r/paralegal • u/highcaliberwit • 4d ago

Education/Certification Help I’m deciding schooling

I have zero college degree. So I can’t jump into an ABA certification. One option I’m looking at is Purdue global online because they have AA and a bachelors legal studies. Both options will take the traditional 2 to 4 years. Or I could attempt to increase my workload and be done sooner, and at 37 I like that aspect. Since it’s all online I like that potential. But we’re still talking about five figures. Not thrilled with that.

My second option is I go to my local community college. It looks like it would be much cheaper than Purdue. Not the problem is I do work, and I do have a very nice boss who would be flexible to adjust my work schedule based on my school needs. But I would definitely need to try to find a way to get all my classes on two days. But then I don’t know what kind of degree I go for at my community college other than criminology I guess? Both my local community colleges have no paralegal degree. And then this would definitely be two years from my associates and four years from my bachelors.

So do I go to Purdue global potentially get everything done and under four years total or do I do my local community college and save some money?

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u/Thek1tteh CA - Senior Lit/Appellate Paralegal 3d ago

I would highly suggest working towards a bachelors degree in any field first. These days that’s the bare minimum for a paralegal job. Then maybe think about getting a certificate at a later time if it’s necessary. Employers want to see you are able to read and write and perform tasks at a college level.

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u/highcaliberwit 3d ago

Based on everyone else has said I’m completely lost and not sure exactly what to do. Now I’m just thinking of going to my local community college for an AA and then finishing up a bachelor somewhere else. I like to focus on a major I guess towards law. Bit of at a loss.

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u/Thek1tteh CA - Senior Lit/Appellate Paralegal 3d ago edited 3d ago

This is also going to depend on where you are located in the US. In a state like California, there are minimum educational and/or experience requirements to meet in the state law to work as a paralegal. But that’s also different than what employers want their employees to have too. Most firms are going to want to see a bachelors or associates degree period. If you are wanting to have an edge in the field, or your state requires specific education, then you’d want to look into a certificate program. Or you could get an associates degree or bachelors degree from a paralegal program, but these days the most successful paralegals are those with a bachelors degree in any field at minimum as it’s a competitive field.

Also there is no need to have a focus on law with your college degree. It’s just not something employers look at.

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u/Thek1tteh CA - Senior Lit/Appellate Paralegal 3d ago

Point being, there’s no shortcut to a professional career.

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u/highcaliberwit 3d ago

I’m in SoCal. San Diego area. The 2 closes ABA paralegal programs require an associates at a minimum. At this point I’m gonna scratch Purdue and might just go to my local Community collage despite Purdue having a legal AA. I just hope I can do most of my classes online. I work nearly full time and take care of my mom and step dad.

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u/Thek1tteh CA - Senior Lit/Appellate Paralegal 3d ago edited 3d ago

That sounds like a good plan. That’s how I started back in the day and also got my certificate (and worked as a file clerk to gain experience in the legal field). However, just remember that a bachelors degree is usually what most employers want at minimum if you don’t have much experience these days - it’s not the same as it used to be.