Paralegals and Legal Assistants build complex problem solving, judgment and decision making and service orientation skills that carry over to other work. Below are 25 careers ranked by how closely their skills match, with pay from BLS May 2025. The closest match is Legal Secretaries and Administrative Assistants (91%).
Updated October 2026 · Data: O*NET 31.0 and BLS OEWS May 2025 · How we match careers
Sorted by skill match.
| # | Career | Skill match | Median pay | Pay change | Extra education |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Legal Secretaries and Administrative Assistants | 91% | $55,570 | −12% | None |
| 2 | Eligibility Interviewers, Government Programs | 84% | $54,210 | −14% | None |
| 3 | Executive Secretaries and Executive Administrative Assistants | 83% | $76,590 | +22% | None |
| 4 | Tax Examiners and Collectors, and Revenue Agents | 79% | $62,370 | −1% | None |
| 5 | Private Detectives and Investigators | 79% | $51,220 | −19% | None |
| 6 | Medical Records Specialists | 79% | $51,140 | −19% | None |
| 7 | Claims Adjusters, Examiners, and Investigators | 78% | $78,000 | +24% | Bachelor's degree |
| 8 | Tax Preparers | 77% | $54,920 | −13% | None |
| 9 | Accountants and Auditors | 77% | $83,680 | +33% | Bachelor's degree |
| 10 | Compliance Officers | 77% | $80,730 | +28% | Bachelor's degree |
Compared with Paralegals and Legal Assistants, median $62,890. Skill match is our estimate (0–99) from O*NET 31.0 skills, knowledge, work activities and interests, adjusted for preparation and big pay drops. Pay: BLS OEWS May 2025, national median.
How important each skill is in work as paralegals and legal assistants (O*NET importance, scale 1–5).
The gaps that show up most often across your top 10 matches.
Free and low-cost training: use the CareerOneStop training finder below.
A concrete first step, the skills to add, and the hard parts of each job, from O*NET 31.0 education, training and work context data.
91% skill match · $55,570 · −12% pay
Quality Control Analysis · Time Management · Troubleshooting
84% skill match · $54,210 · −14% pay
Social Perceptiveness · Service Orientation · Management of Personnel Resources
83% skill match · $76,590 · +22% pay
Quality Control Analysis · Management of Material Resources · Management of Financial Resources
If you want to stay close to what you do now, these roles are the nearest.
The closest matches are Legal Secretaries and Administrative Assistants (91% skill match, median $55,570), Eligibility Interviewers, Government Programs (84% skill match, median $54,210) and Executive Secretaries and Executive Administrative Assistants (83% skill match, median $76,590), based on O*NET 31.0 data and BLS May 2025 pay.
Among the 25 matches, 7 pay more than paralegals and legal assistants at the median. The biggest increases: Accountants and Auditors (+33%, $83,680), Insurance Underwriters (+29%, $81,370) and Compliance Officers (+28%, $80,730).
14 of the 25 matches usually need no more education than you have now, based on O*NET Job Zones.
We compare the importance of skills, knowledge, work activities and interests in O*NET 31.0 for your job and every other career, then adjust for extra preparation and big pay drops. The full method is on our Methodology page.