Administrative Law Judges, Adjudicators, and Hearing Officers vs Lawyers: $118K vs $160K Median Pay

Administrative Law Judges, Adjudicators, and Hearing Officers vs Lawyers: 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 Lawyers if you would rather represent clients in criminal and civil litigation and other legal proceedings, draw up legal documents, or manage or advise clients on legal transactions. 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).

Try this next: Compare three local entry-level postings for Administrative Law Judges, Adjudicators, and Hearing Officers and Lawyers. 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

Lawyers

National median pay (2025): $159,670
Route into the job: Doctoral or professional degree
Prior related experience: No prior related occupation is typically required; employer requirements vary.
Training and licensing: BLS does not list a separate on-the-job training requirement. Employers may still provide orientation and role-specific training.
Work to investigate: Interpret laws, rulings and regulations for individuals and businesses.
Annual openings (2025–2035): 28,700

Know before you choose

Review the full career brief for day-to-day working conditions.

See the full Lawyers brief

How the national numbers differ

Lawyers has the edge on annual openings

Lawyers is at 28,700 annual openings, compared with 500 annual openings for Administrative Law Judges, Adjudicators, and Hearing Officers.

Lawyers has the edge on projected growth

Lawyers is at 4.7% projected growth, compared with 0% projected growth for Administrative Law Judges, Adjudicators, and Hearing Officers.

Lawyers has the edge on median pay

Lawyers is at $159,670, compared with $117,860 for Administrative Law Judges, Adjudicators, and Hearing Officers.

37.8/ 100

Administrative Law Judges, Adjudicators, and Hearing Officers

71.8/ 100

Lawyers

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 Lawyers

Dimension	Administrative Law Judges, Adjudicators, and Hearing Officers	Lawyers
Median pay (2025)	$117,860	$159,670
Pay percentile	89.3 percentile	95.7 percentile
Projected growth (2025–2035)	0%	4.7%
Annual openings (2025–2035)	500	28,700
2025 employment	17,400	863,700
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
O*NET preparation group	Job Zone 5	Job Zone 5
Related work experience	Prior related experience: 5 years or more.	No prior related occupation is typically required; employer requirements vary.
On-the-job training	One month or less of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing.	BLS does not list a separate on-the-job training requirement. Employers may still provide orientation and role-specific training.

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 Lawyers brief

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

The facts most likely to affect your decision

Administrative Law Judges, Adjudicators, and Hearing Officers

Lawyers

How the national numbers differ

Lawyers has the edge on annual openings

Lawyers has the edge on projected growth

Lawyers has the edge on median pay

Administrative Law Judges, Adjudicators, and Hearing Officers vs Lawyers

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