Regardless
of the field in which you work, there are no guarantees
in the job market. During slow economic times, employment
figures in almost all sectors suffer. Even when the
economy is strong, entire industries can collapse due
to non economic factors. The sudden crash of the .com
companies in the '90's is evidence of this. What appears
to be a hot career track one moment can turn out to
be a dead end industry just months later.
There
are no guarantees, but certain industries have a history
of employment stability and growth. The legal field
is one of these sectors. A sluggish economy will lower
the demand for certain elective legal services, such
as estate planning and drafting wills, but increase
the need for legal counsel regarding bankruptcy, foreclosures
and divorce. The legal field is unique in this ability
to shift work from one aspect of law to another, cushioning
the impact of an economic downturn. Instead of losing
business across the board, as in most industries, legal
work simply shifts into different sectors during slow
economic periods.
Given
the number of practicing attorneys in the Washington,
D.C. area (over 40,000), and their necessity in good
and bad times, the paralegal profession is a very stable
field to enter. But don't just take our word for it,
the U.S. Department of Labor states: "highly skilled,
formally trained paralegals have excellent employment
potential." These are exactly the type of graduates
that PIW produces. Our placement rates reflect the quality
of our graduates. Eighty to ninety percent of our students
receive jobs within ninety days of completing our program.
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