In case it is very difficult to make your bet between entering paralegal school or law school, you need to think about all the advantages and disadvantages. If you want to make the right decision about your future career path, this article will provide you with vital information to compare the aspects of studying at paralegal school and law school.
Positives of Making a Paralegal Career
-It is much easier to enter a paralegal school than a law school, because candidates do not pass an entrance exam to the school. Typically, students who take the LSAT but don’t do great enough to attend law school are forced to choose the paralegal program. However, if they are not satisfied with their score, they can take the LSAT many times until they score well enough to enter law school.
-A paralegal school is much cheaper than a law school. Graduates basically take off with negligible school debt, but it’s no surprise to everyone that when they start their education, students often take out loans in order to pay for a school program. On the contrary, law school graduates have a huge amount of debt at the end of their education, because the cost is much higher and not everyone can afford such expenses. Actually, most paralegals can start working after three months of paralegal training, but they must experience proper college education behind them.
-The work of a legal assistant is not as stressful as the one that a lawyer can face. All the responsibility for the actions carried out falls on a solicitor or a lawyer, because they have to keep everything their assistants do under control. Also, attorneys typically spend a lot of time researching a final case, but cannot be paid extra for overtime work in contrast to paralegals, who can.
Negative Points of a Paralegal Profession
-First of all, choosing a paralegal school could restrict your future career success. Also, you can’t expect to earn more than $90,000 a year.
-In reality, it is thought that the tasks assigned to paralegals are mainly elementary and boring. However, the simplicity of this work means that paralegals have to face fewer difficulties and, therefore, experience stressful situations. Another drawback is that paralegals have to share their office with other employees. This is not so convenient, because it can be interrupted by anyone who wastes their working time on various nonsense.
Points “for” choosing a law school
-The main advantage of attending law school is the fact that lawyers have great prospects for career growth, so they can expect higher salaries in contrast to paralegals. A professional lawyer is qualified enough to lead his own business in the right direction, which best corresponds to his skills and the market demand.
-In addition, lawyers often use the help of personal assistants such as legal assistants, secretaries and others. His supervision allows him to face his responsibilities spending less time and exerting less effort to achieve the desired results. In addition, a lawyer’s work is usually related to negotiations with clients, so he very often has to work outside his office to keep in touch with clients and other specialists. It means that this work is attractive and extremely interesting, because it cannot be compared with sedentary work in front of a computer.
Points “Con” of Attending Law School
-The worst thing about studying in law school is an extremely high cost of education, which not everyone can afford. However, candidates whose LSAT scores are at the highest level can expect to be offered financial aid. But typically, students graduate from school with a significant amount of debt, because during education students have not yet been able to repay the full amount of the loan.
– Another disadvantage is the challenge of the testing procedure. First of all, to be accepted into a law school program, you must have high enough LSAT scores. As soon as you have completed a course of study, you will need to take the bar exam to confirm your qualification as a barrister. In case a student does not pass the exam, he will not be allowed to pursue a career as a lawyer and no one cares that he has wasted his time and considerable amount of money.
In conclusion? It is up to you to make a decision about which career to choose. You must estimate all “for” and “against” points to make a correct bet. You are advised to think twice before deciding to enter a law school. You need to make sure that you are well informed about the admission requirements, have enough financial resources to pay for an expensive education, be ready to go through a tremendously complicated entrance test, and at the end of the program to pass the bar exam. to obtain permission to start a career as a lawyer. If you are sure that you have enough strength and stamina to overcome all these obstacles, you can plan to attend a law school without hesitation. Whether you feel this way is not your cup of tea and out of your league, you’d better try getting into paralegal school. Finally, knowing all the advantages and disadvantages of each school, it will be easier for you to decide which career to choose and what you can expect from one or another profession.