My Legal Counsel had a chat with me the other day, and asked if I would like to continue with my law degree. I told her that I am already taking up a further degree course for interest sake. Besides, having additional qualifications will help in a certain extent.
Initially, I chose English over Law because the former has always been my passion. Besides, after the stint of law studies, I knew I was not smart enough to continue. Which is why even up to now, I am pretty happy where I am and do not ever foresee myself as a practising lawyer. What matters is I gain knowledge and experience in my job and learn as much as I can.
However, lately, I have been thinking - is it better to go ahead and continue with law studies? Even if I pursue now, I will never be able to go to the bar and be recognised as a qualified practitioner. But then practitioners will be those who are going to work in law firms. In a lot of in-house positions, the company does not really need a practising lawyer to handle legal matters as long as the person has the knowledge and experience.
So if I am to gain knowledge and experience, why not just go ahead and get the qualifications? Knowledge and experience counts, but in the local context, qualifications count more, especially in terms of job prospects and remuneration. One who holds a law degree is treated differently as one who does not.
My experience during the weekend launch really taught me about how people view someone who is qualified and someone who is not qualified. Imagine if it is my boss, he introduces himself and gives his business card which reads "Head - Legal, Group Legal", compared to mine which reads "Legal Assistant, Group Legal", he will be the one whom people trust and more willing to talk to, whilst I will be the one whom people look down upon.
It is not a matter of looking down on myself or not being happy with my job, but public opinion do affect in a certain way. I can be so good in my job, so happy with what I am doing, earning praises and appreciation from the higher-ups (which is not really the case), but just because I do not have the required qualifications, opportunities will not come knocking and I will never be the one to get promoted.
I have checked out the course which I can pursue if I ever intend to continue law. It will be an external course, part-time, direct honours from one of the more established private schools. If I ever pursue and graduate from that course, I will never be a practitioner no matter how good my results are.
But if I pursue a course, it is not so much for prospects or being recognised. Rather, it is the learning experience and the knowledge and qualities picked up which I can apply to my area of work. If I am to continue in this line, I may just pursue it. Even if I do not get recognised as a qualified person, at least the theories and applications can be applied further to my work, and I can gain more knowledge and handle things better.
Initially, I chose English over Law because the former has always been my passion. Besides, after the stint of law studies, I knew I was not smart enough to continue. Which is why even up to now, I am pretty happy where I am and do not ever foresee myself as a practising lawyer. What matters is I gain knowledge and experience in my job and learn as much as I can.
However, lately, I have been thinking - is it better to go ahead and continue with law studies? Even if I pursue now, I will never be able to go to the bar and be recognised as a qualified practitioner. But then practitioners will be those who are going to work in law firms. In a lot of in-house positions, the company does not really need a practising lawyer to handle legal matters as long as the person has the knowledge and experience.
So if I am to gain knowledge and experience, why not just go ahead and get the qualifications? Knowledge and experience counts, but in the local context, qualifications count more, especially in terms of job prospects and remuneration. One who holds a law degree is treated differently as one who does not.
My experience during the weekend launch really taught me about how people view someone who is qualified and someone who is not qualified. Imagine if it is my boss, he introduces himself and gives his business card which reads "Head - Legal, Group Legal", compared to mine which reads "Legal Assistant, Group Legal", he will be the one whom people trust and more willing to talk to, whilst I will be the one whom people look down upon.
It is not a matter of looking down on myself or not being happy with my job, but public opinion do affect in a certain way. I can be so good in my job, so happy with what I am doing, earning praises and appreciation from the higher-ups (which is not really the case), but just because I do not have the required qualifications, opportunities will not come knocking and I will never be the one to get promoted.
I have checked out the course which I can pursue if I ever intend to continue law. It will be an external course, part-time, direct honours from one of the more established private schools. If I ever pursue and graduate from that course, I will never be a practitioner no matter how good my results are.
But if I pursue a course, it is not so much for prospects or being recognised. Rather, it is the learning experience and the knowledge and qualities picked up which I can apply to my area of work. If I am to continue in this line, I may just pursue it. Even if I do not get recognised as a qualified person, at least the theories and applications can be applied further to my work, and I can gain more knowledge and handle things better.
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