Time to change... or not?!? Paralegal?!?

I am 35 years old (not young to be changing career and very worried), but I have a bachelor's degree in businees administration major in marketing from another country, have worked in the mortgage business for the past 5 years... was planning in retiring in this field, but with all these craziness want to get out of it to a new path. I am considering to become a paralegal and have some questions. Should I get a bachelor degree or a certificate will do it? What is the real pay for it? The pay I am seeing varies a lot between my salary.com and the jobs out there... I don't know if I am looking it incorrectly...last question any advice in which school to go to in the Fremont, California area? Any comments or advice is greatly appreciated...

dmatos in fremont, California said: I am 35 years old (not young to be changing career and very worried), but I have a bachelor's degree in businees administration major in marketing from another country, have worked in the mortgage business for the past 5 years... was planning in retiring in this field, but with all these craziness want to get out of it to a new path. I am considering to become a paralegal and have some questions. Should I get a bachelor degree or a certificate will do it? What is the real pay for it? The pay I am seeing varies a lot between my salary.com and the jobs out there... I don't know if I am looking it incorrectly...last question any advice in which school to go to in the Fremont, California area? Any comments or advice is greatly appreciated...

Hello dmatos- If you read some of the other topics - there is lots of information already posted regarding your question about being a Paralegal.

Recap - best credentials are a 4 year college degree and a Paralegal Certificate from an ABA approved school.

I would think that experience in this field is really going to matter - with the present economy. Salary- check the newspaper for the job postings - pay no attention to anything that is not a direct ad from a company or firm- that means the headhunters and agencies with their "inflated" salary information.

Hopes this help. I am a retired Paralegal of 10 years. And yes, the work I did love.

Go back to school to be a pharacist. Always can get a job.

kmm in Wilmington, Delaware said:

"Go back to school to be a pharacist. Always can get a job.

CORRECTION - "pharmacist."

dmatos in fremont, California said:

".... Any comments or advice is greatly appreciated...

I would suggest reading the post under "Direction" forum.

kmm in Wilmington, Delaware said: Hello dmatos- If you read some of the other topics - there is lots of information already posted regarding your question about being a Paralegal.

Recap - best credentials are a 4 year college degree and a Paralegal Certificate from an ABA approved school.

I would think that experience in this field is really going to matter - with the present economy. Salary- check the newspaper for the job postings - pay no attention to anything that is not a direct ad from a company or firm- that means the headhunters and agencies with their "inflated" salary information.

Hopes this help. I am a retired Paralegal of 10 years. And yes, the work I did love.

Go back to school to be a pharacist. Always can get a job.

Thank you so much for your advise...

Tamika Mcdonald in west palm beach, Florida said: if your looking to make income and recieve hands on exprience www.prepaidlegal.com/hub/davidmcdonald

For those of you who are not familiar with Pre-Paid Legal, it is a multi-level marketing business. It's a great service - I have it - but your pay is 100% commission. If you can sell, go for it.

dmatos in fremont, California said: I am 35 years old (not young to be changing career and very worried), but I have a bachelor's degree in businees administration major in marketing from another country, have worked in the mortgage business for the past 5 years... was planning in retiring in this field, but with all these craziness want to get out of it to a new path. I am considering to become a paralegal and have some questions. Should I get a bachelor degree or a certificate will do it? What is the real pay for it? The pay I am seeing varies a lot between my salary.com and the jobs out there... I don't know if I am looking it incorrectly...last question any advice in which school to go to in the Fremont, California area? Any comments or advice is greatly appreciated...

I am 41. I was a legal secretary for over 6 years. I could no longer stand it; so I returned to school full time to get my degree. I will be 42 when I graduate May, '09 with my Econ degree.

I never met a coworker, legal sec nor paralegal who liked her job. A close friend of mine, now a former paralegal, told me a while back, "I would rather burn myself alive than choose this profession all over again."

Attorneys are the most difficult people on the face of the earth with whom to work. You are there to make them rich, help them reach their dreams. They can't accomplish this without a secretary, and she gets paid a stipend in return.

Here's a link to another thread about the legal industry as I experienced it. I would strongly recommend considering something else.

www.indeed.com/forum/job/legal-secretary/legal-secretary/t51575

dmatos in fremont, California said: I am 35 years old (not young to be changing career and very worried), but I have a bachelor's degree in businees administration major in marketing from another country, have worked in the mortgage business for the past 5 years... was planning in retiring in this field, but with all these craziness want to get out of it to a new path. I am considering to become a paralegal and have some questions. Should I get a bachelor degree or a certificate will do it? What is the real pay for it? The pay I am seeing varies a lot between my salary.com and the jobs out there... I don't know if I am looking it incorrectly...last question any advice in which school to go to in the Fremont, California area? Any comments or advice is greatly appreciated...

