Administrative Law Judges, Adjudicators, and Hearing Officers

Median salary

$117,860

Average salary

$125,990

Employment

16,370

Projected growth

0.7% decline

Annual openings

500

Typical entry education

Doctoral or professional degree

What Administrative Law Judges, Adjudicators, and Hearing Officers Do

Conduct hearings to recommend or make decisions on claims concerning government programs or other government-related matters. Determine liability, sanctions, or penalties, or recommend the acceptance or rejection of claims or settlements.

See full salary breakdown & percentiles →

Career Outlook

National employment outlook, 2024–2034.

Related work experience: 5 years or more
On-the-job training: Short-term on-the-job training
Self-employed: Not available

Source: BLS Employment Projections — 2024-2034.

How Much Preparation Does This Take?

Job Zone 5 of 5

Job Zone Five: Extensive Preparation Needed

Experience: Extensive skill, knowledge, and experience are needed for these occupations. Many require more than five years of experience.
Education: Most of these occupations require graduate school. For example, they may require a master's degree, and some require a Ph.D., M.D., or J.D. (law degree).
Job training: Employees may need some on-the-job training, but most of these occupations assume that the person will already have the required skills, knowledge, work-related experience, and/or training.

Source: O*NET Job Zones.

Key Knowledge Areas

Subject-matter areas this occupation draws on most, per O*NET.

Law and Governmentimportance 4.8/5
English Languageimportance 4.1/5
Customer and Personal Serviceimportance 3.9/5
Administrativeimportance 3.4/5
Medicine and Dentistryimportance 3.3/5
Administration and Managementimportance 3.3/5
Computers and Electronicsimportance 2.8/5
Mathematicsimportance 2.7/5

Work Environment

What the day-to-day work setting is like, per O*NET.

Indoors, Environmentally Controlled5.0/5
Spend Time Sitting4.9/5
E-Mail4.9/5
Frequency of Decision Making4.8/5
Deal With External Customers or the Public in General4.8/5
Freedom to Make Decisions4.5/5

Careers With Similar Skills

Occupations whose Transferable Skills profile most closely matches this one — a mathematical comparison, not observed data about people actually moving between these careers.

Judges, Magistrate Judges, and Magistrates99% skill match
Insurance Underwriters97% skill match
Loan Officers97% skill match
Political Scientists97% skill match
Historians96% skill match
Lawyers96% skill match
Credit Counselors96% skill match
Public Relations Specialists96% skill match

Transferable Skills

Cross-functional skills this occupation draws on most, per O*NET — the kind that carry over to other careers.

Judgment and Decision Makingimportance 4.1/5
Social Perceptivenessimportance 3.9/5
Complex Problem Solvingimportance 3.9/5
Negotiationimportance 3.3/5
Time Managementimportance 3.3/5
Coordinationimportance 3.0/5
Persuasionimportance 3.0/5
Service Orientationimportance 3.0/5

Software & Technologies

Tools and software used in this occupation, per O*NET.

Hot Technologies

Other Software Used

Work Style

Personal work characteristics that matter most for this occupation, per O*NET.

Integrity
Attention to Detail
Dependability
Self-Control
Cautiousness
Leadership Orientation
Intellectual Curiosity

Career Interests

This occupation’s RIASEC interest profile, per O*NET — how strongly it fits each of the six Holland interest types.

ConventionalHigh
EnterprisingHigh
InvestigativeMedium
SocialMedium
ArtisticLow
RealisticLow

This page includes information from the O*NET 30.3 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.

Where This Career Is Most Concentrated

Metro areas where administrative law judges, adjudicators, and hearing officers make up the largest share of local employment, relative to the national average (BLS location quotient).