Everybody knows what a lawyer is – a person who defends a client or prosecutes an accused person. But not everyone is aware of what a paralegal does or that such a profession exists.
There are institutions that offer paralegal certificate programs in Illinois and other places. You can enrol in these courses if you wish to pursue a career in the field. These institutions provide courses in various formats to suit the needs of different students: text-only, online, DVDs, and live lectures. They have partnered with various colleges and universities that offer legal courses. They also tackle a comprehensive array of paralegal topics such as:
- Legal terms, ethics, procedures
- Fundamentals of the profession
- Legal writing and research
- Preparation of legal documents
- Conducting investigation and interviews
- Structure of the court
But aside from gaining significant knowledge of the legal procedures and other things related to law, what are the other benefits of being a paralegal? Here are three reasons you should pursue a career in this field:
Wide-ranging career opportunities
While one may think that a paralegal could only find employment in a law office, the truth is quite the opposite. In fact, paralegals have a rather wide field of options when it comes to the jobs that they can apply for.
Among others, a paralegal professional may land a job at a bank, a health organization, an insurance company, and a government office. This is because the training, skills, and knowledge that a paralegal takes can be applied in a wide variety of fields. It’s like studying several courses packed into a single one.
Handsome salary
If you’re a paralegal working in a major city and has quite an impressive CV, then you might expect to earn close to or around six figures annually. This is because paralegals are typically paid a little less than what lawyers get hourly.
Your salary will also greatly depend on where you work, the type of employer that you have (those in the government are usually paid the highest), your experience, and level of education. So, if you’re a paralegal who is considered a top-tier one, then you’ll most likely enjoy quite a handsome annual salary.
Professional growth
As paralegals gain experience and skills in the field, they tend to achieve tremendous growth as professionals. If we are to list down all the duties and responsibilities of a paralegal, it’s to see how this could happen.
Paralegals not only act as an attorney’s right-hand person, but also handle tasks that may be applied to other fields, such as analyzing chunks of data, file management, coordinating activities, preparation of various documents, and a host of other tasks.
With these valuable skills, a paralegal can really be an asset in many organizations and fields that require an individual with a solid and wide-ranging set of skills.
If you wish to start a career as a paralegal, be sure to enrol in a paralegal certificate program offered by a reputable institution. This way, you’re sure to gain reliable and high-quality training.
