ChooseField
Quick answer · Balanced priorities

Judicial Law Clerks vs Lawyers: what changes?

Consider Judicial Law Clerks if you want to assist judges in court or by conducting research or preparing legal documents. 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.

Try this next: Compare three local entry-level postings for Judicial Law Clerks 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
What this means in practice

The facts most likely to affect your decision

Start with earnings, the route into the job, training, available openings, and a day-to-day reality.

Judicial Law Clerks

National median pay (2025)
$64,920
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
Prepare briefs, legal memoranda, or statements of issues involved in cases, including appropriate suggestions or recommendations.
Annual openings (2025–2035)
1,500
Know before you choose

This is a small national occupation (14,000 jobs in 2025), so location and employer concentration can matter more than the national median suggests.

See the full Judicial Law Clerks 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
See scores, detailed data, and how the comparison works

How the national numbers differ

1

Lawyers has the edge on annual openings

Lawyers is at 28,700 annual openings, compared with 1,500 annual openings for Judicial Law Clerks.

2

Lawyers has the edge on median pay

Lawyers is at $159,670, compared with $64,920 for Judicial Law Clerks.

3

Lawyers has the edge on projected growth

Lawyers is at 4.7% projected growth, compared with 2.8% projected growth for Judicial Law Clerks.

38.9/ 100

Judicial Law Clerks

vs
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

Judicial Law Clerks vs Lawyers

DimensionJudicial Law ClerksLawyers
Median pay (2025)$64,920$159,670
Pay percentile56.6 percentile95.7 percentile
Projected growth (2025–2035)2.8%4.7%
Annual openings (2025–2035)1,50028,700
2025 employment14,000863,700
How you qualifyDoctoral or professional degreeDoctoral or professional degree
O*NET preparation groupJob Zone 5Job Zone 5
Related work experienceNo prior related occupation is typically required; employer requirements vary.No prior related occupation is typically required; employer requirements vary.
On-the-job trainingBLS does not list a separate on-the-job training requirement. Employers may still provide orientation and role-specific training.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 Judicial Law Clerks briefRead Lawyers brief

Try another comparison

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

Compare pay, growth, education, and the tradeoffs that affect the decision.

Judicial Law Clerks
$64,920 · 2.8% growth
Administrative Law Judges, Adjudicators, and Hearing Officers
$117,860 · 0% growth
Compare careers →

Judicial Law Clerks vs Paralegals and Legal Assistants

Compare pay, growth, education, and the tradeoffs that affect the decision.

Judicial Law Clerks
$64,920 · 2.8% growth
Paralegals and Legal Assistants
$62,890 · -0.3% growth
Compare careers →

Lawyers vs Judges, Magistrate Judges, and Magistrates

Compare pay, growth, education, and the tradeoffs that affect the decision.

Lawyers
$159,670 · 4.7% growth
Judges, Magistrate Judges, and Magistrates
$153,990 · 2.8% growth
Compare careers →
ChooseField compares fields using public labor-market and professional sources.