Average salary
National Statistic
Change Location
$30,000 - $75,000
PARALEGAL: Why I became a paralegal
About this video
Jackie is a paralegal in San Francisco, CA that specializes in immigration and visa laws.
Degree: Legal Studies
Job Title: Paralegal
Job Summary: Paralegals and Legal Assistants
Job Description
Paralegals and legal assistants do a variety of tasks to support lawyers, including maintaining and organizing files, conducting legal research, and drafting documents.
On-the-Job Training
Short-term on-the-job training
Additional Info
Employers sometimes hire college graduates with no legal experience or education and train them on the job. In these cases, the new employee often has experience in a technical field that is useful to law firms, such tax preparation or criminal justice.
Quick Facts
Projected Job Growth
15 to 20 percent
Typical schedule
Full-time
Typical workplace
Office, Indoor
Personal Qualities
Detail oriented, Analytical skills, Written communication skills, Verbal communication skills, People skills, Organizational skillsEducational Path
Education Requirement
Bachelor's degree
Recommended Education Degree
Bachelor's degreeMaster's degree
Recommended Majors
LawPolitical Science
Communication
Psychology
History
English Language and Literature
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P3.instances[0].transcript.parse_transcript_data({"transcript":"<p><span m='706'>Hi.</span> <span m='1060'>My</span> <span m='1110'>name</span> <span m='1260'>is</span> <span m='1370'>Jackie,</span> <span m='2040'>and</span> <span m='2600'>I</span> <span m='2690'>am</span> <span m='2960'>from</span> <span m='3370'>the</span> <span m='3480'>San</span> <span m='3700'>Francisco</span> <span m='4120'>area.</span> <span m='5320'>As</span> <span m='5540'>a</span> <span m='5620'>paralegal,</span> <span m='6360'>I</span> <span m='6580'>worked</span> <span m='7110'>at</span> <span m='7430'>a</span> <span m='7610'>business</span> <span m='7820'>immigration</span> <span m='8300'>law</span> <span m='8450'>firm.</span> </p><p><span m='9490'>And</span> <span m='10380'>I</span> <span m='10710'>handled</span> <span m='11330'>a</span> <span m='11410'>lot</span> <span m='11590'>of</span> <span m='11630'>cases</span> <span m='12250'>from</span> <span m='12460'>H1Bs</span> <span m='13230'>to</span> <span m='13580'>L's.</span> <span m='15130'>I</span> <span m='15360'>was</span> <span m='15640'>focused</span> <span m='16290'>more</span> <span m='16560'>on</span> <span m='16720'>support</span> <span m='17190'>letters,</span> <span m='17470'>and</span> <span m='17750'>prepping</span> <span m='18250'>forms,</span> <span m='18910'>and</span> <span m='20030'>packaging</span> <span m='20570'>these</span> <span m='20750'>applications.</span> <span m='21910'>I</span> <span m='22100'>worked</span> <span m='23080'>frequently</span> <span m='23660'>with</span> <span m='24130'>HRs,</span> <span m='24830'>as</span> <span m='24990'>well</span> <span m='25280'>as</span> <span m='25730'>these</span> <span m='25890'>foreign</span> <span m='26050'>nationals</span> <span m='26600'>who</span> <span m='26730'>are our</span> <span m='26970'>clients.</span> </p><p><span m='28200'>When</span> <span m='28380'>I was in</span> <span m='28510'>high</span> <span m='28700'>school</span> <span m='29040'>my</span> <span m='29100'>favorite</span> <span m='29780'>class</span> <span m='30280'>was</span> <span m='30480'>English.</span> <span m='31060'>I</span> <span m='31150'>loved</span> <span m='31560'>to</span> <span m='31720'>write</span> <span m='31960'>a</span> <span m='32030'>lot.