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The differences between legal technicians and paralegal specialists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 6-12 months to become both a legal technician and a paralegal specialist. Additionally, a legal technician has an average salary of $62,283, which is higher than the $61,244 average annual salary of a paralegal specialist.
The top three skills for a legal technician include litigation, sharepoint and legal research. The most important skills for a paralegal specialist are legal research, litigation, and government agencies.
| Legal Technician | Paralegal Specialist | |
| Yearly salary | $62,283 | $61,244 |
| Hourly rate | $29.94 | $29.44 |
| Growth rate | 14% | 14% |
| Number of jobs | 29,700 | 4,185 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 53% | Bachelor's Degree, 52% |
| Average age | 46 | 46 |
| Years of experience | 12 | 12 |
A Legal Technician is a person who maintains and inspects all equipment by having a proper document, including the marking. They are responsible for ensuring that all duties and schedules will be on time. This career is for someone who has a clear vision since their task is to check the accuracy and equipment quality. They must have practical communication skills and suitable deductive and analytic types of reasoning, and know how to evaluate the product or machinery's information.
A Paralegal Specialist provides assistance to lawyers and does many of the same jobs that lawyers do. They work in various areas, such as family, environmental, or real estate law.
Legal technicians and paralegal specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Legal Technician | Paralegal Specialist | |
| Average salary | $62,283 | $61,244 |
| Salary range | Between $44,000 And $86,000 | Between $35,000 And $106,000 |
| Highest paying City | Washington, DC | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | Pennsylvania | California |
| Best paying company | AIG | DLA Piper |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Government |
There are a few differences between a legal technician and a paralegal specialist in terms of educational background:
| Legal Technician | Paralegal Specialist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 53% | Bachelor's Degree, 52% |
| Most common major | Business | Legal Support Services |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between legal technicians' and paralegal specialists' demographics:
| Legal Technician | Paralegal Specialist | |
| Average age | 46 | 46 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 36.5% Female, 63.5% | Male, 37.8% Female, 62.2% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 8.8% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 20.8% Asian, 5.6% White, 59.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% | Black or African American, 9.7% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 17.1% Asian, 5.9% White, 61.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% |
| LGBT Percentage | 9% | 9% |