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Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Question
I am currently a legal assistant in the twin cities. I like my job, but probably not as much as I should. Any advice on something to go back to school for that makes good money and I will work with people. This is the best time for me to go since we haven't had children yet,
The one thing that drives me nuts about my job is that I only work with a few ppl. I love working with lots of ppl and making friends at work.
Maybe nursing? I love taking care of people and children???
Re: Question
The bold part - that's a pretty broad job description if your main criteria are to make good money and work with people. Tons of jobs could fit that description, depending on what you consider to be "good money". I don't even know where to begin with giving suggestions. What skills to you have now? What types of things are you most interested in?
Are there places where you could be a legal assistant and work with a larger group of people?
Mr. Sammy Dog
I agree your post is too broad, but a general rule of thumb is the more you work with people, the less money you'll make. Sad, but true. Increase in income comes with more "rare" skills, specialization, and "doing" that skill rather than "being with people."
A first step may be to take a career assessment to get a sense of what you really enjoy doing. What Color Is My Parachute is a big of a "bible" for job seekers and you can probably find many copies in the library. It helps you figure out what you want to do.
Good luck! I found it an exciting journey to figure out (several times as I'm now on career #3) what I wanted to do with my life. :-)
I know that was somewhat broad.
I would like to work in a bigger firm so I am around more people. It is not my goal to work with a ton of people, I just hate sitting in an office alone half the week.
Also, the reason why I am looking to other fields is because I am uncertain of my current positiion because of the financial strain on my employers right now. Alot of other legal assistants I know have been laid off for similar reasons and are having a terrible time finding other jobs. It is scary.
I guess that is the reason why I am considering the medical field. I like the thought of doing something that helps people. That is the most wonderful feeling in world. I considered something medical when I was deciding on what to go to school for, but I went down this road.
Another thing I would have to consider is the fact that we may be moving to the Waconia area or futher out in about 5 yrs. Finding work at a firm may be hard unless I want to drive a long way.
Switching careers is definitely scary and exciting. Oh and I should have said a desent salary. Happiness is more important than money.
I know the legal market is hurting right now so I'm not sure how many jobs you're actually finding. You may want to look into virtual positions if you're not having much luck with traditional positions. It seems to be the trend these days for solo and small firms.
Or the two of you could trade jobs.
Tired after a long morning of hiking and swimming.
The market is shaky, which is one of the reasons I'm considering looking at something more stable such as the medical field.
I think the fact that you have 6 yrs can work highly to your advantage. You don't have so much experience that you demand too high of a salary, but you aren't so inexperienced that you are a risk to hire. Have you ever looked into 3M? They hire legal assistants and paralegals often with about 5 yrs experience.
P.S. How do you like working in a big firm. I never have and I have heard good and bad things about it.
Do not go into nursing just to make good money. You will hate it. If you think taking care of people may be for you, look for a PT group home job as a PCA (personal care attendant). You'll get a glimpse of the gross nursing work without having to apply for school, etc. And there is minimal training.
If the only thing you don't like about your job is the money and the amount of friends you are making - welcome to life. Work isn't necessarily about making friends. And the money comes eventually. Have you considered becoming a para legal?
Sorry about kinda killing the nursing idea. I'm a nurse getting another nursing degree. It is super annoying the people that just want to make money and take up a spot of someone who would work for free but are nursing because they love it. We've had three "there is more money in X field" people drop out this past semester alone.
I worked as a PCA right out of high school and through part of college and I really liked it. Yes, it was gross, but it didnt bother me. I ended up getting pressured by my mom to get my paralegal degree, and being young and dumb I did.
I also don't have a problem with the money I am making and the degree I have is in paralegal studies. My reason for wanting to change has nothing to do with money. My title is just referred to as a legal assistant because I do other duties. We are in a small firm and it would not make sense to hire a paralegal and legal secretary.
I don't want to switch careers to make friends, I just meant that it would be nice to associate with more people on a daily basis. I just also don't know if this is right for me.
Honestly, I prefer the smaller offices because it feels more intimate and team-oriented. It's easy to get lost in the shuffle in a large office. They have their pros and cons. I feel that there's more potential to grow in a smaller office as it expands (if that's their goal, that is).
Ultimately, I think I may want to get into office administration, legal marketing, or similar positions. For the time being, I will do what I have to in order to increase my income. I don't want to necessarily do paralegal work because I can make more money as an experienced secretary than as a starting paralegal. My paralegal experience is limited by comparison.
I don't regret taking the break from law. I am coming back to it now, which wasn't my intention, but it's what I'm good at and it's time to step up and take care of my family.
You'll have to decide what you want to do, but I would think long and hard about it before going back to school. I mean really investigate it. I just kind of took the leap and spent a lot of time and money trying to figure things out. I would spend a significant amount of time investigating any new career possibilities. That's the best advice I can give you.
I left a business career to go back for a nursing degree and while I can look back now and say I'm so glad I did it ( I did it when I was single, no kids), you have to be ready for a huge commitment.
Nursing school is the hardest thing I have ever done and it takes over your life for 2-3 years. But it is a great, rewarding career, I work 3 days a week and that supports our family and allows me a lot of time at home with my kids.
Thanks for all the good advice. I am not definitely looking into only nursing. I am considering anything medical or something that has to do with helping people.
There are so many things to consider. I just feel like if I am going to switch careers I need to figure it out now, so we can afford for me to go back to school before we have children.
On top of my other thoughts on switching careers, what will be best for my children(when I have them) is also on my mind. We want to move out of the immediate twin cites area and I don't want to be commuting a couple hrs a day to work at a firm in Minneapolis when my children are small.
I am hoping to find some kind of job working in a smaller town, such as Waconia. Many of my girlfriends who are LPNs or RNs work at nursing homes and like it. That would definitely be something to look into for me.
I know going back to school for anything(especially nursing) is hard. Thankfully, I love going to school and it comes easily for me. My fiance makes more than enough money to support both of us for the time span that I would be in school and he supports whatever choice I make.