</span> <span m='32430'>And</span> <span m='32659'>that's</span> <span m='32920'>when</span> <span m='33020'>I</span> <span m='33070'>knew</span> <span m='33860'>I</span> <span m='33900'>wanted</span> <span m='34310'>to</span> <span m='34400'>go</span> <span m='34570'>into the</span> <span m='34800'>law</span> <span m='35070'>field,</span> <span m='35600'>where</span> <span m='35840'>there</span> <span m='35980'>was</span> <span m='36130'>a</span> <span m='36210'>lot</span> <span m='36490'>of</span> <span m='36770'>writing</span> <span m='37010'>involved.</span> <span m='38130'>So,</span> <span m='38330'>after</span> <span m='38750'>that</span> <span m='39280'>I</span> <span m='39350'>went</span> <span m='39570'>to</span> <span m='39690'>a</span> <span m='39740'>school</span> <span m='40160'>where</span> <span m='40560'>I</span> <span m='40750'>studied</span> <span m='41410'>pre--</span> <span m='42330'>basically</span> <span m='42860'>it</span> <span m='42910'>was</span> <span m='43170'>legal</span> <span m='43420'>studies,</span> <span m='43790'>pre-law.</span> </p><p><span m='44790'>And</span> <span m='46870'>all</span> <span m='47040'>these</span> <span m='47220'>courses</span> <span m='48120'>revolved</span> <span m='48510'>around</span> <span m='48790'>various</span> <span m='49110'>types</span> <span m='49360'>of</span> <span m='49420'>law.</span> <span m='49940'>There</span> <span m='50170'>was</span> <span m='50290'>a</span> <span m='50350'>lot</span> <span m='50640'>of</span> <span m='50700'>writing</span> <span m='51010'>involved.</span> <span m='51610'>And</span> <span m='52020'>that's</span> <span m='52260'>what</span> <span m='52340'>I</span> <span m='52410'>knew</span> <span m='52750'>that</span> <span m='53030'>I</span> <span m='53090'>really</span> <span m='53510'>wanted</span> <span m='53880'>to</span> <span m='53990'>pursue</span> <span m='54510'>the</span> <span m='55160'>legal</span> <span m='55470'>field</span> <span m='55920'>as</span> <span m='56050'>a</span> <span m='56160'>paralegal.</span> </p><p><span m='57840'>I</span> <span m='57880'>wish</span> <span m='58540'>I</span> <span m='58890'>knew--</span> <span m='61700'>I</span> <span m='61860'>basically</span> <span m='62210'>wish</span> <span m='62510'>I</span> <span m='62600'>was</span> <span m='63010'>taught</span> <span m='64670'>a</span> <span m='64800'>broader</span> <span m='65280'>set</span> <span m='65580'>of</span> <span m='65950'>writing</span> <span m='66380'>skills.</span> <span m='66910'>A</span> <span m='67030'>lot</span> <span m='67190'>of</span> <span m='67250'>times</span> <span m='68570'>I</span> <span m='68680'>was</span> <span m='68840'>just</span> <span m='69010'>focused</span> <span m='69430'>on</span> <span m='69560'>creative</span> <span m='70080'>writing.</span> <span m='70610'>And</span> <span m='70740'>everything</span> <span m='71200'>had</span> <span m='72020'>just</span> <span m='72320'>one</span> <span m='72540'>type</span> <span m='72740'>of</span> <span m='72800'>structure</span> <span m='73300'>that</span> <span m='73490'>prepared</span> <span m='73930'>me</span> <span m='74060'>for--</span> <span m='74470'>I</span> <span m='74520'>guess--</span> <span m='75330'>the</span> <span m='75420'>SAT,</span> <span m='77160'>but</span> <span m='77620'>never</span> <span m='77990'>really</span> <span m='78580'>legal</span> <span m='79030'>writing.</span> <span m='80080'>And</span> <span m='80270'>I</span> <span m='80330'>wish</span> <span m='81350'>that</span> <span m='82200'>option</span> <span m='82550'>was</span> <span m='83160'>available</span> <span m='83800'>to</span> <span m='84000'>us.</span> </p>","file":{"id":455212,"video_id":"3705543729001","name":"2698-jackie_paralegal1","duration":84986,"thumbnail_url":null}});
