A LAW DEGREE IS A GOOD CATCH WORKING IN INTERNATIONAL FISHERIES POLICY
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by SARA CARBERY WHEN MINUK KIM LEFT TAURANGA BOYS’ COLLEGE FOR UNIVERSITY IN AUCKLAND, HE WAS HEADED FOR A CAREER IN MEDICINE, NEVER DREAMING HE WOULD WORK IN INTERNATIONAL FISHERIES POLICY. BUT AT THE END OF HIS FIRST YEAR OF PRE-MED, WHICH HE “REALLY DIDN’T ENJOY”, MINUK THOUGHT LONG AND HARD ABOUT WHAT HE WANTED TO DO WITH HIS LIFE.
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Having always been interested in the international community and how different countries interacted with each other, Minuk decided that advancing New Zealand’s interest in the international arena was something he’d like to do. Around the same time, he attended a seminar where a Korean-born New Zealand diplomat talked about her experience. A Korean-born Kiwi himself, Minuk was intrigued. “That is when I started to think about a policy career in the public sector. “ Switching from pre-med to a conjoint Law and Commerce degree, a five-year course of study, Minuk knew from the outset he wanted to
use his legal training to work in the area of international policy. With this in mind, he took elective papers on public policy, international law, international trade and international environment, including law of the sea and Antarctica which prepared him well for his current role as graduate policy analyst in the international fisheries management team at the Ministry for Primary Industries, where he has been working since he graduated last November. Minuk’s day-to-day role involves writing briefings for the minister and the senior leadership team, doing research pieces on a particular topic, engaging with international organisations such as the OECD, issuing export/catch documents to New Zealand
companies wishing to export, getting involved in organising visits from international delegations and working on long-term projects. Now 24, Minuk believes his law studies prepared him well for this work. “People often say that what you learn at university isn’t very useful in the real world but for me, my work revolves around implementation and operation of the case studies and issues I studied. “ Minuk did seven Year 13 subjects over Years 12 and 13 (calculus, statistics, English, classical studies, chemistry, biology and physics) plus some university papers through correspondence during his final year at school. While there are no pre-requisite subjects needed to get into first year law, he says, “Taking English-intensive subjects like English, history and classical studies definitely helps a lot.” Entry to Second year Law is extremely competitive, limited to 300 places this year at the University of Auckland. “You need good grades not just in the two compulsory first-year law papers but across all eight papers that you take in the first year. “ His advice to would-be law students is: don’t think a law degree automatically means you are going to be a lawyer. Law is very interesting and intellectually engaging, but I didn’t want to work as a lawyer. I wasn’t so keen on the adversarial nature of it. “A law degree opens up a world of opportunities. There is the traditional legal path that takes you to a law firm or being a judge’s clerk. But also like me, you can take your law degree to other fields. I have friends who are working in the policy area in the public sector, who have gone into consulting roles, auditing roles and in-house lawyer positions in multinational corporations overseas. “
INUK KIM: 4 M A law degree led to a career in international fisheries policy.
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