How do my career interests link with this field?
Read the following statements and choose the statements that apply to you. The more statements you choose that apply to you, the higher your interest in this area.
Law
(main motivation: serving and protecting society)
- applying rules and regulations
- influencing people
- legal matters
- persuading people
- protecting others
- social justice
- solving difficult situations
Career fields, possible job titles and work environments
The following is a list of career areas linked to law. Click on the career field to read more about the field, possible job titles and work environments. Occupations in high demand according to the National List of Occupations in High Demand: 2024 are marked with an *.
Remember that this information is a starting point for exploring options related to specific career fields. You will need to expand your research as you continue your studies. Download the Career research document to learn more about finding information related to your career decision.
Law
In Law, we focus on applying principles and procedures as determined by legislation. The legal field is diverse and could include specialisation in various areas such as mercantile, criminal and private law. There are many different sub-specialisations in each of these fields, such as conveyancing, entertainment law, labour law, immigration law, intellectual property law, electronic commerce law, family law and environmental law. Additional requirements exist for admission to practice as an advocate and attorney.
Related Job titles
- Administrative lawyer
- Advocate
- Adjudicator *
- Arbitrator
- Associate legal professional *
- Attorney *
- Case manager
- Commercial rights manager
- Compliance officer
- Compliance specialist
- Conciliation and arbitration commissioner
- Court clerk/deputy court clerk
- Court operations director
- Court specialist
- Courtroom clerk
- Family advocate
- Judge
- Intellectual property practitioner/lawyer
- Law clerk
- Legal administrative officer
- Legal advisor
- Legal assistant
- Legal manager *
- Legal researcher
- Legal secretary
- Legislation facilitator
- Legislator
- Magistrate
- Maintenance officer
- Master of the High Court
- Mediator
- Negotiator
- Paralegal *
- Patent attorney
- Public prosecutor
- Registrar
- State attorney
- Trademark attorney
- Tribunal member
Possible work environments related to law
- Courts (eg Constitutional Court, Supreme Court of Appeal, High Court, Labour Courts, Divorce Courts, Land Claims Court, Maintenance Courts, International Criminal Court (ICC)
- Department of Justice and Constitutional Development
- Government institutions
- Legal firms
- Legal departments of banking institutions, insurance companies, government institutions and estate agents
- Magistrates’ offices
- Other government departments, as a legal officer or legal advisor
- Public and private companies as a legal adviser
- Self-employed (attorneys and advocates)
- Research Institutes
- Local and International NGOs
Find out more about careers in this field
Protection Services and Criminal Justice, Corrections and Security
Careers in this field relate to criminal justice, corrections and security. It includes correctional services, criminology, criminal science, police science and security management.
Related Job titles
- Administrative officer
- Correctional parole officer
- Correctional service officer
- Correctional services manager
- Crime analyst
- Crime information analyst
- Crime prevention consultant
- Criminal intelligence analyst
- Criminal intelligence specialist
- Criminal records centre official
- Criminologist
- Criminologist as offender profiler
- Criminologist and Forensic criminologist
- Detective
- Forensic analyst
- Fraud examiner *
- Intelligence analyst
- Intelligence and criminal research specialist
- Intelligence officer
- Investigating officer
- Investigator
- Lecturer (university)
- Police official/officer
- Police manager
- Policy analyst
- Private detectives and investigator
- Programme coordinator
- Public manager
- Researcher
- Risk manager
- Security consultant
- Security manager
- Security risk assessment manager
- Security services manager
- Security officer *
- Security practitioner
Possible work environments related to protection services and criminal justice, corrections and security
- Correctional institutions
- Courthouses
- Department of Correctional Services
- Forensic investigation organisations (SAPS, private and corporate forensic investigation units, and forensic laboratories)
- Large companies with security, intelligence and compliance divisions
- National, provincial and local government departments
- Non-governmental organisations (NGOs)
- Research organisations
- Retail and wholesale distributors
- Self-employment as a consultant
- Social services
- South African Police Services
- Specialised security companies
- Research Institutes
- Local and International NGOs
Find out more about careers in this field
- Download the Criminology @ Unisa brochure to learn more about preparing yourself for career opportunities in this field.
- Download the Career research document to learn more about how you could find information related to your career and study choices.
Further career information