Hi Lainee,Lainee said:
I do not believe that Commerce/Law graduates are 'flooding' the job market in the sense that it's 'going to happen'. This is particularly because commerce/law graduates have always been, in my experience, the most popular type of law graduates. It's great that you're exploring other options, although distinguishing yourself as a graduate lies not on the course that you do but how you do throughout your course. If your past experiences, interests and skills put you in good stead for commerce/law, then you're in a good position to build on that to create an exceptional profile throughout university and thus distinguish yourself as an ideal candidate.
I still maintain that you should stick to your interests and, despite having versatile interests, dig deeper into which you prefer. Remember that you're making a significant decision which will outline the next five years of your life and they're very contrasting choices.Lainee said:
Whilst I understand that your main interest is law, it's important to realise that you haven't yet started the degree and that there may be different aspects of the law that you like/dislike. In particular, you may love the law relating to an area that does not require you to become a lawyer. It's only during university, right up to applying for jobs, will you discover the options that are available to you. The range of options lean to a particular direction depending on the combination that you choose. In other words, you should pay more attention to the combination, rather than just law.
For example, and in regard to presenting yourself in the most positive light to potential employers, you should pursue your most preferred interest because you likely do not know who your potential employer is at this stage. I say this because the range of 'potential employers' will become evident once you pursue a particular area of interest (such as law) and the employer has business in that area, and you will most likely (at least preferably) seek employers that practice in your area of interest. In other words, employment is a two-way streak based on compatible interests.
Once you know better who you preferred type of employer is (commercial law firm, self-employed barrister, suburban law firm, government department - the list goes on and each top category splits into many others), you're then in a better position to pitch yourself and build a specific profile. Law is also not 'just law' because there are many different aspects (i.e. litigation vs transactional), as I've mentioned, and areas of law (from family law to corporate law). This is the area of risk because whilst you promote yourself to a particular area, you will then have to expect that you may find it tougher to sell yourself in a contrasting area i.e. barrister v solicitor.
I apologise in advance if I repeat myself from what I've written above. As a science/law graduate, I still had to distinguish myself from the other science/law graduates as there are still quite a lot of them. Commercial law firms in particular also seek graduates with commercial accumen, so as a science/law student, you will need to put in extra effort to strengthen that area.Lainee said:
Again, what I used to distinguish myself was not so much the course that I was in, but the extracurricular activities relating to both tertiary studies and life outside of university. These elements naturally provide a true answer to the questions of 'what distinguishes you as a science/law student from a commerce/law student' and/or 'what distinguishes you as a commerce/law student from other commerce/law students'.
I hope that helps Lainee. Best of luck!
David
