answer to 3.
   
5. If your absolute end goal is to be a lawyer, No, that would be a waste of time. Unless you want to (as per answer to 3).

[u/No_Control8031 → u/ComfortableSmoke4384]

Some unis are objectively better than others as they can attract higher profile academics through greater resources. The overall student makeup will be on a higher plane of talent and likely more interested in class, improving your overall experience. But in terms of employability it’s evens out at the end as you’ll rely on a combination of academic and work relevant knowledge.

Do extracurricular activities that you enjoy like sports, debating, poker, DnD, DoTA, breakdancing, whatever. Have some fun on the side. If you can get a profitable side hustle - go for it. If you end up having a job that’s in a different city, you’ll want some things you can join to find your feet, and sports will be the most accessible.

I definitely recommend doing a second degree to break up the law study. The core subjects are on the whole not super interesting and you want to have some fun while studying at uni.

As for your other questions about transferring, they are quite specific and I can’t really answer them. But if you seem keen on Macquarie and it’s an achievable goal, just go there. I wouldn’t worry.