Are you interested in the law, and want to pursue a career doing paralegal work? You’re not alone, many individuals nationwide are interested in a lucrative career as a paralegal. Paralegals are in high demand as indicated by the Bureau of Labor Statistics – in fact, the paralegal profession is expected to grow tremendously through the year 2014.
This article aims to answer several questions about paralegal work such as: Exactly what is a paralegal? What activities do paralegals do during the day? What is the average paralegal pay? And what credentials are required to be a paralegal?
Paralegals are sometimes called legal secretaries or legal assistants. However, unlike secretaries or executive assistants, paralegals have a knowledge base rooted in the law, and are much more specialized.
On any given day a paralegal may be involved with any of these activities: legal research, reading and reviewing articles on the law, file administration, document preparation, preparation for litigation activities, data retrieval, collection of judicial decisions, and many more activities not mentioned. They are basically responsible for everything and attorney would do on a daily basis — other than offer legal advice or represent clients.
Most paralegals work for law firms, but many also work for government institutions, real estate offices, banking institutions, corporations of all kinds, and many more. As such, the actual activity is a paralegal is responsible for can be very different depending on factors such as, the environment they work in, their position, the needs of their employer, and of course their background.
If you have any interest in seeking a career in the legal profession, a great choice for a job would be that of a paralegal. Paralegal work is a stepping stone to a more rewarding legal career and will afford you the ability to earn while you learn. There are an estimated 1000 law schools, organizations and colleges that offer training for paralegal work.
The pay grade for paralegals can vary heavily, like with any other field. This also depends on the responsibilities held by the position, past experience, education level, and many other variables. For someone just starting out as a paralegal, you can expect to earn $25,000-$30,000 or so, however this increases dramatically for the more experienced, as well as what area of the country you live. More experienced paralegals take home from $80,000-$100,000 in some cases. Paralegal degrees range from a simple certification after a few months of study to bachelors degrees and post grad degrees.
One of the benefits of paralegal work over a traditional assistant or secretary is the fact that you will never be bored, and always be carrying out different tasks throughout the days, weeks, and months of the year. Since attorneys obviously have lots of different clients with different situations and needs, the nature of these cases are quite unique, and thus, the role of the paralegal is this way as well. Paralegal work is never a boring or monotonous. As a result, most paralegals are very satisfied with their jobs and tend to have a high morale.
For more information on becoming a paralegal and paralegal work, visit http://www.ParalegalWork.org.
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