As with any industry, the salary range of a paralegal is going to be dependent upon a few issues. The only way to calculate what the salary is going to be for a particular person is to know these factors. Because the job description of each paralegal is going to be different at each law office or other establishment, the amount that they are going to be paid is also going to be different.
Some of the determinations that go into averaging a paralegal salary are:
- Type of Schooling – Those who have a Bachelor’s Degree in Paralegal Studies are going to make quite a bit more and be in line for more promotions than a person who only has a nine month certification. It is assumed that a person who has four years of schooling is going to have more paralegal knowledge - as well as other types of knowledge - than someone who has only obtained a certificate. This is a valid point, but not all law offices feel this way. So again, definitive legal assistant salaries are dependent upon many different conditions.
- Experience – The amount of experience one has in this field is going to be a large determinant of the average paralegal income. Those who do an internship while going to school may be offered a higher entry level salary than those who come right out of school and start looking for a career in this industry.
- Job Description – Many times in law offices that are not very affluent, the paralegals are not going to be working as much as those who are in a high end attorney’s office where they are going to be doing most of the leg and paperwork on the cases. This is going to play a part in figuring the average salary of a paralegal. Those who are looking for higher salaries are going to want to go to a busy law firm where they are going to be acting as the right hand for the attorney.
- Industry – Not all paralegals work in law offices. There are many industries that use paralegals instead of having an attorney on retainer. This is more cost effective for them and they are going to pay their paralegals well for their services. This is going to make the paralegal job descriptions much more diverse than if they were working in a law office. Some are going to enjoy being the only person with a law background in the office and they are going to have to be able to work on their own a great deal of the time. This higher pay is also going to be a factor when considering the average salary of a paralegal.
When all of the above considerations are taken in to account, then the average salary of a paralegal can be figured out. While most paralegals make decent money and are staying out of poverty, many are going to be quite well off after a few years of dedication to the industry.
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