Administrative Law Judges, Adjudicators, and Hearing Officers vs Judges, Magistrate Judges, and Magistrates: $118K vs $154K Median Pay

Administrative Law Judges, Adjudicators, and Hearing Officers vs Judges, Magistrate Judges, and Magistrates: what changes?

Consider Administrative Law Judges, Adjudicators, and Hearing Officers if you want to conduct hearings to recommend or make decisions on claims concerning government programs or other government-related matters. Consider Judges, Magistrate Judges, and Magistrates if you would rather arbitrate, advise, adjudicate, or administer justice in a court of law. Both list doctoral or professional degree; compare training and prior experience separately. Prior experience in a related occupation is typically needed for Administrative Law Judges, Adjudicators, and Hearing Officers (5 years or more) and Judges, Magistrate Judges, and Magistrates (5 years or more).

Try this next: Compare three local entry-level postings for Administrative Law Judges, Adjudicators, and Hearing Officers and Judges, Magistrate Judges, and Magistrates. List the duties, credentials, prior experience, and paid training each employer actually asks for. Try a supervised class or sample project from each field before choosing a program.

BLS 2025 wages and 2025–2035 projections. National medians are not starting offers. Occupation size is not a count of vacancies. View the BLS data.

Compare the practical differences

Administrative Law Judges, Adjudicators, and Hearing Officers

National median pay (2025): $117,860
Route into the job: 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
Prior related experience: Prior related experience: 5 years or more.
Training and licensing: One month or less of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing.
Work to investigate: Determine existence and amount of liability according to current laws, administrative and judicial precedents, and available evidence.
Annual openings (2025–2035): 500

Know before you choose

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

See the full Administrative Law Judges, Adjudicators, and Hearing Officers brief

Judges, Magistrate Judges, and Magistrates

National median pay (2025): $153,990
Route into the job: 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
Prior related experience: Prior related experience: 5 years or more.
Training and licensing: One month or less of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing.
Work to investigate: Sentence defendants in criminal cases, on conviction by jury, according to applicable government statutes.
Annual openings (2025–2035): 800

Know before you choose

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

See the full Judges, Magistrate Judges, and Magistrates brief

How the national numbers differ

Judges, Magistrate Judges, and Magistrates has the edge on projected growth

Judges, Magistrate Judges, and Magistrates is at 2.8% projected growth, compared with 0% projected growth for Administrative Law Judges, Adjudicators, and Hearing Officers.

Judges, Magistrate Judges, and Magistrates has the edge on median pay

Judges, Magistrate Judges, and Magistrates is at $153,990, compared with $117,860 for Administrative Law Judges, Adjudicators, and Hearing Officers.

Judges, Magistrate Judges, and Magistrates has the edge on annual openings

Judges, Magistrate Judges, and Magistrates is at 800 annual openings, compared with 500 annual openings for Administrative Law Judges, Adjudicators, and Hearing Officers.

37.8/ 100

Administrative Law Judges, Adjudicators, and Hearing Officers

46.9/ 100

Judges, Magistrate Judges, and Magistrates

Each available metric is ranked from 0 to 100 against the careers on ChooseField. The weighted average uses this profile: pay 30%, growth 25%, openings 30%, preparation level 15%. Missing values are not scored as zero; their weights are redistributed across available metrics. Occupation size has zero weight: employment is not accessible vacancies. Preparation categories do not measure admission difficulty or years without earnings. The score summarizes national measures; local opportunities and personal fit still need separate consideration.

Detailed evidence

Administrative Law Judges, Adjudicators, and Hearing Officers vs Judges, Magistrate Judges, and Magistrates

Dimension	Administrative Law Judges, Adjudicators, and Hearing Officers	Judges, Magistrate Judges, and Magistrates
Median pay (2025)	$117,860	$153,990
Pay percentile	89.3 percentile	95.5 percentile
Projected growth (2025–2035)	0%	2.8%
Annual openings (2025–2035)	500	800
2025 employment	17,400	25,300
How you qualify	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	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
O*NET preparation group	Job Zone 5	Job Zone 5
Related work experience	Prior related experience: 5 years or more.	Prior related experience: 5 years or more.
On-the-job training	One month or less of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing.	One month or less of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing.

The table reports national benchmarks and reviewed work descriptions. It does not rate personal suitability, job security, or physical safety.

Read Administrative Law Judges, Adjudicators, and Hearing Officers brief Read Judges, Magistrate Judges, and Magistrates brief

Administrative Law Judges, Adjudicators, and Hearing Officers vs Judges, Magistrate Judges, and Magistrates: what changes?

The facts most likely to affect your decision

Administrative Law Judges, Adjudicators, and Hearing Officers

Judges, Magistrate Judges, and Magistrates

How the national numbers differ

Judges, Magistrate Judges, and Magistrates has the edge on projected growth

Judges, Magistrate Judges, and Magistrates has the edge on median pay

Judges, Magistrate Judges, and Magistrates has the edge on annual openings

Administrative Law Judges, Adjudicators, and Hearing Officers vs Judges, Magistrate Judges, and Magistrates

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