Arbitrators, Mediators, and Conciliators
What Arbitrators, Mediators, and Conciliators Do
Facilitate negotiation and conflict resolution through dialogue. Resolve conflicts outside of the court system by mutual consent of parties involved.
See full salary breakdown & percentiles →
Career Outlook
National employment outlook, 2024–2034.
- Related work experience
- Less than 5 years
- On-the-job training
- Moderate-term on-the-job training
- Self-employed
- 9.1%
Source: BLS Employment Projections — 2024-2034.
How Much Preparation Does This Take?
Job Zone 5 of 5Job 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.
- English Languageimportance 4.2/5
- Law and Governmentimportance 4.2/5
- Personnel and Human Resourcesimportance 4.0/5
- Administration and Managementimportance 3.0/5
- Education and Trainingimportance 2.7/5
- Economics and Accountingimportance 2.6/5
- Computers and Electronicsimportance 2.6/5
- Psychologyimportance 2.5/5
Work Environment
What the day-to-day work setting is like, per O*NET.
- Spend Time Sitting4.8/5
- Freedom to Make Decisions4.8/5
- Importance of Being Exact or Accurate4.7/5
- Determine Tasks, Priorities and Goals4.7/5
- E-Mail4.5/5
- Impact of Decisions on Co-workers or Company Results4.3/5
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.
- Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Except Technical and Scientific Products97% skill match
- Labor Relations Specialists96% skill match
- Bill and Account Collectors96% skill match
- Agents and Business Managers of Artists, Performers, and Athletes95% skill match
- Administrative Law Judges, Adjudicators, and Hearing Officers95% skill match
- Credit Counselors95% skill match
- Paralegals and Legal Assistants95% skill match
- Correspondence Clerks95% skill match
Transferable Skills
Cross-functional skills this occupation draws on most, per O*NET — the kind that carry over to other careers.
- Negotiationimportance 4.6/5
- Social Perceptivenessimportance 3.8/5
- Persuasionimportance 3.8/5
- Complex Problem Solvingimportance 3.8/5
- Judgment and Decision Makingimportance 3.6/5
- Coordinationimportance 3.1/5
- Service Orientationimportance 3.0/5
- Instructingimportance 2.9/5
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
- Cooperation
- Self-Control
- Dependability
- Empathy
- Social Orientation
- Cautiousness
Career Interests
This occupation’s RIASEC interest profile, per O*NET — how strongly it fits each of the six Holland interest types.
- EnterprisingMedium
- ConventionalMedium
- SocialMedium
- InvestigativeMedium
- 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 arbitrators, mediators, and conciliators make up the largest share of local employment, relative to the national average (BLS location quotient).
- 1Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY2.48× national avg
- 2Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX2.22× national avg
- 3Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY2.15× national avg
- 4Madison, WI2.05× national avg
- 5San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA1.89× national avg
Possible Career Moves
A computed starting point, not observed job-change data — see the full list for why each one might fit.
- Labor Relations SpecialistsCareer Change
- LawyersLateral Move
- Administrative Law Judges, Adjudicators, and Hearing OfficersLateral Move
- Judicial Law ClerksLateral Move
See the full career path from Arbitrators, Mediators, and Conciliators →
Related Education Programs
Schools that offer related fields of study, based on the NCES CIP-SOC crosswalk — not a guarantee that graduates enter this specific career.
Law
- Georgetown University (Washington, DC)grads earn ~$226,624
- Harvard University (Cambridge, MA)grads earn ~$291,490
- George Washington University (Washington, DC)grads earn ~$140,848
- New York University (New York, NY)grads earn ~$255,401
- Columbia University in the City of New York (New York, NY)grads earn ~$308,943
Peace Studies and Conflict Resolution
- University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (Chapel Hill, NC)grads earn ~$80,344
- George Mason University (Fairfax, VA)grads earn ~$80,990
- George Mason University (Fairfax, VA)grads earn ~$72,271
- American University (Washington, DC)grads earn ~$89,800
- University of San Diego (San Diego, CA)grads earn ~$55,177