What is it like to be a paralegal?

It depends where you get a job, in a shady law firm it's scary, in a big firm it's too much work; it's a good fun job if you get a nice family type office.

From my experience, paralegals are highly underrated. They do the work of the attorny, work a lot of unpaid overtime. The attorney charges the poor client $200-$300 and pays the paralegal $15-20/hr to do all the grunt work. They often call you exempt which means you work overtime for free. They call you at home 24/7. What a great deal for the attorneys who basically keep all people from getting justice due to the high fees. Justice is for the rich only - do you want to work in that environment? Of course these are only the people I've know.

The opportunities for a paralegal really depends on the specialty. The most in demand paralegals are those in the litigation field; followed by corporate paralegals who are responsible for maintaining corporate records, articles of incorporation, etc. While the "least" marketable [but the "highest" paid] paralegals are in the field of intellectual property [i.e., patents, trademarks] and immigration law. In conclusion, choose your paralegal courses accordingly, with emphasis on litigation preparation [discovery], docketing/calendaring of incoming pleadings [calendaring] and trial preparation [creating Exhibit tabs, Bajii jury instructions, etc.]. The "pro" side of a litigation paralegal is often "unlimited" overtime which can amount to a high salary range of $65,000 to $75,000 per year, while the "downside," being constantly pressured to meet a monthly client billable quota. And failing to meet that quota, often results in the paralegal's overnight dismissal. It's not a pretty picture. I just want to lay out what really happens in the real world of litigators and their relationship with subordinate paralegals. Good luck!