How to become a paralegal?

Enchantress71

I took the exact same course that you're taking. In December of my senior year in college, I started looking for a job to begin after graduation. I worked with the counselors at my university to get my resume perfected. Up until then, I had mostly worked on campus in administrative work study jobs and during the summers I had interned for the federal government and the military. Large law firms recruited at my college, so I sent out my resume through the recruitment program at my school and interviewed with each firm that requested one with me. My spring semester was spent interviewing with at least a dozen firms and finally, the day before graduation I received a job offer from Sidley and Austin, a large Chicago-based law firm. I didn't have any paralegal experience or certificate, but my grades were good and I had other work experiences and skills that translated well into the paralegal arena.

I would suggest that you join the American Association for Paralegal Education http://www.aafpe.org/ and see if you can access their job bank and get a better road map of how to achieve your career goals. Also, your state should have a state association of paralegals that you might want to become a part of. They probably have a "student" section that you could join and would help you make some invaluable connections. In addition, you may want to consider what area of the law interests you, as each area of law has its own paralegal association in which you could get involved. The areas in which paralegals make the most money are Intellectual Property, Telecommunications, Energy, Health Care, Tax, Product Liability, Antitrust and White Collar.

As for other routes to look for a job, I would try www.lawjobs.com. Great job bank. Another route to consider would be to sign up with the myriad of legal temporary agencies in large cities such as NY, DC, LA, ATL, CHI etc... You don't need to be a lawyer or have any experience to sign up with these firms and most of the work is paralegal in nature, e.g., document production and management, litigation document control, etc...

If you decide to go the certificate route, make sure you find a program that is accredited by the ABA. The AAfPE has a searchable database of all ABA accredited paralegal programs in the US, go to: http://www.aafpe.org/m_search/index.asp.

Hope this helps. Good luck!

Kiko K

ask your high school counsler

Vernazza

You have a Bachelor's degree in what? Stupidity? Do a search youself.
okay, okay, just do a certificate, since you already have a degree.
Ashworth University offers online/at home diplomas in Paralegal, and also an Associates.. but you won't need that. It accredited and about 1000.
You could go with cheaper and faster programs, but I would not reccomend that.
Good luck to you in your career.

What was your Major?

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