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If anyone here works as a paralegal, please share what you enjoy about your profession. Is it always true that the hours are long? And is ABA accreditation for the training program as crucial as some articles I've read seem to indicate? What is better an Associate Degree or a Bachelor's Degree? Would you consider it a good midlife career choice? And lastly, if a person already has extensive secretary experience, wouldn't it just be cheaper and easier to train for Legal Secretary? I'm considering the career because I love research and I think it is a chance to be part of a helping profession. Thanks.
I worked as a paralegal for a time, in between other jobs during a career transition.
-Yes, hours are long.
-Re: ABA, it depends on the firm.
-I was hired with a BA, but in a semi-related major (English)
-There were many midlife paralegals at the firm I worked at.
-Legal secretaries, at the firm I worked for, at least, were not as well-paid as paralegals, and were hourly rather than salaried. Paralegals at my firm could also, in some instances, be case handlers in administrative hearings. Legal secretaries could not.
-I found the work to be more administrative than research-oriented, but that could have been the nature of both my firm and the division/team I worked with. I would have preferred doing more research, less organization, rote interviewing, and typesetting. I was bored.
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