Legal · Career brief

Administrative Law Judges, Adjudicators, and Hearing Officers

Is it a good career to pursue?

The 30-second read

Administrative Law Judges, Adjudicators, and Hearing Officers at a glance

Six signals to look at before you spend time on the full guide.

1Pay

$117,860

High national median pay

2025 national median. Top quarter for pay among careers on ChooseField.

2Demand

Slow projected growth

Projected employment growth for 2025–2035. Below the middle of ChooseField careers for growth.

3Openings

500

Low national opening volume

Average openings per year in 2025–2035, including replacement hiring. Bottom quarter for openings among careers on ChooseField.

4Route in

Professional degree

Long formal preparation is part of the path

Doctoral or professional degree + related experience. Related work experience is typically required.

5The work

Structured / detail

Accuracy, process, and organized information matter

Determine existence and amount of liability according to current laws, administrative and judicial precedents, and available evidence.

6The catch

Know this first

What could make this a poor fit

BLS lists 5 years or more of related experience. This is normally reached through feeder roles, not directly from school.

ChooseField take

The standout national signal is pay; it ranks in the top quarter of ChooseField careers. It makes the most sense if structured, detail-oriented work appeals to you and you are comfortable with a professional-degree path. Main tradeoff: BLS lists 5 years or more of related experience. This is normally reached through feeder roles, not directly from school.

Before choosing, compare:Judges, Magistrate Judges, and Magistrates Judicial Law Clerks Lawyers

National labor-market measures: BLS 2025 wages and 2025–2035 projections. Work-profile signals: O*NET. See sources and caveats.

Compare Administrative Law Judges, Adjudicators, and Hearing Officers with another field Explore rankings in Legal Open shareable infographic

Want the evidence behind the snapshot?

Market and path

Pay, outlook, and the route in

National median pay (2025)

$117,860

A midpoint for workers nationwide, not a starting salary.

2025–2035 outlook

0%employment growth500openings per year

Openings include replacement hiring, not only newly created jobs.

Typical entry route

Doctoral or professional degree; Prior related experience: 5 years or more; One month or less of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing

BLS reports the usual education, related experience, and on-the-job training, not a guaranteed minimum for every employer.

2025 employment

17,400

A small national occupation; local availability may be uneven.

Source: BLS 2025 wages and 2025–2035 occupational projections ↗ · Administrative law judges, adjudicators, and hearing officers (23-1021).

Actual responsibilities

What you would be trusted to own

Selected O*NET task statements, not a list of traits that applies to almost every career.

Determine existence and amount of liability according to current laws, administrative and judicial precedents, and available evidence.
Monitor and direct the activities of trials and hearings to ensure that they are conducted fairly and that courts administer justice while safeguarding the legal rights of all involved parties.
Conduct hearings to review and decide claims regarding issues, such as social program eligibility, environmental protection, or enforcement of health and safety regulations.
Review and evaluate data on documents, such as claim applications, birth or death certificates, or physician or employer records.

Decision-changing realities

What could make this a poor fit

BLS lists 5 years or more of related experience. This is normally reached through feeder roles, not directly from school.
BLS projects essentially flat employment (0%) through 2035. Annual openings mostly reflect replacement, not a rapidly expanding field.

Work profile

What the work emphasizes

O*NET importance scores. Bars are relative to the highest score shown within this chart.

Making Decisions and Solving Problems4.6
Getting Information4.6
Evaluating Information to Determine Compliance with Standards4.4
Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge4.3
Processing Information4.2

Interest profile

Career interests

O*NET interest scores describe work someone may enjoy, not personality requirements. Bars are relative to the highest score shown within this chart.

Relative mix of the interest scores below, not percentages of your workday.

Conventional5.5
Enterprising5.1
Investigative4.0
Social3.1
Artistic1.7
Realistic1.0

Preparation

What the training must make you competent at

Subject matter

Law and Government Medicine and Dentistry Computers and Electronics Mathematics

Before choosing the major or training

Run a cheaper test first

Analyze a public case scenario, identify the governing rules and missing facts, and defend a decision whose consequences matter.
Ask someone doing this job which feeder role built the required experience, what that earlier job paid, and how long the transition actually took.

The fuller career guide

How the evidence fits together

Pay and demand: reading the benchmark

The pay and outlook figures describe Administrative law judges, adjudicators, and hearing officers nationally. They do not establish the salary or number of vacancies available in your area.

Median pay is the middle wage across workers, not a starting offer. Projected openings include replacements as well as growth; neither measure predicts an individual worker's job security.

Before choosing a program

O*NET lists Active Listening, Critical Thinking, Reading Comprehension among this occupation's skills. Ask a program to show the assignments, supervised practice, and assessment that develop these skills. Compare those examples with local job descriptions.

Common questions

Questions people ask about this career

Can I enter this occupation without related work experience?

Prior related experience: 5 years or more. Look for the preceding roles and promotion route before treating this as a first job.

What should I check before paying for training?

Get the full prerequisite and completion timeline, total cost, placement arrangements, and any licensing eligibility in writing. Ask local employers whether they hire graduates from the route you are considering and whether paid training is available.

Adjacent options

Compare before committing

The useful question is not whether one field wins overall, but what changes when you choose a nearby path. Explore the full career guides for Judges, Magistrate Judges, and Magistrates, Judicial Law Clerks, Lawyers, Paralegals and Legal Assistants.