One more thing - I hope I'm not boring you - I started over and went back to school at 33. I always had an interest in law; so I got my paralegal certificate from UCLA then got hired as a word processor at a large LA firm. I later moved to Orange County because I transferred to UC Irvine to finish my degree in Criminology. I wanted to be a criminal law paralegal. It didn't take long to realize, in my opinion, what a $hitty industry this was; so I dropped out of UCI and floundered thru life for the next couple years trying to figure out what to do, meanwhile I was working as a full time legal secretary. That really did it. By the time I left the industry 2 years ago I was so sick to death that I wanted to retire, I wondered if I'd ever have the energy to work anywhere, period, and I couldn't imagine myself happy at any job regardless of what it was. This industry burns you out and robs you of all creativity and autonomy.

A lot of time has passed since, and I look forward to my future despite my age. It took a long time for me to feel that way. Once I graduate, I will not consider any position that requires interaction of any kind with any legal industry personnel.

Tamika Mcdonald in west palm beach, Florida said: if your looking to make income and recieve hands on exprience www.prepaidlegal.com/hub/davidmcdonald

Prepaid legal is a multi-level marketing business. I have their service - it's great - but the money you make is 100% commission. If you can sell, go for it.

dh in Northern CA, California said: For those of you who are not familiar with Pre-Paid Legal, it is a multi-level marketing business. It's a great service - I have it - but your pay is 100% commission. If you can sell, go for it.

Hello dh in CA- Hey girl, how are you? School going well. We are all very proud of you.

Thanks for posting your personal knowledge of Pre-Paid Legal. I agree, if you can sell, try selling it. Having been in sales myself, if you believe in your product, have a good upbeat professional personality, you can sell.

dh in Northern CA, California said: ......

"By the time I left the industry 2 years ago I was so sick to death that I wanted to retire, I wondered if I'd ever have the energy to work anywhere, period, and I couldn't imagine myself happy at any job regardless of what it was. This industry burns you out and robs you of all creativity and autonomy./QUOTE]

I concur dh from my 10 years of experience as a Paralegal. They drain your energy (many of them) and SPIT YOU OUT UGLY! Can't forget that one. ha.

All best wishes to you.

dmatos in fremont, California said: I am 35 years old (not young to be changing career and very worried), but I have a bachelor's degree in businees administration major in marketing from another country....Should I get a bachelor degree or a certificate will do it?

Hope I'm not too late.

I should think a paralegal certificate would do it. You could be asked to prove your college attendance and degree because your obtained it out of the country, but it shouldn't be an issue otherwise. The bottom line is you have a degree.

dmatos in fremont, California said: What is the real pay for it? The pay I am seeing varies a lot between my salary.com and the jobs out there...

Your state labor department's website should have pay information. You can also check the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics website. You can review ads and job postings for paralegals in your area. Many people suggest asking local paralegal associations for pay information. You can try Indeed's salary tool, above.

dmatos in fremont, California said: [A]ny advice in which school to go to in the Fremont, California area?

Sure. Attend an American Bar Association-approved paralegal school. You will hear arguments to the contrary, but the long and short of it is an ABA paralegal certificate is recognized everywhere. An ABA certificate is the highest grade paralegal certificate obtainble. It proves you've been trained to ascertainable and industry recognized standards.

Here is a link to ABA-approved paralegal schools in Cal:

www.abanet.org/legalservices/paralegals/directory/ca.html

With that said, try visiting websites of law firms in your area. Look at paralegal bios. If these successful paralegals have attended primarily one or two schools, you should check them out because chances are you could also be successful if you attend one of them.

I think folks working in the mortgage business before the bust were making a killing. You will not make that as a paralegal. The discrepancy you see between "reported" salaries for a paralegal and what the job classified ads say shows you the real deal. Entry level, plaintiff's work - the pay is LOW, LOW, LOW.

The high income paralegals have been in the field a long time and probably live in a big legal market with big law firms that pay big bucks. These big law firms, by the way, are laying people off right and left these days, cutting salaries, canceling summer programs for law students, cutting expenses. There was a Big Law bubble and that has now burst as well and that's where a lot of the higher salaries for paralegals were.

And since there is no career ladder for paralegals, there is no moving up and making more money. Job jumping can give you a bigger boost than the 5% yearly raise (if your law firm has not frozen raises).

I second Dallas' comments. One other, important point is legal is a tough industry. One works long, stressful, generally unappreciated and not fully compensated hours. You've heard of toxic assets? Wait 'til you work for attorneys. So many of them are toxic individuals with noxious personalities.

I'm glad to provide information about paralegal to those who ask for it, but I cannot recommend legal as a desirable industry in which to work.