Law in UCC?

VivaLaVida

Hey, I'm in the sixth year at the moment and am starting to get a bit panicy about next year. No course strikes me as being something I'd really love to do. I have no real interest in science or business and so this has limited me quite a bit I think. I do really like languages, history, english and geography but am wary of studying languages alone as I really don't want to go into translation or anything like that. Have considered European Studies but am worried about the employment opportunites, aswell as having to take up a second language when I think one would do me just fine.

So this has led me into thinking a law/language degree might suit me? However, I'm worried that law itself and the job afterwards could often be..boring, for lack of a better word. Is it possible to get a good job with a law degree other than a solicitor or barrister? I haven't studied law obviously but think I might enjoy international law, human rights law etc. Commercial law I would probably dislike a lot though. Sorry I'm just rambling away now. Any advice would be great.

Mario007

have you considered law plus in UL? i know this is a ucc thread, but that programme might be of interest of you...
when it comes to ucc maybe international commerce? although you have said that commercial law would bore you. Maybe the new law(international) might be good for you, although its all english with one additional language, but you get to spend a year abroad so your language comes in handy then

VivaLaVida

Ya I've looked at law plus but don't want to move really, am much closer to UCC. Think law in UCC seems very good anyway, it's just that I'm not sure that I'll actually like it. Thanks for the reply.

Mario007

well with law its pretty much like with arts, but in more sophisticated way. you can use law to do pretty much anything...like i wanna do politics so i plan to study law to get me there...the point being lots of cool postgrad courses can be done with law. so you might wanna check out the postgrad options and see, cos law isnt just about becoming a solicitor or a barrister

meeayz

Hey , if you are not certain about what to do , perhaps you should take a year out and decide ? You don't want to end up doing something for 3/4 years that you're not very interested in !
Your life is not set out by what under graduate degree you do ! Many people do a post grad in a completely different area to their under graduate degree ! ! Qualifax is a great website to explore options , it really helped me !!
Good luck in the leaving !

Rebecca4welfare

Why don't you do an arts degree, you can do four subjects in first year that you love and you might have a better idea of which of the two you'd like to study then? You could do a language and politics or history or something .:)

Benhonan

Hey, well firstly I'd say if there's anything you'd love to do but people say you shouldn't then ignore them and do it. I often wonder whether or not I should have done sports studies or psychology to this day. If you're passionate about something you'll find a way to make money.

I do law myself and you sound like you're the same as me really. I have no intention to work as either a solicitor or a barrister, they both look equally awful. However I do love Human Rights law, and I'm hoping to do a masters in that and then go on to work with an NGO or maybe do a PHD. Of course someone threw a spanner in my long term plan which included being elected welfare officer *cough* but I'll get there in the end.

Law is a very broad course and it's very versatile, you could go on to work in journalism, accounting, banking etc. You might find you enjoy the work and go on to sit your FE1s and work in a law firm like my brother did, or you may find a specialist area that you enjoy and go on to work in that like I'm hoping to do, or you might decide it's not for you at all but still find that you're a lot more employable as a result.

Definitely do a language with it. It limits your options module-wise, but it gives you an erasmus year which people find to be the best college year. It also looks better on your degree and drags up your marks a bit. I still kinda regret not doing law and Irish. If not then I'd say apply for the BCL International course they brought in this year.

If you've any other questions let me know.

Aodan83

Is it true that when law students have an assignment due, theyll get the necessary book out of the library, use it, then tear out the relevant pages before returning it? Its a pretty cvntish thing to do like.
Not that you shouldn't do law or anything OP....

Fuascailt

Aodan83 wrote: »

Is it true that when law students have an assignment due, theyll get the necessary book out of the library, use it, then tear out the relevant pages before returning it? Its a pretty cvntish thing to do like.
Not that you shouldn't do law or anything OP....

It has been known to happen... but we dont all do it! Our last assignment, a book with an article went missing and someone who did have it photocopied it for everyone else- see we are nice.

Law is amazingly amazing. You should definetley do it!

captainspeckle

Aodan83 wrote: »

Is it true that when law students have an assignment due, theyll get the necessary book out of the library, use it, then tear out the relevant pages before returning it? Its a pretty cvntish thing to do like.
Not that you shouldn't do law or anything OP....

harsh! do they turn into ninjas when it comes to exams?:D

Aodan83

Fuascailt wrote: »

It has been known to happen... but we dont all do it! Our last assignment, a book with an article went missing and someone who did have it photocopied it for everyone else- see we are nice.

Fair enough so i spose. Still a pretty cúntish thing to do though!!

captainspeckle wrote: »

harsh! do they turn into ninjas when it comes to exams?:D

Hadn't thought about it, but now that you mention it, they seem to be moving a bit more...stealthily as the exams come closer!:eek:

VivaLaVida

Benhonan wrote: »

Hey, well firstly I'd say if there's anything you'd love to do but people say you shouldn't then ignore them and do it. I often wonder whether or not I should have done sports studies or psychology to this day. If you're passionate about something you'll find a way to make money.

I do law myself and you sound like you're the same as me really. I have no intention to work as either a solicitor or a barrister, they both look equally awful. However I do love Human Rights law, and I'm hoping to do a masters in that and then go on to work with an NGO or maybe do a PHD. Of course someone threw a spanner in my long term plan which included being elected welfare officer *cough* but I'll get there in the end.

Law is a very broad course and it's very versatile, you could go on to work in journalism, accounting, banking etc. You might find you enjoy the work and go on to sit your FE1s and work in a law firm like my brother did, or you may find a specialist area that you enjoy and go on to work in that like I'm hoping to do, or you might decide it's not for you at all but still find that you're a lot more employable as a result.

Definitely do a language with it. It limits your options module-wise, but it gives you an erasmus year which people find to be the best college year. It also looks better on your degree and drags up your marks a bit. I still kinda regret not doing law and Irish. If not then I'd say apply for the BCL International course they brought in this year.

If you've any other questions let me know.

Thanks for taking the time to write all that, was very helpful. How does the erasmus year drag up your marks out of curiousity?

Benhonan

The Erasmus year itself doesn't drag your marks up. In UCC you are marked to a potential 70% for your law modules, whereas you're marked to 100% for languages. So a mark of 67% would be an excellent grade in law whereas you might find yourself getting 70-80% in your language without killing yourself. Since your degree is based on both it'll drag up your overall marks. The Erasmus year in itself is pass fail, it's meant to be really enjoyable though.

Another good thing about doing law and a language is you have the option of making serious money in the EU working as a lawyer linguist translating laws in other EU languages. Irish in particular is a good one for this as there is very little competition.