Career question - any paralegals here?

[skygazer]

I'm considering going back to school and paralegal seems like an option to me. At 46, I can't really justify spending 4 or 6 years in school because I need to be able to get to work and recoup my education expenses in the working time I have left. From what I understand, one can become a paralegal in as little as a year and a half.

What I'm wondering is whether a person my age would be hired, what kind of money one can expect to make in the field and whether or not it sounds like a sensible idea.

I have feelers out to a friend in the field and my sister who's a lawyer - I also will be checking out schools to see what i can find out but wondered if I'd be able to get any experienced insight here.

Thanks for any help you can give me.

[bettyellen]

1. kick for david from austin to see this......

he recently just made the witch himself, and now i can't remember his screen name....
it will come to me, and i'll be back!

[Midlodemocrat]

4. GOPisEvil - the one and only.

[bettyellen]

6. thank you! you see I've met David, and I forget since I haven't seen him in a while!

[Midlodemocrat]

7. I haven't had the pleasure, but I hope to.

He's wonderful.

[bettyellen]

10. he's a doll, and believe it or not - so is MATCOM....

strange but true!

[malta blue]

2. I am in a similar predicament,

but at 38, I have decided to apply to law school. I have a co-worker who is taking paralegal courses online, and I also have a friend who became a paralegal, and now the firm she is working for is paying for her to go to law school.

[skygazer]

3. Well, that was a thought also

Wondered if perhaps the paralegal could be a boost onto something more.

Thanks.

[malta blue]

5. I was thinking of the paralegal move first

but the cost for the online class that my friend is taking is well over 10k and I figured I should just apply that to law school.

Good luck!

[bettyellen]

8. PM GOPisevil- he is a sweetheart and just made the jump himself

i know he'd be glad to share some info with you!

[skygazer]

9. Thanks, I appreciate it

:hug:

[bettyellen]

12. tell him i said hi + a hug frm me! okay?

[ScreamingMeemie]

11. I looked into that before I decided to become a real estate appraiser.

It was difficult to make a decision, but this was more flexible and they (Banks, MB's, JQ Public) really don't care about age because 9/10 times they don't see you. Good luck :hi:

[skygazer]

13. Thanks MrsGrumpy

It's been a long time since I sailed these waters!

[WilmywoodNCparalegal]

14. First of all, congratulations on a fine career choice!

There is no wrong age to become a paralegal. Most employers -both corporations and law firms- appreciate people with the maturity and real-world experience that comes after having honed one's skills in the workforce.

As for training, it depends on a few factors: (1) where you want to work; (2) for whom you want to work; (3) what kind of law you want to work in; and (4) your background.

Now, here are the explanations.

(1)
If you want to work in a big city, then you will want to amass educational credentials before being hired. Note that a first year's paralegal salary will not be much (it varies, however, on education, background, etc.). You must weigh the cost of a paralegal education versus your earning potential.

(2)
Do you want to work for a sole practitioner, a large firm, the government (state or federal) or a corporation/bank? Sole practitioners, as well as smaller corporations/banks, will probably be needing a 'generalist' paralegal, one they can train to do a multitude of tasks in various legal fields; therefore, the importance of formal education vis-a-vis on the job training is lessened.

(3)
In my opinion, this is the most important factor in deciding whether to invest in paralegal studies. If you want to work in litigation, then you should know that there are countless litigation paralegals. This means more competition and lesser pay. If you want to get into intellectual property, that is where the money is! Of course, a background in the sciences and/or engineering will trump any paralegal studies anytime. In other words, many paralegals are hired solely for their experience in the sciences/engineering.

(4)
Your background is also important. If you already possess a bachelor's (or higher), then you may just want to take a few classes in legal writing, reasoning, etc. If you have worked in a particular field for many years, you may want to utilize that experience and translate it into a paralegal career (for instance, if you have worked in the sciences, then you may want to consider intellectual property).

In my case, I attended a community college for a two-year associate's degree in paralegal studies only because I had no visa to work in the US post college. As it happens, I fell into immigration law by chance and I've been doing this, now, for several years. Until recently, I worked at small and medium-sized law firms. Currently, I am working for a large well-known corporation known by its three-letter acronym that starts with I and ends with M :D

[skygazer]

15. Thanks so much for the great information!

This is very helpful. I'm bookmarking this so I can refer to it. Thanks again! :hi: