Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between legal transcriptionists and contractor-paralegals 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 transcriptionist and a contractor-paralegal. Additionally, a contractor-paralegal has an average salary of $60,686, which is higher than the $48,622 average annual salary of a legal transcriptionist.
The top three skills for a legal transcriptionist include transcription, legal terminology and dictation. The most important skills for a contractor-paralegal are litigation, legal research, and discovery responses.
| Legal Transcriptionist | Contractor-Paralegal | |
| Yearly salary | $48,622 | $60,686 |
| Hourly rate | $23.38 | $29.18 |
| Growth rate | 14% | 14% |
| Number of jobs | 6,047 | 15,609 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 37% | Bachelor's Degree, 53% |
| Average age | 46 | 46 |
| Years of experience | 12 | 12 |
A legal transcriptionist produces written transcriptions of audio recordings from various legal conversions such as consultations, interviews, and court proceedings. It is their responsibility to deliver accurate transcriptions, from dialogues to gestures and diction. To carry out their duties, they must maintain an active communication line with the employer, keep an eye out for errors and inconsistencies, and organize files accordingly. Moreover, a legal transcriptionist may directly work at government offices and legal firms. They can also work as independent contractors, typically working from home.
A Contractor-Paralegal works for a law firm or corporate legal department for a specified amount of time, or for a specified task. They can be specialized in the entertainment industry or in providing services to healthcare companies and insurance providers.
Legal transcriptionists and contractor-paralegals have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Legal Transcriptionist | Contractor-Paralegal | |
| Average salary | $48,622 | $60,686 |
| Salary range | Between $35,000 And $65,000 | Between $37,000 And $99,000 |
| Highest paying City | - | Camarillo, CA |
| Highest paying state | - | California |
| Best paying company | - | SeaSpine |
| Best paying industry | - | Finance |
There are a few differences between a legal transcriptionist and a contractor-paralegal in terms of educational background:
| Legal Transcriptionist | Contractor-Paralegal | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 37% | Bachelor's Degree, 53% |
| Most common major | Business | Legal Support Services |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | Harvard University |
Here are the differences between legal transcriptionists' and contractor-paralegals' demographics:
| Legal Transcriptionist | Contractor-Paralegal | |
| Average age | 46 | 46 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 6.5% Female, 93.5% | Male, 26.8% Female, 73.2% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 9.9% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 16.5% Asian, 6.0% White, 62.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% | Black or African American, 9.5% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 19.1% Asian, 5.8% White, 60.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% |
| LGBT Percentage | 9% | 9% |