Paralegal Salary - What Should You Be Making?

The paralegal (or legal assistant) profession has gained a lot of popularity over the past several years and there's still massive potential for future growth within this industry.  The recent paralegal training graduate will pull an average of ,000 per year in salary. The high end of the paralegal pay scale can run upwards of .000 according to the most current statistics from the National Association of Legal Assistants.

Very few paralegals will walk in the door of a law firm commanding a top salary. Like most of us, you're probably going to have to start at the lower end of the salary scale. It sounds cliche, but it's true; by doing your best work possible and showing up on time along with having a positive attitude about your paralegal job will go a long way towards boosting your value to your employer. 

 

More and more single mothers are finding that paralegal work is ideal to earn a good living and allow you have a great career as well as provide well for your family. However, it's hard to be chipper when a colicky baby kept you up all night or your 7-year waiting until 9:30 at night to spring the fact she promised that she'd bring cupcakes to her class of 25 kids for the in-class party tomorrow. Life can make it hard to feel great about getting out of bed in the morning and going to work. But do your best to learn to leave that at the door and go into "work mode" and do your paralegal work with the most positivity you can muster (even when you were up until the wee hours of the morning making and frosting  dozens of cupcakes the night before).

 

Most paralegals can count on a steady increase in their pay over the first 5-7 years of employment. Additionally, many law firms offer excellent benefit packages that include sick pay, vacation pay and medical insurance.

 

With the number of attorneys entering new practice year after year there is no reason to believe the demand for trained and qualified paralegals will decrease anytime in the near future and the paralegal field will continue to be strong.