成为一名律师助理是在法律领域开始职业生涯的好方法. Paralegals assist lawyers in the creation of legal documents, conduct research on laws and regulations, assist in court cases and more. 一些律师助理选择专攻某一法律领域, such as criminal law or real estate, and some even go on to law school to become lawyers.
以下是你可以遵循的六个步骤，开始你作为律师助理或法律助理的职业生涯:
1. Learn more about career options
In addition to understanding what a paralegal does, you might wonder how much paralegals make, 他们可以工作的地方, and what the employment prospects look like. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) is an ideal place to start your research.
劳工统计局对律师助理和法律助理的就业前景持乐观态度:
- 平均工资: $66,460, per year, $31.95 per hour*
- 就业增长(2022-2032): 4% (Much faster growth than average)*
Because of strong employment growth, paralegals rank #8 on U.S. News & 世界报告的名单 最佳社会服务工作 for 2023. 为了更好地了解律师助理的工作是什么样的, you can also conduct a quick local job search. 一个好的资源是 Glassdoor, which is one of the world’s largest job sites. 浏览一些空缺职位，感受一下律师助理的典型职责, 阅读员工评论, 并且更多地了解你想成为律师助理的公司类型.
Discover how much a legal assistant/paralegal can make on average across all 50 US states.
2. Research educational requirements
根据 BLS在美国，大多数律师助理或法律助理都有律师助理学习的副学士学位或证书.
A bachelor’s degree in legal studies is not required by all employers, 但它可能会帮助你在竞争初级职位时获得优势. 获得学士学位也可以帮助你在未来的职业发展中定位自己.
花点时间考虑一下哪条学位道路最适合你. 如果你想获得学位并尽快开始工作, you might opt for an associate degree program. If you want to go to law school someday, you should start by earning your bachelor’s degree, as this is a prerequisite for graduate law programs.
3. 参加学位课程
Once you determine which degree you want to earn, 寻找一所能满足你的需求和教育目标的大学. 找一个灵活的幸运28计划，可以为你提供现实世界的经验和培训.
Herzing大学提供的课程可以帮助你开始成为律师助理或法律助理, 包括一个 online legal studies associate degree program (法律研究副学士)，这将为你成为一名律师助理打下教育基础.
5. 尽可能建立网络
A huge part of job-hunting many people overlook is 网络. 虽然这听起来像是只有经验丰富的专业人士才能做到的事情, 你会惊讶地发现，作为一名学生，你可以利用社交网络获得多少优势.
Attend 人才招聘会往往会 在你的学校, 联系当地的律师事务所，安排信息面试, 并向你的教授征求他们在这个领域入门的建议. It’s also important to have a LinkedIn的资料 where you can connect with other industry professionals. 建立一个强大的专业网络对你的职业发展和进步非常重要, and it never hurts to start early.
6. 选择专业
As you gain experience and talk to others in the legal field, you’ll start to develop a sense of your career interests. Paralegals can specialize in different sectors and fields, 所以想想你想在哪里工作以及你想做什么类型的工作. 律师助理和法律助理主要在三个领域工作:
- 私营部门: 在这个领域，你将为公司工作，很可能是大型或中型的公司，以及律师事务所. You can expect to work on employee benefit plans, 股东协议, 财务报告, 劳动法规等等.
- 公共部门: In the public sector, you tend to work for government agencies. Often, 这意味着为那些无法负担法律服务的人提供法律服务的组织或个人工作. 你将从事研究工作，帮助准备法庭文件，协助数据汇编等等.
- 自由: Depending on the state you are in, it may be possible to become a freelance paralegal 向律师、律师事务所或法律部门提供帮助. 作为一个自由职业者, 你可以决定你想要专注于哪些工作和专业, allowing you to gain a diverse mix of experiences. 然而，当合同到期时，你会从一个公司跳槽到另一个公司，所以要记住这一点.
Become possible with Herzing大学
选择一所将成为你终身学习伙伴的律师助理学校.
作为一名律师助理，向令人兴奋的新职业迈出第一步!
Learn more about our legal studies programs
* Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), U.S. 劳工部, 职业就业和工资统计2023 /职业展望手册2022. 劳工统计局的估计不代表入门级工资和/或薪水. 多种因素, 包括之前的经验, age, geography market in which you want to work and degree field, will affect career outcomes and earnings. Herzing既不代表它的毕业生将获得劳工统计局计算的特定工作的平均工资，也不保证从它的幸运28计划毕业后就能找到工作, promotion, salary increase or other career growth.
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