If you are thinking about becoming a paralegal, you will want to make sure to take a balanced approach before starting a new career.
There's always the good, the bad, and the ugly when it comes to any occupation, but looking at each point realistically will help you decide if it's the job for you.
To help you, I have compiled a list of the pros and cons of becoming a paralegal.
Pros
The following list of pros about the paralegal profession will give you the best positive vantage point of paralegal job duties and what it can offer as a lifetime pursuit.
There is no doubt that you need to like crafting documents, doing research, and analyzing, but there are other considerations beyond a technical love for the mechanics of the job.
Different types of paralegal specialties
Paralegal careers are available in a wide selection of businesses and industries.
All you have to envision is the difference in attorney specialties and know that it breaks down even more from that.
An attorney that specializes in family law will need assistance with divorce cases, child custody, child support and adoption, just to name a few areas.
This means that a paralegal can assist with one or two of these areas and then another paralegal can assist with other specialties.
The work opportunities are almost endless since the areas of expertise are so specific.
Ease of Entry
If you are truly interested in the paralegal field, then there is a way to get started without investing a lot of money in starting the career.
You can start at a low level position in a law firm or attorney office and get training as you go or you can get a certificate if you have a degree already.
The certificate takes about 6 to 9 months and is relatively inexpensive.
You can also get a traditional degree such as an associate's, bachelor's, or master's in paralegal studies.
There is a lot of flexibility in legal assistant education requirements and ways to start your career as a paralegal professional.
Job Stability
Attorneys will always need help with the mountains of paperwork and research that is needed to successfully deal with legal cases.
There is not any expected change in how law is practiced, which means the same amount of work will greet an attorney whether he or she has help or not.
This means that it is one of the most stable jobs you can have.
There is a large pool of attorney offices and large firms that keep a regular pool of paralegal openings available.
Expanding Field
Even though there are no registration and licensing requirements to be a paralegal to date, there is an ever expanding respect growing for the field.
There are more and more larger corporations and companies that are seeing the value of having an attorney and paralegals on the payroll.
This means that there are more openings in the corporate and industrial sector.
As more paralegals make the move to corporate specialties, it opens up paralegal opportunities in a variety of other arenas.
The great thing about the legal field is that it is less dependent on the economy for expansion.
There is always a need for legal protection and documentation.
Cons
You need to also take an honest look at what some of the more negative aspects of a paralegal career offer.
It is an office job, but it's a far cry from being a secretary.
It can be a highly demanding profession that rewards you with a ton of work and very little recognition outside of your circle of fellow paralegal experts.
Understanding every nuance of the paralegal profession will help you make the right decision for you.
Stress
Being a paralegal can be stressful. This is especially true if you work in a busy law firm that has a thriving practice.
Creating and meeting deadlines can be a real balancing act when you are having to deal with the schedules of clients, attorneys and the courts.
There can be serious consequences for clients if deadlines on legal documents and hearings aren't met.
A majority of the legal research and writing for a case will fall on your shoulders. This could present a problem if you aren't organized and up for a challenge.
Long Work Hours
Due to the difficult of working miracles on getting everyone's schedules to mesh, there will be many times that a paralegal has to work after hours and on the weekends.
This is even more necessary when important cases are approaching deadlines that have to be met.
You might find yourself finishing the paperwork for a court motion at midnight and then have to be back in the office by 8 the morning.
Many times personal plans have to be sidelined. It can also increase things like child care expenses if you are a single parent.
Tedious Work
Being effective as a paralegal means specializing in certain areas of the law.
This means you will be revisiting a lot of cases and case types in the course of your career.
You will be writing a lot of similar legal briefs and motions.
The typing, note taking and strategies can all seem a bit tedious after awhile. Repetitive job duties can make your day seem painfully predictable and boring.
There's not a lot of opportunity to deal with cases that are exciting. Most will be very dull, even if they are necessary.
Job Advancements
In a small law firm or single attorney office there is virtually no chance for advancement as a paralegal.
Your job will be assisting the attorney on a daily basis. As the only paralegal you will kept pretty busy.
In larger firms or corporations with legal departments, you might have some chance for advancement.
Anytime there is more than one or two paralegals, there is a chance to be the top performer.
It will take getting degrees in the field or having a lot of years of experience to qualify to supervise the work of other paralegal professionals.
I hope this information about the pros and cons of a paralegal career has been useful.
Showing posts with label paralegal. Show all posts
Showing posts with label paralegal. Show all posts
Thursday, June 12, 2014
Monday, June 9, 2014
Sample Paralegal Training Costs
Education is expensive but is an investment. Your studies will prepare you for more responsibility and higher pay.
But it can be tough to commit to a program if we don't know how much it costs. One course of study I want to look at is a paralegal training cost.
I will provide sample tuition fees from universities around the United States, and I will also sample set of fees to become a paralegal online.
Also, if you are not 100 percent sure this is the career for you, you can take a short, free, online paralegal training course to give you an idea. We'll look at the freebie first.
Paralegal training online for free?
You won't get your entire paralegal training online free, but you can get a introductory, short mini-course from the American Institute for Paralegal Studies to find out if an online paralegal education is right for you.
One item to keep in mind: This is a way to see if an online education will work for you.
When choosing a school, you want to make sure that it is ABA approved, which makes sure your education is standardized. This brings us to ABA approved paralegal programs and their costs.
Private school cost example
Brick and mortar universities offer reasonable priced programs and on certificate programs. Universities will cost more than community colleges or career colleges.
My first sample program is the paralegal studies program at Loyola University in Chicago. This is a post-degree certificate in paralegal studies, which means you need a minimum of an bachelor's degree.
