not another newbie

Hey all. Gotta change careers and considering this (see my bio). I already know what paralegals do, I just need some info on salaries, typical work day, etc. Thanks in advance.

Log on to the Bureau of Labor Statistics website and your state labor department website for objective salary information.

I think your day will depend much on your firm's speciality and culture. As a litigation and Comp paralegal my workday was busy, hectic, stressful and long. The better organized you are and the better you can multitask, the better you can deal with it. Using a computerized calendar system such as Outlook will help you. You can set up Outlook to keep reminding you of vital deadlines.

You also need patience and rhinoceros skin to work in law. Lawyers can be the most difficult people you'll ever meet to deal with.

Hope that helped. Good luck with your plans.

if you are looking for a job that does not have room to grow, then you are on the right path! Paralegals don't move up -- the only way to make money in this field is to change jobs. The increase in salary and the pain of billable hrs is not all that rewarding, not to mention putting up with their attitude! Good Luck!

ChiquitaMAD in Metairie, Louisiana: "If you are looking for a job that does not have room to grow, then you are on the right path! Paralegals don't move up -- the only way to make money in this field is to change jobs. The increase in salary and the pain of billable hrs is not all that rewarding, not to mention putting up with their attitude! Good Luck!"

Really. I mostly agree with these comments. Generally, the best a paralegal can ever hope to be in a law firm is...a paralegal. They cannot be partners or split fees with attorneys. Paralegals can advance into management as, e.g., office managers, firm administrators, etc. or have the appellation "Senior Paralegal" bestowed upon them. But, really, there aren't many advancement opportunities.

I did not have to bill in my last job - the firm worked on contingency. Too bad - I could have billed eight hours a day! I had to bill in my job before that one. It was bu11$h!t. The attorneys would review paralegal billings and cut time. I could submit 120 hours and attorneys would cut my time to below 100. Totally unfair! I remember working on one project nearly an entire week and billing thirty hours on it. The attorney cut all of my time. I was livid. On top of that, I had a mini-review the next week and had to explain to the shareholder why my billings were down.

One other point, at least from my standpoint, is obtaining paralegal jobs is hard if you're older.

Once again, good luck with however you proceed.

What if your a 38 year old male? Should you even try to do this form of work?

desmond06 in Atlanta, Georgia said: What if your a 38 year old male? Should you even try to do this form of work?

Of course you can **do** the work if your abilities suit it. I am male. I went to paralegal school when I was forty-two. I learned the work and found jobs. Thirty-eight is not too old from your standpoint. It may be too old from the employers' standpoint in terms of age discrimination.

Other issues you should consider are 1) should you consider the legal industry at all and 2) can you find a job.

For one thing, you will work for attorneys. As I wrote, above, attorneys are among the most difficult personalty types and ungrateful individuals around. The workload, hours and stress are unbelievable - any one of these things together with difficult attorneys can burn you out. Although the work can be interesting and one can serve and help people, I don't feel the negatives are worth it.

Finally, paralegal jobs are hard to get. Entry paralegal jobs are few and far between. Paralegal schools have turned out dozens of entry paralegals. Many people are competing for them. At least around here, there are few openings for experienced paralegals. Many well qualified, excellent and capable people are competing for these jobs.

Frankly, I tell anyone who asks about law to consider other industries. Good luck with whatever you decide to do.

Thanks I'm in Atlanta and it seems to be a need for them, hopefully I can break through and find some work after I finish my program. We a couple of paralegal associations here that offer pro bono work. I'd thought I do some work for them and then maybe find a position with a firm or government.

I remember when I was in paralegal school, the school had a bulletin board of job postings. There were so many job openings!! They said there were 11 jobs per graduate! It was so exciting!

Come to find out those jobs on the Jobs Board were old and left on the board on purpose by the school - to give the appearance of a lot of available jobs to potential students. I called those firms on those little index cards as my graduation date approached to inquiry about their jobs.

"I am calling about the entry level paralegal job you have posted at the paralegal school." Next - anger.

"Tell that school to take that job posting down! That was from 3 years ago! We have no openings!"

And that was true for every single job posting at the ABA approved post-bac paralegal school. None were current. None were good.

Paralegal in Dallas, Texas said: I remember when I was in paralegal school, the school had a bulletin board of job postings. There were so many job openings!! They said there were 11 jobs per graduate! It was so exciting!

And a load. My school claimed a ninety-eight percent placement rate. I found that hard to believe because I had worked in the vocational school industry as an instructor. I knew schools blow sunshine up peoples' rears with promises about great jobs at great law firms. Nonetheless, it was encouraging. But define "placement." The school would post night document coding jobs for $6.50 an hour. Not what one would expect after blowing or taking out loans for $7K to attend the school.

Paralegal in Dallas, Texas said: Come to find out those jobs on the Jobs Board were old and left on the board on purpose by the school - to give the appearance of a lot of available jobs to potential students....

I recall not seeing many jobs at all on my school's job board. Probably because Denver historically has had few paralegal openings.

One job on the school board caught my attention. It was for an entry job at a "preeminent" downtown firm. I knew that firm and knew of its partners. They were well known in my community. I thought with some help I might have a chance for an interview. I sent the firm my resume.

A family member had a contact who knew a partner. I was listening in on conference call as my contact spoke with the partner. The partner assured my contact the firm would interview me. I never heard from the firm. So much for following "experts'" advice to network and use contacts.

Continued, below....

Continued from above...

I eventually found my first legal job by answering an ad for an "assistant" to a busy attorney. It turned out the firm was not looking for a nonlawyer assistant, but was also hiring paralegals. I landed that job on my own through enterprising and without anyone's help - as I have for all but two part-time jobs I've had over forty years. I have worked in three industries since graduating from college - on-air broadcasting, aviation and legal. Landing legal jobs was the toughest by far.