Paralegal to Attorney

Alright, kind of stuck in limbo right now. Need advice please!!

Going thru a career change right now. About to go back to school to finish my bachelors degree in Political Science (about a semester away) Instead of finishing school after my senior year I decided to play professional basketball overseas and have been doing so the last 3-4 years. Career ending injury (which I'm happy about because I want to go back to school), but I have a small problem. I don't have a lot of money. I want to become a lawyer ultimately, but I need a job in the meantime to support myself. I'm 26-years-old, need money to finish school, but I feel like I'm starting from scratch. I was thinking about starting a paralegal program and get my cert thru an online institution that would help me greatly with the fees and costs. I don't have any extra money. ..but I have to do something and this is what I want to put my time and effort into.

Is it feasible to get a paralegal cert and work my way thru the rest of college and law school? Is it worth it? Can you even be a paralegal *and* go to school? Or should I just concentrate on becoming a lawyer and just skipping the paralegal route all together? Skipping the paralegal route, I may have to take out massive loans. Something I really don't want to do.

There it is. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Don't even think about the paralegal or lawyer field. Unless you want to be among the growing ranks of unemployed lawyers driving a taxi cab, then there's no good reason to accumulate 100k-150k debt, before you even start a career! Plus you'll have the debt from your undergraduate work, which will put you in the hole for another 50k! Factor in that you will likely not be working full time while pursuing your undergraduate degree and law school, and your lost wages will be in the 100k to 125k range.

OPTION 1.

If you absolutely have to have a degree, look for an inexpensive community college that offers an associate's degree for under $50 per credit unit (California), which would bring in an AA degree in the $6,000 mark. Forget about the political science degree, since it will be absolutely useless. With all the baby boomers retiring, look for an associate's degree program in the medical field.

OPTION 2:

Most of the jobs to be had over the course of the next ten years will be vocations and trades. Look for an accredited vocational/trade school and learn a skill that will bring home the bacon.

OPTION 3:

Look for an online accredited college that offers degree programs under $100 per credit unit. You'll be able to work while studying towards a degree, along with covering the tuition and your basic living expenses.

In all three options, you will graduate with minimal debt. Starting any career with sizable debt is ludicrous and should never be part of anyone's career strategy.

As has been pointed out by many people on this board, you don't need certification or an-ABA paralegal credential. The U.S. Bureau of Labor and Statistics shows that out of the 263,000 paralegal workforce the most common entry is through a two-year community college.

Only an accredited college or university has the qualification to design and teach a paralegal program. the ABA is NOT an accreditor of paralegal programs and there's no
evidence showing it is better or worse than any of the other paralegal programs being offered. It's mostly marketing hype.

What employers are looking for is experience and that you have a degree or certificate from an accredited school. Community colleges not only offer the most affordable paralegal programs, but most of them are regionally accredited.

With the money you save by enrolling at a community collge, you can bank it or save it for when you really need it.

From the link which Mary provides it says:

"*plus we’ll give you some of the best law schools from which to obtain your paralegal certification qualification."

There is NO law school in the United States that offers a paralegal certification qualification. No such thing in the real world.

I looked at Mary's post, and as I started reading I thought it was all BS too.

Honestly, the paralegal profession is pretty sketchy and varies from firm to firm. Some firms will gladly accept applicants from T50 schools with good to excellent GPAs, and some would require a bachelors plus certificate. As BG stated, there really is no set standard.

In NY, the current trend is either combining paralegal duties with administrative duties (which is mostly referred to as "Legal Assistant" positions), or for JDs/Non-Admitted to handle advance work. The salaries in paralegal field have also greatly decreased since the recession.

Honestly, if you really do not want to be an attorney, don't do it. As BG stated, law school will run you from $95K to $120K when completed. That's a great deal of debt and in some states like NY, DC, PA, and CA, the competition is fierce due to those states having 10-15 law schools.

1) I hope folks do their research before enrolling in any paralegal program.

2) Disregard pie-in-the-sky posts that paint a rosy picture of the legal field.

3) There are not 263,000 paralegals in this country. I'd be willing to bet there are less than 1,000 people employed as paralegals right here in the third largest city in the nation.

If you are staying in California, did you consider going to a night law school or online law school? In California, it will qualify you to take the California Bar exam either way. The tuition is between $3k to $10k per year... It will take 4 years (as opposed to 3 years) because you have to take the Baby Bar after your first year... Just make sure to go to a review class... The review class is what will help you with the Baby Bar and the Bar exam... After finishing, you can volunteer at legal clinics or open your own law office with little or no debt.