Legal Careers & Salaries

Legal Industry Salary Comparison

Estimated average salary from bls.gov May 2010

The legal industry is one with a hot job outlook, which is due in part to societies propensity to get itself in trouble. There's more people suing each other (which is not exactly a good thing) so there's more demand for trained legal professionals.

Everyone knows that attorneys make a lot of money, but there are many other careers in the legal profession that earn well too. And all of these require much less education than a lawyer. So you can earn well without needing to spend 7 years in college.

For example, you don't even need a bachelor's degree to become a paralegal and it's possible to earn nearly $75,000 annually in this career field. Court reporters earn even more, topping out at over $90,000 per year and again, a 4-year degree is not a requirement.