Job Responsibilities
My job duties include training new hire associates, paralegals
and staff on the basic computer function of all applications they
will use on the job. I also write the documentation that is
handed out to the users. When I'm not conducting new user
training, I hold classes for secretaries, attorneys and staff to
refresh computer skills they may not use very often. When I'm
not in the classroom, I support the helpdesk by helping them
understand user problems and identifying the differences between
real software/hardware issues and whether the user just needs
more training.
I'm currently spearheading a move to certify our classes for CLE
(Continuing Legal Education) classes for paralegals and attorneys
who must take a certain number of courses to stay licensed.
When a new software is developed in house or a new software is
purchased, I do testing, write end-user documentation or quick
reference cards and help the programmers and installers customize
the software so that it will be a seamless upgrade to a user's
desktop.
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Job Requirements
I have a bachelor of arts with an emphasis in law and computing
and writing. I have a paralegal certificate and am a member of
the American Society of Training and Development.
I also worked sometime in Word Processing at a law firm to help
me understand how documents are processed through the law firm.
As a paralegal I understood the nature of the law practice
process and learned the terminology relating to a law practice.
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Uppers
The best parts of my job is when I help someone understand how to use the
computer to make their job easier. It is a real high to see someone's eyes light
up when they understand a concept that had not understood before.
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Downers
The worst part of my job that the people I support are sometimes
under a lot of stress and they take it out on the support staff.
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Lifestyle
I have pretty consistent work hours, every day during the week. Sometimes when
we go upgrade our software or add new offices we have extra work to do on the
weekends and sometimes that invovles traveling to other offices. At first, my
job had about 25% travel in it. Now with new staff, my travel is down to about
10%.
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Compensation
The base salary for this type of position is 39K-42K. I get a
small salary increase each year and I also get a bonus based on
my tenure. I get full benefits of medical, 401K, dental,
flexible spending accounts, discounts on some places like the zoo
or the arboretum, or the museum of art.
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Advice to Jobseekers
Computer training is a broad field. I would find a speciality
area like law, corporate, manufacturing and get as much
experience in learning all aspects of the jobs and how they
interface with the computer to make you a well-rounded trainer.
I don't think it's necessary to pay a lot of money to a boot camp
to get certified (I'm not). I think my greatest strength is my
people skills which I have channeled into computer training.
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