What Can You Do with a Legal Studies Degree?

Radek, what jobs can you get with a Legal Studies Degree? I’m wondering, what can I do with a Legal Studies Degree?

Many people who take on a degree in legal studies go on to careers as paralegals or legal assistants, but this isn’t a rule. A legal studies major could also go into many other fields, including: advertising, marketing, sales, education, communications, and government.

If you do want to work as a paralegal, know that earning certification in addition to your degree may make you more employable. For example, the National Association of Legal Assistants (NALA) offers Certified Legal Assistant (CLA) or Certified Paralegal (CP) certifications.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, about 71% of paralegals and legal assistants were employed by private law firms in 2008. Many others worked for corporate legal departments or for the government. Employment in this field is expected to grow over the next several years, but there will be significant competition as many people are drawn to this profession.

An undergraduate degree in legal studies also serves as a great foundation for graduate study. (Remember that a degree in legal studies will not make one an attorney. All lawyers need to go to law school.)

Careers you can get with a degree in legal studies include:

  • Court Clerk
  • Human Resources Manager
  • Journalist
  • Labor Relations Director
  • Law Enforcement Officer
  • Legal Assistant
  • Lobbyist
  • Paralegal
  • Politician
  • Public Interest Advocate
  • Reporter
  • Writer
1 comment… add one
Brian Hackett

I have a Legal Studies degree. The only thing its good for is law school. That’s it. Even if you pursue being a legal assistant or paralegal you need a certification which you can get w/o a degree. Realistically employers don’t care what degree you have. They just use college degrees as a bar set for the kind of individuals they employ. You don’t need a college degree to work at a car rental place but they require it to add prestige to their medial labor. Same goes for a lot of jobs. Its an employers market and they have many to choose from. Low pay low benefits they work you longer no days off. You have to work 60-80hrs to make $30k. That sounded so appealing at first. What happen to the overtime concept after 40hrs or plus 10hrs in a day…modern capitalist slave labor. Sold us the idea that capitalism is good. Its only good if you’re on the top.

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