The legal assistant
- Name: Paige Stevenson
- Hometown: Crownsville, MD
Paige was unemployed for six months before finding part-time work as a legal assistant. Although her husband's technician job provides health insurance, Paige has no benefits and must pay for daycare for her 4-year old son.
Paige works 30 hours a week earns $15 per hour, but child care, a home mortgage and the cost of living near Washington D.C., are putting Paige in debt, she says.
Paige's boss wants her to finish some work tasks out of the office.
"People seem to expect full-time commitment at part-time prices," Paige says. "They let you go after your 30 hours, but they're really expecting a full commitment for $15 an hour with no benefits."
Paige put off going to law school, fearing the student debt and that the job market for lawyers isn't good. She would actually like a career in construction management, but has been turned down for positions.
Paige can fit 40 hours, a normal full-time amount, into her work schedule. But employers reject her when she can't commit to 50 or 60 hours a week, she says.
"When you're dealing with part-time jobs, they're basically dead ends," Paige, 32, says, "Employers, at least around here, have been asking for the moon and paying zero."
