First of all, I am a paralegal in the State of Texas and all I know comes from my experience here. That goes to say that my knowledge might not be accurate where you live.

Is attending an ABA program a deal breaker? No. The reason I always preach going the ABA route is the quality of the program you are attending. If you compare some of the curriculum of ABA approved programs vs. non-ABA, you will quickly find a difference. Is this in all cases? Probably not. Again, this is from my experience. Our firm actively participates in internship opportunities for law clerks and paralegals. We have a local ABA approved program that requires internship hours. I can tell you, from my perspective and experience (I am the person that narrows down the applications), that the college students vs. online students is drastic. There are certain classes, like legal research, that you just can't feasibly do online. The college has a law library and their students are required to know how to use the law library and the books. Granted, most research is now done online, it is still good to know. It has been my experience that the online students really know nothing. We've fired many online interns because they just didn't cut it.

I believe you are misinformed about the NALA certification. You cannot take the exam for the Certified Paralegal designation unless you meet the following education/experience criteria:

(a) Approved by the American Bar Association; or

(b) An associate degree program; or

(c) A post-baccalaureate certificate program in paralegal studies; or

(d) A bachelor's degree program in paralegal studies; or

(e) A paralegal program which consists of a minimum of 60 semester hours (900 clock hours or 90 quarter hours) of which at least 15 semester hours (225 clock hours or 22.5 quarter hours) are substantive legal courses.

2. A bachelor's degree in any field plus one year's experience as a paralegal. Successful completion of at least 15 semester hours (or 22.5 quarter hours or 225 clock hours) of substantive paralegal courses will be considered equivalent to one year's experience as a paralegal.

3. A high school diploma or equivalent plus seven (7) years' experience as a paralegal under the supervision of a member of the Bar, plus evidence of a minimum of twenty (20) hours of continuing legal education credit to have been completed within a two (2) year period prior to the examination date.

My point is, you will not qualify to take the NALA exam until after you received your education, so your qualm about becoming NALA certified and attend a NON ABA program is moot.

Not attending an ABA program will not completely shut you out. Getting hired is 100% dependent on the hiring attorney and how well you write a resume. No one can predict that for you. If your degree is from a reputable school, not some fake paralegal institute or backyard program, you should be fine. Just make sure you know how to explain to the hiring attorney what you learned in your legal classes.

Good luck.

**EDIT** Yes. I had to re-read everything. You would need at least 15 credit hours of legal courses and you can test.