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Many job-seekers are currently enjoying a career as a legal assistant ... and according to job outlook research, many more will be following them in the future. Case in point, are you aware that the average paralegal salary is more or less $34,000 a year? Paralegals working in government positions can be paid up to twice that. Along with the awesome pay, you may not need a traditional paralegal degree in order to gain employment as a paralegal. If you possess experience as a paralegal, you will be able to gain employment at a law firm. If you have experience as a paralegal, you should have a higher rate of job opportunities than most.

For all these reasons, it makes good sense that paralegal careers are turning out to be so popular. Are you ready to learn what a paralegal does?

To begin with, paralegals are actually legal assistants. In fact, the words can be substituted for the other. A paralegal may not offer legal advice. But, they do help attorneys in almost every other area of their jobs. A paralegal job might consist of preparing legal papers, performing central legal investigations, and aiding with a lot of an attorney's prep work. Paralegals can work in many different specialties; ranging from intellectual law to bankruptcy law. It's a fact that currently 70% of all legal assistants gain employment at a law firm.

At this point, you do not need a specialized education or certification to work as a paralegal (except in California). Even though there are no set requirements for a paralegal education, a certification is found desirable by many law firms across the nation. The following are two paralegal certification tests:

CLA Exam (or Certified Legal Assistant Exam) sponsored by the National Association of Legal Assistants (NALA).

PACE (or Paralegal Advanced Competency Exam) offered by the National Federation of Paralegal Associations (NFPA).

Since the certifications usually have requirements in order to take them, you may also consider gaining an education in paralegal studies. You may select classes at a variety of levels (including baccalaureate and post-baccalaureate programs).

It is possible to land employment as a paralegal even without a certification or education, but you may have a more difficult time getting a job and it will likely be for lower pay. Many law firms do seek out people with a formal education in paralegal studies. So while it is a possibility to get hired with no specialized certifications, it will be easier to gain qualifications before looking for your first position as a paralegal.