Don't. Do. It.

It is highly overrated as a career.

Essentially, entrepreneurs are strikers, bankers and corporate people are mid field while lawyers are ball keepers.

Go into something else: For e.g. Business opens a lot more doors. One of my best friends got both law and business but decided to stick to law for the "prestige". He regrets it tremendously although he is currently doing his training contract at one of the big 4 firms.

The nature of work that you do is really doglike for the first few years. It can be things as stupid as counting the numbers of pages manually in a document. If you see yourself doing such doglike work, go ahead but don't say I never warned you.

Hi, Thanks for the reply. I originally intended to do a business degree but I felt that i was too generic. There is also a glut of ppl with a biz degree including those from private uni.. I considered doing an accountancy degree instead as I wanted a specialised degree. However, I realised that the nature of the auditing industry is similar to that of the legal one - long working hours etc. I'm really in a dilemma.. Also, isit really that hard to get a training contract? If i fail to secure one directly after graduation, is there anything i can do to get one? eg. work a few years in the industry as a paralegal before leveraging on working experience to land a training contract

Maybe before we answer your questions, you could provide the rest of us with a little more context? What were your motivations for applying to law school in the first place? You mentioned that you were worried about the long working hours and the current job market. Surely, you knew about these things before you applied. Why did you decide to apply?

He said he realized the long working hours. That doesn't mean he is worried about it.

As for the other response, I agree, lawyers are the ball keepers. But you don't need to heed his warning. Go for the law degree if you want the prestige. But I'll tell you upfront, I know the nature of the job and I for one do not look up to them because of their prestige.

I think this prestige associated with the law degree comes is a perception born in earlier years in the 80's by our parents but not relevant now.

I'm fine with long working hours. I'm just worried about the prospect if I do not do well enough to secure a training contract

Are you studying law because of the prestige, and if so, from whom did you get the idea that studying law is prestigious? Parents, friends, newspaper, employers?

I think you will most likely get a TC unless you're unbelievably lousy. In that case, like with any industry, prepare to dig a hole and hide.

I was the poster who advised you against doing law but you seem to have your head wrapped around it like it is something super prestigious. Go ahead and do it then? There isn't a need to keep thinking "what if I cmi", "what if I am cui"--> if you suck, there's no running from that fact. Unless you're a very pretty girl?

Good luck

Perhaps the prospective law student wishes something more tangible when the term 'long hours' is raised from time to time.

I've got friends in the big 4 telling me an average day is 11 pm. When deadlines are looming, 3-4 am days can be expected, and they still turn up to work by 9am. Or simply it's best to stay in the office overnight so that you can get the extra hours of sleep.

Oh, and they burn weekends too.

I've witnessed at one of the big 4, the tea lady comes around with snacks for 'tea time' at 6 pm. Going home at 7ish for these folks is considered as a half day.

Not to dissuade anyone from taking up this line of work, but I do admire those who are able to make it through the years under these conditions.

How much are your friends getting for doing such work that requires long hours? SG$9k a month? Your answer will give the TS a better understanding of his pay out.

Big 4 lawyers are getting anywhere between 5-5.5k

But the bonuses are pretty low, usually 1-2 months for juniors.

It is really not worth it if you're in it for the money. The salary is peanuts for the long hours that you work.