Banks! How the hell are you? Congrats on your fourth and final of law school, buddy! My nephew just found out he passed the bar for PA, and will get the results for NJ sometime in December (
which we're fairly certain he aced!).
As far as your advice - I appreciate that so much, and I had thought of going that route, too. And believe me, as much as I don't want to go back to classes after a full day of work and fork over tuition, I think it's best for many reasons.
First of all, I do feel that my age - even though I've been assured here that it's not a problem, and that does make me feel better - might still put me at a slight disadvantage than if I were going up against someone, say, 26 years old and fresh out of law school (
assuming in this scenario that they were also going for a paralegal job). For me to think about leaving my job and getting into a much more fast paced and specialized environment like a law firm with nothing to show for it other than 20 years of being an admin - and not one who understands law and why things are done the way they are - that's a disadvantage, I think. Plus, at almost 46, I'll want more money than someone fresh out of school for the first time, so I'd better be able to back that up. My way of seeing it is - who would you hire? A 26 year old who has the training and would be hired at a starting salary. Or, a 46 year old who's going to want more money and is going to want them to put her through school and teach her as she goes along? I just feel it's probably smarter, given my age and non-law background that I'd better have something to offer when I sit down for that interview.
Second, I have a resume that, although there's 20 years in the business, I have to admit has gotten a little shakey looking over the past few years. It was the six month move out to CA and back that really hurt the way my resume looks, plus the first job I landed when I got back to NY - those two blips make me look, quite frankly, like a flake. It's hard to describe in a post, you'd have to see it. I've been told by family and friends not to worry, that it's no better or worse than anyone else with 20 years work experience, but I've also been told by some business-related people that it's a little checkered looking.
So, taking that into account, again, I feel that if I go in there with the training and the certification, having paid for that education myself, it's at least better. I can't really see myself marching in there and saying, "Hey, I know I don't have the greatest resume in the world, and I have no training or certification as a paralegal, but hire me, please? Oh, and train me and put me through school, too. Kthnxbai."
I do feel I have a lot of pluses, but I've racked up a few minuses over the years, which are enough to make me think that if I do this, I can't go in there expecting anyone to do anything special for me - this has to be all on me. If I had a law background, a better looking resume, was 20 years younger, I'd be going a different path, sure. But given that I've got what I've got and I can't really change that, I think making sure I have all my ducks in a row is my best bet.
, which is a really good book (hey, can't beat a solid five out of five star rating from ten users). Figured I could get ahead of the game a little and be ready to register for the class when it rolls around.
