SiG Lady Posted October 20, 2013 Share Posted October 20, 2013 After over three years of paralegal studies and two years of board-of-directoring with the local chapter of a national paralegal association, I decided to take the association's level-one certification exam--and I passed. And a chapter local scholarship will reimburse my expenses connected to this effort. This all means I can place the letters "ALP" after my name. Heh. Gotta love those titles. I'm preparing now to sit for the level-two exam (the "PLS") in late March 2014--a much tougher exam--and hope to pass that one as well. Wish me luck. This one will be a tad more challenging. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flexmoney Posted October 20, 2013 Share Posted October 20, 2013 Congrats! ...and, good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blind bat Posted October 20, 2013 Share Posted October 20, 2013 Nice work Siggy. Congrats. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChuckS Posted October 20, 2013 Share Posted October 20, 2013 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EEH Posted October 20, 2013 Share Posted October 20, 2013 Does that make it Sig Lady alp.? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Youngeyes Posted October 20, 2013 Share Posted October 20, 2013 I'm proud of you. Hard work pays off. PLS is yours. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SiG Lady Posted October 20, 2013 Author Share Posted October 20, 2013 EEH, I could, I suppose, sign here as SiG Lady, ALP, but it wouldn't relate to shooting. I won't push my luck. Well, the PLS is an eight-hour exam (the ALP was only four hours), and will definitely cover some areas not covered in the ALP--and in more detail. It won't be what you call easy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GreenDragon64 Posted October 21, 2013 Share Posted October 21, 2013 Nothing in life that's worth it is easy. Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SiG Lady Posted October 21, 2013 Author Share Posted October 21, 2013 GreenDragon64, you're right about that. I thought my head was going to explode with facts just before the recent exam, but the results were quite worth it. The value of this next exam will be far greater based on the greater amount of knowledge required. But I'm ambitious and competitive (I have trophies from shooting matches, remember) so have a reputation to build and uphold in the legal community--even though I've been unemployed for what seems like for-fricking-ever. Either way, once you get these certifications, no one can argue with you any more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jadeslade Posted October 21, 2013 Share Posted October 21, 2013 I am always inspired by you. Nice going! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SiG Lady Posted October 21, 2013 Author Share Posted October 21, 2013 Jadeslade, you're too kind. Sometimes it's easy to think I'm struggling along all alone out here on the Left Coast, then I'm reminded by unexpected remarks from unexpected people that I'm not necessarily all alone after all. We ALL struggle and make efforts in our own ways. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toolguy Posted October 22, 2013 Share Posted October 22, 2013 You have made it this far, this is just one more hill on the road to success. I know you can do it! Best wishes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GuildSF4 Posted October 22, 2013 Share Posted October 22, 2013 Congratulations and good luck on the PLS exam. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ltdmstr Posted October 22, 2013 Share Posted October 22, 2013 Congratulations and good luck. I sure hope the job market for paralegals is better than it is for lawyers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benos Posted October 22, 2013 Share Posted October 22, 2013 After over three years of paralegal studies and two years of board-of-directoring with the local chapter of a national paralegal association, I decided to take the association's level-one certification exam--and I passed. And a chapter local scholarship will reimburse my expenses connected to this effort. This all means I can place the letters "ALP" after my name. Heh. Gotta love those titles. I'm preparing now to sit for the level-two exam (the "PLS") in late March 2014--a much tougher exam--and hope to pass that one as well. Wish me luck. This one will be a tad more challenging. You will pass that one too Siggy! Nice work! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SiG Lady Posted October 22, 2013 Author Share Posted October 22, 2013 ltdmstr, the opportunities here in Eugene for legal assistants (as well as lawyers) is as skimpy as whatever you can imagine. At the moment I'm not at liberty to relocate to Portland, where job opportunities do exist. Two of our local not-four-year educational institutions discontinued their respective legal assistant programs due to lack of local job openings. Plus, we have the University of Oregon here and its huge law school with JDs walking the streets like zombies looking for work. I'm having to compete and push myself along by participating in the association I belong to and grabbing education programs and other stuff wherever I can find it. ltdmstr, are you an attorney? (And do you live in Oregon?) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ltdmstr Posted October 23, 2013 Share Posted October 23, 2013 Sorry to hear that. Yes, I am an attorney in Illinois. Going on 20 years. Thought the market was bad when I got out of school in '94, but this is the worst I've ever seen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SiG Lady Posted October 21, 2014 Author Share Posted October 21, 2014 Well, it took a while, but I received notice yesterday that I'd passed the PLS certification exam, and now I have alphabet soup after my name and kinda belong to the club, as it were. Most respectable NALS members (with jobs and experience--unlike me) have the PLS designation, so that's the club I'm aspiring to. But it's not an awfully easy exam, the PLS, so I'm glad the stress is over with. And, as Tom Petty said, ". . . the waiting is the hardest part." Ms. Siggy, PLS, ALP Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Youngeyes Posted October 21, 2014 Share Posted October 21, 2014 Go Siggy. I knew you could do it. I'm super proud of you. Ms Siggy,PLS,ALP. I like it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dranoel Posted November 3, 2014 Share Posted November 3, 2014 My favorite guitarist, Brian May of Queen, recently said in an interview, "Everything worth doing is a little scary." I have to agree with that. It's that fear that makes us try harder and prepare better. And it is also that same fear that makes success all the sweeter. Grats, SiG Lady. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jadeslade Posted November 3, 2014 Share Posted November 3, 2014 Awesome! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve RA Posted November 3, 2014 Share Posted November 3, 2014 Congratulations !!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SiG Lady Posted November 4, 2014 Author Share Posted November 4, 2014 Thank you, all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SiG Lady Posted April 5, 2017 Author Share Posted April 5, 2017 Well, it's been a long time since I posted here about certifications, but in the meantime I found work (in 2015) and I just passed my THIRD (at last) level of certification, the "PP" (Professional Paralegal). I'm about as far from a "professional paralegal" as you can get, of course, but for sure I'm a legal assistant and make my living that way. (Oh, and they changed the "PLS" (Professional Legal Secretary) to "CLP" (Certified Legal Professional). --Ms. Siggy, PP, CLP, ALP Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve RA Posted April 5, 2017 Share Posted April 5, 2017 Congratulations - again !!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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