---

Legal Assistant/Paralegal

Types of Degrees Legal Assistant/Paralegal Majors Are Earning

People majoring in Legal Assistant/Paralegal can earn degrees at several award levels.

Award Level	Graduates
Certificate	2,064
Associate’s Degree	4,414
Bachelor’s Degree	812
Master’s Degree	2,134

What Legal Assistant/Paralegal Majors Need to Know

Programs in Legal Assistant/Paralegal build a specific mix of knowledge, skills, and abilities — derived from O*NET surveys of workers in occupations that Legal Assistant/Paralegal graduates commonly enter.

Knowledge Areas

According to O*NET, a major in Legal Assistant/Paralegal emphasizes the following knowledge areas:

• English Language — Importance 3.7 / 5; level 3.8 / 7.
• Law and Government — Importance 3.7 / 5; level 4.2 / 7.
• Administrative — Importance 3.3 / 5; level 4.6 / 7.
• Customer and Personal Service — Importance 3.2 / 5; level 3.2 / 7.
• Computers and Electronics — Importance 3.2 / 5; level 3.5 / 7.

^{Importance is rated 1–5; level is 1–7. Source: ONET Online — weighted across related occupations.*}

Skills

The skill set built by a Legal Assistant/Paralegal program reflects the day-to-day work of related occupations:

• Reading Comprehension — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 3.9 / 7.
• Active Listening — Importance 3.8 / 5; level 3.7 / 7.
• Speaking — Importance 3.6 / 5; level 3.6 / 7.
• Critical Thinking — Importance 3.6 / 5; level 3.6 / 7.
• Writing — Importance 3.5 / 5; level 3.7 / 7.

Abilities

The cognitive and physical abilities most relevant to Legal Assistant/Paralegal careers — again drawn from O*NET surveys of related occupations:

• Written Comprehension — Importance 4 / 5; level 4 / 7.
• Oral Comprehension — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4 / 7.
• Oral Expression — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4 / 7.
• Written Expression — Importance 3.8 / 5; level 3.8 / 7.
• Near Vision — Importance 3.5 / 5; level 4.1 / 7.

Common Job Activities

Day-to-day, Legal Assistant/Paralegal graduates report doing:

Activity	Frequency / Importance
Getting Information	4.6 / 7
Documenting/Recording Information	4.6 / 7
Working with Computers	4.5 / 7
Processing Information	4.3 / 7
Analyzing Data or Information	4.2 / 7
Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events	4.2 / 7
Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates	4.2 / 7
Evaluating Information to Determine Compliance with Standards	4.0 / 7
Making Decisions and Solving Problems	4.0 / 7
Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge	3.9 / 7

Technology Skills Used on the Job

Most frequently-cited tools used by Legal Assistant/Paralegal professionals:

Tool / Software	Category	In-Demand
Microsoft Word	Word processing software	✓
Web browser software	Internet browser software	—
Adobe Acrobat	Document management software	—
Microsoft Access	Data base user interface and query software	—
Microsoft Office software	Office suite software	✓
Word processing software	Word processing software	—
Microsoft PowerPoint	Presentation software	✓
Google Workspace software	Office suite software	—
Microsoft Outlook	Electronic mail software	✓
Microsoft Excel	Spreadsheet software	✓
GATORS ANYWHERE	Document management software	—
Microsoft Windows	Operating system software	—

^{Source: ONET Online technology skills, weighted across related occupations.*}

Sample Job Titles

Real job postings for Legal Assistant/Paralegal graduates include:

• Escrow Officer
• Transaction Coordinator
• DMV Title Clerk (Department of Motor Vehicles Title Clerk)
• Legal Instruments Examiner
• Title Specialist
• Advisory Title Officer
• License and Title Clerk
• Land Title Examiner
• Tag and Title Clerk
• Commercial Title Examiner
• Data Abstractor
• Abstract Clerk
• Title Searcher
• Foreclosure Specialist
• Title Closer

Education Typically Required

Across the occupations open to Legal Assistant/Paralegal graduates, the typical level of education actually held by current workers is distributed as:

Education Level	Share of Workers
High school diploma or equivalent	53.5%
Bachelor’s degree	17.2%
Associate’s degree (or other 2-year)	13.6%
Postsecondary certificate	11.6%
Doctoral degree	1.6%
Post-baccalaureate certificate	1.6%
Some college courses	0.9%

^{Source: ONET Online education / training / experience requirements.*}

Who Is Earning a Degree in Legal Assistant/Paralegal?

Gender Distribution

This field skews predominantly female, with women earning 84.1% of Legal Assistant/Paralegal degrees.

Gender	Graduates	Share
Women	7,985	84.1%
Men	1,508	15.9%

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the national level, the racial-ethnic distribution of Legal Assistant/Paralegal graduates is as follows:

Race / Ethnicity	Graduates	Share
White	4,566	48.1%
Asian	289	3.0%
Hispanic or Latino	2,341	24.7%
Black or African American	1,369	14.4%
American Indian / Alaska Native	60	0.6%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander	14	0.1%
Two or More Races	356	3.8%
Race Unknown	377	4.0%
International Students	121	1.3%

^{See minority definition below.}

How Much Do Legal Assistant/Paralegal Graduates Earn?

College Scorecard reports median earnings of Legal Assistant/Paralegal graduates 1, 4, and 5 years after completion. Earnings tend to climb steadily as graduates gain experience and move into mid-career roles.

Years Out	Median Earnings
1 year	$37,277
4 years	$37,648
5 years	$42,965

By year 5 out, median earnings rise to $42,965 — roughly 15% above the 1-year mark.

^{Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, field-of-study earnings tracker.}

Online Legal Assistant/Paralegal Programs

Online study are documented by IPEDS for Legal Assistant/Paralegal. The table below shows how many graduates earned at least some of their coursework online (Distance-Ed Available) versus completing the entire program online (Distance-Ed Only).

Award Level	Distance-Ed Available	Distance-Ed Only
Associate’s	112	48
Bachelor’s	19	18
Master’s	1	2

^{Distance-Ed Only = degrees completed entirely online; Distance-Ed Available = degrees including at least some online coursework. Source: IPEDS Completions by Distance Education status.}

Is a Degree in Legal Assistant/Paralegal Worth It?

Strictly by the federal earnings tracker, Legal Assistant/Paralegal graduates earn a median of $37,648 four years after completion — about 1% below the national median for workers with only a high school diploma (~$38,000). On earnings alone, this program does not show an income premium over the baseline; non-financial outcomes (career interests, certification requirements, advancement potential) are typically the stronger argument for fields in this range.

^{ROI estimate compares the program’s 4-yr median earnings against the 2023 BLS CPS median earnings for high-school-only workers. Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard + BLS Current Population Survey.}

Related Programs

You may also be interested in these closely related fields of study:

Program	CIP Code
Legal Support Services	22.03
Court Interpreter	22.0304
Court Reporting and Captioning/Court Reporter	22.0303
Legal Administrative Assistant/Secretary	22.0301
Legal Support Services, Other	22.0399
Scopist	22.0305
Non-Professional Legal Studies	22.0000

References

The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students and international students. This number is then divided by the total number of students to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• National Center for Education Statistics (IPEDS)
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard

More about our data sources and methodologies.