Administrative Law Judges, Adjudicators, and Hearing Officers vs Paralegals and Legal Assistants: $118K vs $63K Median Pay

Administrative Law Judges, Adjudicators, and Hearing Officers vs Paralegals and Legal Assistants: 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 Paralegals and Legal Assistants if you would rather assist lawyers by investigating facts, preparing legal documents, or researching legal precedent. Entry credentials differ: Administrative Law Judges, Adjudicators, and Hearing Officers, doctoral or professional degree; Paralegals and Legal Assistants, associate's degree. 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 Paralegals and Legal Assistants. 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

Paralegals and Legal Assistants

National median pay (2025): $62,890
Route into the job: Associate's 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: Prepare affidavits or other documents, such as legal correspondence, and organize and maintain documents in paper or electronic filing system.
Annual openings (2025–2035): 40,800

Know before you choose

BLS projects employment to shrink 0.3% from 2025 to 2035. Openings can still occur when existing workers leave.

See the full Paralegals and Legal Assistants brief

How the national numbers differ

Paralegals and Legal Assistants has the edge on annual openings

Paralegals and Legal Assistants is at 40,800 annual openings, compared with 500 annual openings for Administrative Law Judges, Adjudicators, and Hearing Officers.

Administrative Law Judges, Adjudicators, and Hearing Officers has the edge on median pay

Administrative Law Judges, Adjudicators, and Hearing Officers is at $117,860, compared with $62,890 for Paralegals and Legal Assistants.

Typical preparation differs.

Administrative Law Judges, Adjudicators, and Hearing Officers: 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 Paralegals and Legal Assistants: Associate's degree Preparation categories do not establish admission difficulty, calendar time, tuition, time without earnings, or licensing difficulty.

Administrative Law Judges, Adjudicators, and Hearing Officers has the edge on projected growth

Administrative Law Judges, Adjudicators, and Hearing Officers is at 0% projected growth, compared with -0.3% projected growth for Paralegals and Legal Assistants.

37.8/ 100

Administrative Law Judges, Adjudicators, and Hearing Officers

55.6/ 100

Paralegals and Legal Assistants

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 Paralegals and Legal Assistants

Dimension	Administrative Law Judges, Adjudicators, and Hearing Officers	Paralegals and Legal Assistants
Median pay (2025)	$117,860	$62,890
Pay percentile	89.3 percentile	53.2 percentile
Projected growth (2025–2035)	0%	-0.3%
Annual openings (2025–2035)	500	40,800
2025 employment	17,400	404,900
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	Associate's degree
O*NET preparation group	Job Zone 5	Job Zone 3
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 Paralegals and Legal Assistants brief

Administrative Law Judges, Adjudicators, and Hearing Officers vs Paralegals and Legal Assistants: what changes?

The facts most likely to affect your decision

Administrative Law Judges, Adjudicators, and Hearing Officers

Paralegals and Legal Assistants

How the national numbers differ

Paralegals and Legal Assistants has the edge on annual openings

Administrative Law Judges, Adjudicators, and Hearing Officers has the edge on median pay

Typical preparation differs.

Administrative Law Judges, Adjudicators, and Hearing Officers has the edge on projected growth

Administrative Law Judges, Adjudicators, and Hearing Officers vs Paralegals and Legal Assistants

Try another comparison

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

Administrative Law Judges, Adjudicators, and Hearing Officers vs Judicial Law Clerks

Paralegals and Legal Assistants vs Judicial Law Clerks