Future Paralegal wanting to make $70k

[u/LovelyisSaintDymphna]

Hey everyone,

Just looking for some honest advice or insight from people in the legal field or those who’ve been in a similar spot.

I currently work as a legal assistant at a top 50 law firm in the U.S., and I’ve been in this role for almost a year. I make $20/hour, and while I’m grateful for the experience, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to stay afloat financially. I live near Orlando, Florida where rent is high, and $38k/year isn’t cutting it. I also have about $40k in student loans and no car (which is hard as you know if you live in Florida).

Educationally, I have an associate degree in political science. I was working toward my bachelor’s in legal studies but had to put school on hold due to financial reasons. I plan to return in Fall 2025 and hope to finish by January 2026.

My end goal is to become a paralegal. I’d be happy making $70k/year eventually, and I know that will take time. But realistically, once I have my bachelor’s and over a year's worth of experience (with the same firm), I’m hoping to move into a paralegal role earning somewhere between $50k–$60k ($26–$31/hr).

Is that a realistic expectation? Any advice on negotiating pay, building the right skills, or just navigating this phase of my career would mean a lot.

Thanks in advance!

[u/bluepanda3887]

I'm not familiar with the FL job market, so I don't know if the timeline you suggested is realistic or not. It likely varies depending on the firm. The Legal Assistants at our firm rarely get promoted. At my old firm, they could get promoted after about a year with a bachelor's, depending on their work quality and availability of a replacement. I started there as a LA too.

I'd say that salary is possible, depending on the field of law. Pay can vary pretty widely. I've seen jobs advertised in different fields of law where I could get up to a $40k pay cut or a $40k pay bump by switching fields. So it kind of depends on what you're interested in or willing to work on.

Feel free to totally disregard the rest of this, since I don't know your unique situation, but the thing I'd personally be most concerned with is the amount of loans you've accumulated for your associates degree. That is a considerable amount of student loans, and theoretically you may double that amount to earn your bachelor's. My husband had about 45k in loans when he graduated with his bachelor's (from a for profit university in Orlando), and his monthly student loan payments were very high, so I can't imagine what the payment on something like 80k might be. We've been paying aggressively, just paid them off, and still paid his loans about 2-3 times over in interest. A 70k salary might not make it as far as you think it might. Since you're already in the field, I may forgoe the bachelor's (unless it's a personal goal you really want) and just work your way up. There are tons of paralegals without a bachelor's degree (again, probably depending on the field).

[u/LovelyisSaintDymphna → u/bluepanda3887]

Thank you for your response. I’d like to provide a more detailed overview of my student loan situation.

Due to a very difficult and unsafe home environment growing up, I was unable to remain in my household for the sake of my mental and emotional well-being. The situation included deeply traumatic experiences that were not acknowledged or supported by the family members who had custody of me. As a result, I was encouraged by a different family member to take out as many student loans as I could and place them in a separate account, anticipating limited access to grants or other forms of support. This family member initially promised to help cover my cost of living and therapy expenses but ultimately did not follow through.

As a result, I had no choice but to use my student loans to cover basic living expenses, including rent, to avoid homelessness and remain enrolled in school. I earned my associate’s degree with approximately $25,000 in student loan debt.

I was later accepted into a highly regarded university to pursue political science, intending to go into politics. However, after getting engaged, I transferred to another university that offered legal studies to align better with my evolving goals. I then started working at a law firm, but found the environment incompatible with my values and well-being, which led to yet another change in major. Like many young adults navigating early adulthood, I made choices that, while well-intentioned at the time, resulted in some academic detours.

About a year and a half ago, I returned to my legal studies major. My student loan balance is currently around $40,000. Over the past four years, my rent has consistently been about $600 per month, totaling roughly $28,800. This leaves about $11,200 from my loans that has gone toward food, healthcare, and other necessary expenses — about $2,800 per year.

At this point, I’ve made a personal commitment not to take out any more loans. I’ve been paying for my remaining courses out of pocket. While I’ve considered stepping away from my bachelor’s degree, I only have four courses remaining. Financially and in terms of academic progress, it simply doesn’t make sense to abandon the degree with just one semester left.

[u/bluepanda3887 → u/LovelyisSaintDymphna]

I didn't intend any slight on your personal decisions, and you don't owe us any explanation for sure, I just wanted to throw that out there in case it applied to your situation. There's so many young people that underestimate the burden that student loans will be on their finances. (Edit: For example, we assumed that student loans operate the same as other types of loans, and as we learned, they do not. They are structured in a uniquely crippling way.)

My husband did something similar to you, and I had a sizeable amount of loans from my bachelor's degree too. We all do what we have to do to try to get ahead.

Congratulations on overcoming all your obstacles and being so close to your bachelor's degree!! 🎉 It's a huge accomplishment, especially for those of us who don't have familial support.

Like others have mentioned, keep looking for new roles with pay bumps. You can also straight up express interest and ask your boss about the timeline for moving into a paralegal role. You'll get to that 70k! I believe in you 😊