Herzing Blog

Cheryl Michaud’s original plan was to become a teacher. But when she was partway through her education degree, a change in her personal circumstances made her realize she needed to get job-ready more quickly. So she enrolled in the legal assistant program at Herzing College.

That was back in 2004. Since then, she has supported lawyers in both small and midsize firms, worked as an executive assistant to a couple of chartered accountants, assisted a group of provincial court judges, and played a key role in the legal services department of city government.

Along the way, she kind of fell into office management, developing systems and processes to keep operations running smoothly. That eventually led her to management positions supervising other legal assistants. Today, as part of her position she’s in charge of hiring and training assistants for a firm that offers legal support in more than 20 different areas of law.

We interviewed Cheryl recently to learn more about her career journey and what advice she has for people considering this line of work. Read on for the highlights.

Updated January 2024

Legal assistants are highly skilled administrators who are an important part of the legal team.

In addition to maintaining files and scheduling appointments, they help prepare legal documents like statements of claim, petitions for divorce, wills, and transfers of land and mortgages. They may also assist a lawyer with case research.

In other words, they keep legal offices running smoothly. But it seems there aren’t enough of them to go around.

Considering a career in this field? Below, we explore the factors behind the growing demand for legal assistants and explain what you need to know about training, skills, earnings, and career opportunities.

It’s a classic problem: you need experience to get a job, but you need a job to get experience. Internship programs offer the ideal solution.

Internships are the real-world application of what you learn in college. Lasting anywhere from a few weeks to a few months, they are a unique opportunity to work in a professional environment and refine your job-specific skills (like accounting or computer programming) as well as your transferable skills (like communication or teamwork).

If you’re new to a career field, an internship is an excellent way to boost your industry experience and knowledge and get your foot in the door of a company.

Read on to learn how internships provide valuable practical experience, foster professional development, and open doors to future employment opportunities.

Campus President Kevin Crupi, National Director of Academics Robin Day, The Hon. Jill Dunlop, and Academic Dean Lama Ziad

This week, Herzing College Ottawa was pleased to host The Honourable Jill Dunlop, Ontario’s Minister of Colleges and Universities, for her first visit since her appointment in 2021. 

Minister Dunlop was welcomed by several members of Herzing staff, who provided a guided tour of the campus’s classrooms and facilities. The minister also spoke with students in our Personal Support Worker program and met with some of our employer partners.

Nothing in Ayodele Daini’s background had prepared him for a career in information technology. On the contrary, he’d spent years working in the fields of agronomy and property management. But he’d always been interested in tech, and when he moved to Canada he decided to make that his new career path.

That led him to enrol in the online cybersecurity program from Herzing College. After an intense year of study, he graduated in April 2023 and quickly landed an IT security job with a major Crown corporation.

We spoke to Ayodele to get his thoughts on the training and his overall career journey. Here are the highlights of that conversation.

It was her personal experience with immigrating to Canada that got Michelle Peralta interested in the field.

A nurse in her native Philippines, Michelle came to Canada as a caregiver in 2018. After going through the steps to get her work permit and become a permanent resident, and helping some of her loved ones through the same process, she decided to pursue formal training in immigration.

So she enrolled in Herzing’s online immigration case manager program—and landed a job in the field even before she graduated!

We spoke with Michelle to get her reflections on the training and learn more about her career journey. Here are the highlights of that conversation.

Updated December 2023

You've probably heard there's strong demand for software developers and programmers. But exactly what kinds of jobs can you get as a total beginner? And what salary will you make just starting out?

It can be tricky to get a clear picture of entry-level programming jobs. Employers have very different ideas about what skills a beginner should have, depending on the clients they serve and the projects they work on.

To make things easier, we analyzed dozens of programmer job postings on sites like Indeed, Monster, and LinkedIn. From there, we identified the four most common entry-level jobs in software development and programming.

In this post, we describe each role, including the average salary for candidates with little-to-no experience (based on the latest data from the Government of Canada Job Bank). We also provide details on the demand for programmers and developers, the skills employers look for, and how you can position yourself for success.

After earning a degree in advertising in the Phillippines and spending years working in sales, customer service, and business development, Marikit Dela Cruz was looking to enhance her skills specifically in the area of supply chain management.

Herzing’s program was available online, which made it easier to fit both work and study into her schedule. So she took a chance and enrolled.

By the time she graduated in March 2023, she had already secured a job as a purchasing assistant with the very same company where she’d done her internship!

We caught up with Marikit to find out what she thought of her Herzing experience and what advice she would pass on to other students.

Here’s her story.

For people with busy work schedules, embracing the challenge of pursuing additional education takes a lot of courage. It can be difficult to figure out how to effectively manage your time—and stress level—to achieve your goals, especially in a self-paced online course.

But take heart: it can be done!

With over 55 years of experience helping students transition back to school and start new careers, Herzing has learned a thing or two about balancing work and school and avoiding student burnout.

If you’re wondering how to fit an online course into your life while still meeting your job responsibilities, check out our productivity tips for students below.

Congratulations on landing your first job after graduation! Making the move from college to the workplace can be both exciting and challenging. So what can you expect in this new world? And how can you best prepare?

In this blog, we cover essential strategies to set you up for success, from building strong relationships with colleagues and mentors to developing a growth mindset and embracing continuous learning. We also provide practical advice to help you avoid common missteps.

Following the tips outlined here can help you navigate the transition from student life to the professional realm with confidence and competence.