I am currently working for a solo lawyer. While I love my job, I often wonder if it is the right move to stay in such a small office (it is just myself and the attorney). Part of me thinks that it is good because I can honestly say that I run the office without help from supportive staff or upper managment, but part of me also thinks that if in the future I deceide to change jobs (as might be necessary - boss is looking towards retirement) that a larger firm would not look so highly on small firm experience. What is your take on this? Just for further info - I have been working at this job for 3 years. Prior to that I was with a mid-sized firm for 2 yrs and a solo practitioner for 1 yr prior to that. My ultimate goal is to become an attorney, so I am further confused if it would be worth the change as this is not going to be my career (I mean being a secretary/ofc mgr).
By the way, what would be the going salary for someone with my experience in a larger metropolis (i.e. DC or SF)?
2007-01-02 05:35:35 · 3 answers · asked by Angel 3 in Business & Finance ➔ Careers & Employment
Furhter info - Yes, I do want to be an attorney. Ever since I worked for the first time within the legal field. And yes, I do have (as of last semester) a 3.94 GPA, and plan on attending either Georgetown or Berkeley. I know that attorney's are a dime a dozen, but that is where my passion is and, to be honest, that wasn't my question.
2007-01-02 05:54:01 · update #1
I've had the best of both worlds. Working at a smaller co. you are somebody, an actually human being. While at larger companies you're just another employee.
However, I got alot of my experience with smaller companies because you do much broader work, a little of everything.
At larger companies you can still move up but it may be a little more challenging to get yourself noticed because there are other people just like you in your department.
On your resume, I would not list how big or small the firm was, it's what you accomplished and learned from your job.
I was the assistant to the President of a small company but the small part should be left out because you are downplaying your skills.
I think there are pros and cons on both sides and it's where you feel the most challenged yet comfortable.
2007-01-02 05:43:25 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I work in a medium-size law firm. Working in a law firm no matter what size is good experience. However, I can see now that secretarial positions are going to be obsolete in a few years. We are known as Assistants now and not Secretaries like we used to be. Attorneys are more computer literate now and do not need the help of secretaries as often as they used to. I currently work for 6 people and I don't have enough work to keep me busy for an 8-hour work day. I could easily work for 6 more and still not have enough work. You mentioned that your goal was to be become a lawyer some day. Do you really want to do this? There are 1,000,000,000 young lawyers looking for jobs now and it's really tough for them. Unless you have a 4.0 average and attend a prestigious law school, it will be very tough getting into a good law firm. My advice would be for you to go to school for something else, something that will always be in demand like in the medical profession or in the computer field. Good luck!
2007-01-02 05:46:39 · answer #2 · answered by Me, Myself & I 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋
As an entry level Engineer you should be more concerned with the different experience you will gain than the size of the company. In larger companies you tend to become more specialized earlier than you would with a smaller company. Base your decision on the type and variety of the work you will be doing. The more and different experience you get opens more fields for you later in your career.
2016-05-23 06:40:52 · answer #3 · answered by Jeanette 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