BS in criminal justice and finding paralegal work

I just graduated from my school and wanted to start doing paralegal work. Ive been trying to find information on how to get started but I cant find anything theres so much information and none of it is what I'm looking for. Every where I look they want some one with experience.

What certification do I need on top of my degree and where can I get a job?

You don't need any more college. You need a paralegal certificate. Although you were introduced to the legal system in your criminal justice studies you need a paralegal certificate to (a) be more grounded in law; (b) to be introduced legal work; (c) to prove (a) and (b) to potential employers; and (d) to open doors.

Although some people will disagree, you should obtain an American Bar Association-approved paralegal certificate. An ABA certificate is the highest grade paralegal certificate available. An ABA certificate will make you eligible to work for *any* employer which requires a paralegal certificate.

You will need a strong computer background, especially in word processing. Many firms want competence in Office, Excel, PowerPoint and WESTLAW.

While paralegals have traditionally been employed in law firms, company legal departments, corporations, public utilities, banks, the government, etc. also employ paralegals. As with lawyers, paralegals have specialties. In your case your criminal justice background and paralegal certificate could land you one day in a criminal defense lawyer's office, the District Attorney's office, U.S. Attorney's office, or state corrections department. Don't expect to land these jobs as an entry-level paralegal, though stranger things have happened.

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In that regard, getting the first paralegal job is tough. Paralegal employment is competitive and, as you discovered, generally requires experience. It's the old Catch-22 - to get the job you need experience; to get experience you need the job. Your paralegal school may require you to complete an internship. Internships sometimes turn into jobs, contacts or references. Otherwise, you have to apply, apply, apply for work. Apply to jobs that require experience; you may be brought in to interview, even if the firm only wants to meet you. It takes perseverance and ingenuity, but look at it this way: other people have obtained entry-level paralegal employment and so can you.

Good luck with your plans.

Hi 'Displaced',
Your blog has been really helpful and at the same time poses a potentially daunting picture for an immigrant still trying to figure the way around the system and its culture.
I have been advised that I need to embark on work in the criminal justice environment, so that when I have completed my degree, I will be more viable. I had already planned on getting my Paralegal certificate, having been talked out of an Associates degree and into the BSCJA I am pursuing. The thing is, I don't see with what you have said, how I will even be able to get my big toe in the front door of any criminal justice oriented workplace if I have what seems to be 3 things going against me; make that 4 for the tightening seems in the job market and South Florida does not seem to provide too many open doors for those of us with a goal and excellent work ethics.

Lee C in Davie, Florida: "[H]ow I will even be able to get my big toe in the front door of any criminal justice oriented workplace if I have what seems to be 3 things going against me; make that 4 for the tightening seems in the job market and South Florida does not seem to provide too many open doors for those of us with a goal and excellent work ethics."

First off, you must have the right to work in the United States. You have read my comments, above, about attending an ABA-approved paralegal program and finding paralegal work. Don't expect a job to be handed to you. You'll just have to persevere until someone gives you a chance.

Unfortunately, in many locales, paralegal jobs are few and far between. In Denver, competition for those jobs is fierce. I agree with you fully that people **with excellent work ethics** have few open doors. That also goes for experienced paralegals and especially for older ones who must also butt heads against the various institutionalized discriminations that try to bar them.