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As interest rates, inflation, and the cost of living place increasing pressure on young Australians, law students face the difficulty of balancing debt, financial security and securing a job in an industry that is becoming more and more competitive.
Pursuing a university degree involves significant financial, academic, and career considerations for Australian university students.
Completing a law degree can involve even more pressure, as students juggle one of the most strenuous and expensive degrees in the country, in an age where many young Australians want to become lawyers.
With an increasingly competitive graduate job market, many aspiring legal professionals are considering their employment prospects, career opportunities, and whether their educational investment is in fact worth it.
On average, the total cost of a law degree can reach up to $170,000 across the four years in which it is required to study.
Typically, many universities encourage students to combine law with another degree in areas such as commerce or arts, which can leave students with HECS-HELP debt totalling more than $200,000, not to mention an indexation rate that increases the debt each financial year.
These challenges are further compounded by rising interest rates, increasing costs and CPI indexation, placing additional financial pressure on students and graduates trying to enter the workforce.
In addition to such financial strains, managing study demands while acquiring practical legal experience can place extra stress on academic results, financial health and overall wellbeing.
Some aspiring lawyers have taken to social media and posted their experiences about entering the legal profession and the challenges that come with it.
None more so than a Melbourne law graduate who was fired just three weeks into her legal career after a viral TikTok criticising excessive workloads, poor work/life balance and burnout among junior lawyers, which she refused to take down.
Yet, even in an employment landscape that has arguably never been more challenging for aspiring legal professionals, there remain law students who are ambitious, resilient and willing to put in the work, actively seeking practical experience and pursuing opportunities to distinguish themselves in a profession where the job market has never been more competitive.
A competitive job market and career opportunities
While the financial risks of studying law and the competitiveness of the graduate job market are difficult to overlook, Lloyd & Lloyd Solicitors’ paralegal, Stuart Peters, offered a more optimistic perspective, highlighting how students can proactively strengthen their employment prospects through practical experience.
Working as a full-time student in his final year at UTS studying a bachelor of business and bachelor of laws, Peters understands the importance of gaining as much knowledge as possible before hopefully entering the job market as a full-time lawyer.
“The saturation of the current job market and the financial burden involved with undertaking a law degree are definitely considerations that law students make when studying a law degree,” Peters said.
“The competitiveness of the current job market, in particular, I think, increases the pressure/encourages legal students such as myself to seek legal experience working in or around the legal field in roles such as a paralegal to better prepare oneself for the workforce and therefore employment prospects.”
Peters recognised that combining legal studies with complementary disciplines can also help graduates distinguish themselves in an increasingly competitive profession, and reflected on his fellow classmates’ experiences who may not necessarily want to pursue the field they chose to study.
“A more uplifting factor about studying law in a time where the legal field is very competitive is the fact that a law degree can be combined with a variety of other degrees to give a student a nuanced combination of learnings and can be leveraged towards finding employment in adjacent legal fields,” Peters said.
“While I appreciate the difficulty of making informed decisions regarding which university degree and therefore, career path, is the best fit for a recent high school graduate, I think that it is prudent for young adults to be more informed as to the career paths available and industry prospects associated with a certain tertiary education stream.
“I say this as I have seen classmates fall victim to the sunk costs fallacy and feel trapped/obliged to spend years working hard to complete degrees qualifying them for a career they do not want to pursue.”
The financial pressures of debt and balancing work, study, and wellbeing
While the financial commitment of studying law is one consideration, the burden does not finish at graduation.
Gilbert + Tobin law graduate Sai Muthukumar reflected on how recent CPI indexation, rising living costs and HECS-HELP repayments can shape the financial decisions and career pathways of emerging legal professionals.
“CPI indexation increases mean graduates will take longer to repay HECS-HELP loans,” Muthukumar said.
“Higher indexation and rising costs of living pressure fresh law graduates to secure careers promising a financial return on a law degree.
“The HECS-HELP system does enable more students to undertake tertiary study; however, it can also steer graduates into commercially driven practice groups, limiting opportunities to explore the wider legal industry.”
In addition to these ongoing financial burdens, managing intense academic study requirements while simultaneously acquiring practical experience can place immense strain on a student’s wellbeing, personal life, and educational performance.
“Young legal assistants and law students balancing work, study and debt can suffer from financial stress, burnout and exhaustion,” Muthukumar said.
“Such assistants and students do often develop strong time management and communication skills, and future employers look favourably on candidates with practical experience.
“An active social life and exercise can help in supporting one’s wellbeing and reduce risks of burnout.”
Maintaining career optimism while managing the costs of education
Despite the financial and professional uncertainties associated with studying law, maintaining a positive outlook is essential.
Peters explained that keeping an open mind regarding future career options and acknowledging the importance of hands-on experience helps him keep a positive mindset while managing the money challenges that come with tertiary education.
“As a young university student fortunate enough to still be living at home, I am somewhat shielded from the immediate financial burden of accumulating HECS-HELP debt,” Peters said.
“From a career prospects perspective, I remain optimistic due to the fact that I am still very open-minded as to which specialty that I work in after completing university.
“Moreover, I am aware of the trending reality of working adults being increasingly employed across various areas and by various employers.
“This is encouraging as I would find the prospect of being stuck to a career path or practice area straight out of university to be quite daunting.”
However, financial considerations are not the only challenge facing law students, with Peters highlighting that financial stress is just one part of the equation for law students, emphasising how difficult it can be to manage paid legal employment alongside university demands without sacrificing academic performance.
“The main ‘cost’ of being a law student which I am – and many others are – juggling with is gaining meaningful work experience while also finding the time to attend university classes and complete and prepare for university assignments,” he said.
“Logically, many students will often experience the fact that their university results are negatively affected by their working commitments.
“However, one can remain optimistic due to the fact that working commitments in the legal field are directly beneficial to a student’s knowledge/skill set, but also their career prospects.”
