Hi,
I'm a 23 year old Singaporean male this year and have just been offered a Bachelor of Commerce and Bachelor of Law combined degree(5yr course) from the University of New South Wales in Sydney. However, I've yet to accept my offer as there are still some issues I'm unsure of which is holding back my decision..
Don't ask me why I'm starting my undergrad studies so late.. to cut the story short I took a worthless diploma, served
NS, then went on to complete the UNSW Foundation program with decent enough grades to get into law school.
My main concern is whether it is worth it for me to take up this 5 years combined degree as by the time I graduate, I'll probably be around 27. I consider that really old as most of my peers will be already working and probably scaling up the corporate ladder.
My next question is how this Australian law combined degree compares to Singapore uni grads, in terms of
job prospects and salary wise. From what I can see most of the legal practitioners in sg are from
NUS and UK law schools.. I've not really known of anybody from Aussie law schools yet. This comm/law combined degree is definitely more valuable and relevant in Australia than in Singaopore. However, I'm not implying that UNSW is a lousy school as its well known internationally especially in Asia, and is also a G8 uni in Aus. It's Commerce faculty (Australia School of Business) is also arguably one of the top in Australia.
If I do not choose the Commerce/Law degree, I'll opt for the double major Bachelor of Commerce which can be completed over 3 years FT or even less than 3 years if I take summer course. On the other hand, I can only opt for one commerce major for the 5 years Comm/Law degree.
This is how it goes.. If I choose the Commerce degree, it will be double major over a course of 3 years. For the combined degree, the first 3 years will be on Commerce and Law concurrently and I'll be awarded a Bcom degree (1major) after 3 years. The 4th and 5th year will be solely concentrated on Law elective units.
I aspire to work in the Banking industry, or even become a corporate lawyer (thats if I can make it) and I think that a commerce/law degree is as valuable as it can get. But the age thing is turning me of..
Sorry for the lengthy post and thanks for reading
Hope to hear valuable feedbacks from you (experienced guys) out there