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Online Certificate Training Speeds Career Change

Washington Online Learning Institute
www.TheParalegalSchool.com
800-371-5581

Back to Success Stories


The fast-growing paralegal field is attracting talented people with diverse work backgrounds. Certificate training and Continuing Paralegal Education (CPE) are key.
Naomi Fisch
Radom & Wetter
3421 Route 22 East
Somerville, New Jersey 08876
(908) 707-1500
radomandwetter.com

Early Riser Gets Dream Job
Making a big career change is not for the faint-hearted. After 25 plus years in international operations, Naomi Fisch knew she was competent. But the industry’s roller coaster economics never provided much job security. So she decided in 2003 to pursue her long-standing interest in law and become a paralegal.

Naomi turned to her computer to research the field, and quickly determined that she wanted to earn her credentials through online training. She compared online and traditional classroom paralegal programs carefully, and was surprised to discover that even a good community college program did not offer the range of courses she could get in the program she ultimately chose, a 10-month online certificate program from Washington Online Learning Institute, www.theparalegalschool.com. She knew she could fit online study into any schedule. She wanted to complete her studies quickly. And she didn’t want to be constrained by classroom obligations if she found a paralegal job quickly. Disciplined and determined, she dug into the course material with zeal, and so found it very possible to put in the 2 or 3 hours a day needed to keep ahead.

Sure enough, two months into the program, Naomi was hired by a local law firm in the Somerville, NJ community where she lives. She credits her enrollment in the online paralegal certificate program with helping her to get a job that was originally posted as requiring paralegal experience. And, she says, she really had to use everything she was learning, as she plunged headfirst into full-time support of an attorney in community association law.

“I would recommend online learning to anyone,” says Naomi. “In many ways, it’s superior to the traditional classroom learning. I think I got more personal attention from my professors online than I ever would have in the community college classroom. The course material in Washington Online’s paralegal program is excellent. And their online environment is really conducive to learning. Instead of competing with fellow students, there’s a camaraderie in the online discussions, a wonderful combination of intensive learning and fun. The course participants are at every level in their careers, and there was so much sharing of information about careers and how offices work. It went far beyond textbook learning.”

An early riser, Naomi found it easy to stay abreast of the course material, even after she began working. She got online mornings, evenings, and weekends, and took her textbook everywhere with her, studying through her lunch hour and at every opportunity. She also asked for a mentor through Washington Online, and was delighted to find in this person a devoted friend, colleague, and coach.

Today, Naomi holds the National Paralegal Certificate from Washington Online and is a valued member of her firm’s two-person paralegal staff. Would she return for further training? “Absolutely,” says Naomi. “I’m not after a degree. I already have a BA in history and a Masters in education. What I value is the credibility and confidence I’ve found in my new career as a paralegal.”

 

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Updated 08/25/06
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