it takes 7 yrs to recoup suss jd tuition fees for Singaporeans. singaporeans jd total tuiton fees is just 38.6k. but foreigner is 160k.
say you are a 25 yr old paralegal earning 2.2k per mth with 3 mth bonus, ie 33k per annum.
you quit and embarked on full time jd for 4 yrs, incurring 38.6k tuition fee.
you would have lost income of 5*33k = 165k over 5 yrs (4 yrs law course + ~1yr to be admitted to bar, depending on supply of fresh grad then, training contract may not come with allowance)
so total loss is ~210k sgd (165k + 38K tuition)
at age 30, once you admitted to the bar, and earns a respectable 4.5k as a family or criminal lawyer.
so net gain is 4.5k - 2.2k (ur pay if you stayed as paralegal) = 2.3k per mth
you need around 90mths or 7 years to break even to cover that 210k loss.
at sgd 160k it is not worth it, but at sgd 38k tuition it is.
smu jd is too pricey.