For the 2013-2014 year, each credit hour at Loyola is $620, which is around the average price for a private school.
They also have a student fee and a technology fee; both are dependent on how many credit hours you take. Also, three courses require a $55 Lexis Nexis and Weslaw computer database service fee.
The certificate curriculum at Loyola requires 22 credit hours to graduate with a paralegal certification. The courses are in 8-week blocks. If you took 5 credit hours for two semesters and two semesters with 6 credit hours, your cost for tuition would average about $3,600 each semester.
Don't let the cost scare you. Loyola, like other schools, does offer scholarships and financial aid.
Many students are already working in the field and choose to start a new career, which is why they undertake the additional training.
Also, this sample cost above does not include transportation, books, and living costs; it is only for tuition.
Community college cost example
If you want to complete a program at a community college, your tuition will be much less -- even in Chicago.
I want to use Wilbur Wright College as an example for tuition.
You can get an associate in applied science at Wilbur Wright College; it requires 63 credit hours -- 39 of which are core paralegal courses.
Many folks may already have the general education requirements met and only need to focus on the core legal assistant courses.
But even if you have no college experience, you can complete this program in two years and with a tuition cost of around $6,500.
Wright charges $89 per credit hour for those who live in their district. Every semester they levy an activity fee ($85); registration fee ($30); and -- if you take web-based courses -- and an online fee ($50).
Also, books, living expenses, and transportation are not listed; this is just a sampling of tuition costs.
Remember, this assumes you don't have a degree. If you have one, your cost will be less because you won't need the general education courses, which totals 24 credit hours.
Is it worth it?
The value of an education is worth it. After you complete your course of study, you will be prepared to work in a law office or government agency as a legal assistant.
If you think in terms of salary, the median wage for a legal assistant in Chicago is $50,109, according to salary.com.
If you borrow $6,500 in loans for your education at a community college and earn $50K a year, that education is paid off in 10 years at a cost of $55 a month.
If you borrow $14,500 in loans for your education at a community college and earn $50K a year, that education is paid off in 10 years at a cost of about $121 a month.
Either way, you still earn good money -- even if there is a small cost for the education.
I hope this information about paralegal training cost has been useful.
But it can be tough to commit to a program if we don't know how much it costs. One course of study I want to look at is a paralegal training cost.
I will provide sample tuition fees from universities around the United States, and I will also sample set of fees to become a paralegal online.
Also, if you are not 100 percent sure this is the career for you, you can take a short, free, online paralegal training course to give you an idea. We'll look at the freebie first.
Paralegal training online for free?
You won't get your entire paralegal training online free, but you can get a introductory, short mini-course from the American Institute for Paralegal Studies to find out if an online paralegal education is right for you.
One item to keep in mind: This is a way to see if an online education will work for you.
When choosing a school, you want to make sure that it is ABA approved, which makes sure your education is standardized. This brings us to ABA approved paralegal programs and their costs.
Private school cost example
Brick and mortar universities offer reasonable priced programs and on certificate programs. Universities will cost more than community colleges or career colleges.
My first sample program is the paralegal studies program at Loyola University in Chicago. This is a post-degree certificate in paralegal studies, which means you need a minimum of an bachelor's degree.
For the 2013-2014 year, each credit hour at Loyola is $620, which is around the average price for a private school.
They also have a student fee and a technology fee; both are dependent on how many credit hours you take. Also, three courses require a $55 Lexis Nexis and Weslaw computer database service fee.
The certificate curriculum at Loyola requires 22 credit hours to graduate with a paralegal certification. The courses are in 8-week blocks. If you took 5 credit hours for two semesters and two semesters with 6 credit hours, your cost for tuition would average about $3,600 each semester.
- 22 credit hours: $13,640
- Student activity fees: $324
- Technology fees: $284
- Lexis/Westlaw fees: $165
Don't let the cost scare you. Loyola, like other schools, does offer scholarships and financial aid.
Many students are already working in the field and choose to start a new career, which is why they undertake the additional training.
Also, this sample cost above does not include transportation, books, and living costs; it is only for tuition.
Community college cost example
If you want to complete a program at a community college, your tuition will be much less -- even in Chicago.
I want to use Wilbur Wright College as an example for tuition.
You can get an associate in applied science at Wilbur Wright College; it requires 63 credit hours -- 39 of which are core paralegal courses.
Many folks may already have the general education requirements met and only need to focus on the core legal assistant courses.
But even if you have no college experience, you can complete this program in two years and with a tuition cost of around $6,500.
Wright charges $89 per credit hour for those who live in their district. Every semester they levy an activity fee ($85); registration fee ($30); and -- if you take web-based courses -- and an online fee ($50).
- 63 credit hours: $5,607
- Activity fees: $340
- Registration fees: $120
- Online fees: $200
Also, books, living expenses, and transportation are not listed; this is just a sampling of tuition costs.
Remember, this assumes you don't have a degree. If you have one, your cost will be less because you won't need the general education courses, which totals 24 credit hours.
Is it worth it?
The value of an education is worth it. After you complete your course of study, you will be prepared to work in a law office or government agency as a legal assistant.
If you think in terms of salary, the median wage for a legal assistant in Chicago is $50,109, according to salary.com.
If you borrow $6,500 in loans for your education at a community college and earn $50K a year, that education is paid off in 10 years at a cost of $55 a month.
If you borrow $14,500 in loans for your education at a community college and earn $50K a year, that education is paid off in 10 years at a cost of about $121 a month.
Either way, you still earn good money -- even if there is a small cost for the education.
I hope this information about paralegal training cost has been useful.
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