Ever thought about going back to uni to study law? If you’ve hesitated because you think you’re ‘too old’, consider this: at UTS, the median age of students enrolled in the Juris Doctor is 28.
This three-year postgraduate law degree is for professionals from non-law backgrounds.
Many students enrol after establishing their careers in other sectors – everything from the arts and mathematics to journalism and nursing. The result is a mature student cohort seeking a mid-career change or chasing other opportunities for growth.
When it comes to the law, experience matters
Emmanuel Georgouras was one of those students. When he started the UTS Juris Doctor at the age of 24, he had already carved out a successful career as a business acquisitions manager in another industry. Far from being a barrier to his aspirations to work as a lawyer, that experience turned out to be instrumental to his future success.
“I was lucky enough to have a certain amount of commercial and business acumen before I came into law,” says Emmanuel, now a banking and finance lawyer with Corrs Chambers Westgarth.
“I felt like I had a lot of insights into the business world that someone who just finished an undergraduate degree probably wouldn’t have.
“From my perspective, as someone who’s 29 and had a previous career, I’ve seen what else is out there and I know this is for me. I’m very satisfied.”
Find out more about the UTS Juris Doctor
Embracing the law in a non-law career
A legal career might be the obvious next step for a law graduate, but it’s far from the only professional opportunity that the Juris Doctor can lead to. Luisa Vumbaca, a marketing and communications expert at Envirolab Group, saw the UTS degree as a way of expanding the scope of her existing role.
“Even working as a junior marketer, my role increasingly encompassed legal compliance and accountability,” says Luisa, who was in her 30s when she completed the Juris Doctor in 2018.
“I got to a point where I wanted to formalise this experience so I could continue to act as a key asset and provide benefit to the organisation.”
Off the back of her degree, Luisa’s position title was upgraded from Marketing and Communications to Marketing, Communications and Legal Compliance. The result is a role with increased scope and responsibility that calls on every aspect of her skillset.
Professional growth – and personal, too
Expanded career opportunities were important to project management professional Naomi McKeown, but they weren’t her only reason for enrolling in postgraduate law at UTS.
In her mid-40s and ready for change, Naomi saw the process of returning to university study as an opportunity to prove something to herself.
“I had originally wanted to do law when I left school and I missed out by just a few marks,” she says.
“More than 20 years later, I had achieved a lot in my own right. I thought, I’m going to bite the bullet and get myself that law degree.”
Now in her last session of study, Naomi says the degree has given her a new perspective on life, learning and herself.
“The degree has taught me a way of thinking and a way of finding the answers and working through a logic process to resolve an issue,” she says.
“It just changes the way I look at the world.”