I am a paralegal in Santa Barbara, have been a paralegal for almost 5 years, and have my certification from UCSB as well as a Bachelors degree in Criminal Justice. I am in my final year of law school and a certified law student. I made $62,000 salary and I get a $400/month contribution for health insurance. I am the sole paralegal at the firm. I am asking for a salary adjustment, any advice? It seems like I am being paid drastically below the median salary of a paralegal with my skillset.

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Have you done some market research to see what you should be making for your area? I would do that first and go in with some numbers.

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Yes! Someone with my skill set and qualifications is making between 75-88k annually in my area so i was thinking of presenting something showing market rates

Yeah I’d say slightly underpaid

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The system under pays everyone. If they can get by doing that they won't do any better. That's with any job. Even security guard or working at McDonald's. Because there's always someone out there who will accept it. If you don't like it they will find someone willing to take it for that amount.

As a general rule organizations give raises based on what the person delivers. If you want to get a raise, make a good case for yourself based on the amount of work you do. I presume you can show that you've grown in the job and you are a more valuable employee now than you were when your salary was set.

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One piece of advice is I would avoid looking at median salaries since job titles can be misleading. If you’re the only paralegal at your firm how big is it? Do you perform the same responsibilities and hours as a paralegal at a larger firm?

Also I’d ask yourself if your current firm only had 1 paralegal do they really need someone with your skill set or are you overqualified which would explain the below average pay.

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There are only 2 attorneys in the firm so super small. I work 40 hours a week and actually perform more responsibilities than any other paralegals I know and have researched that are at larger firms. We had a second paralegal for a little over a year and a half but she was let go for other reasons last year besides workload/financial. I've since picked up her slack and cases, I havent gotten a raise since the end of 2024

Always get a second job. Not like your hurting for money are ya? Can you pay all your bills on time? Do you have money for milk? For gas?

Unfortunately I go to law school after work so I cant get a second job at the moment or else I would definitely do that. I am able to pay my bills on time and get gas and groceries, its more so feeling burnt out/living paycheck to paycheck

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