Also called: Magistrate
A federal judge who handles warrants, first appearances, and many pretrial matters.
Magistrate judges sign search warrants at odd hours, set bail, and handle settlement conferences that keep cases from going to trial. They're picked by the district judges for 8-year terms. It's a top career goal for many federal litigators.
Fixed federal salary (~$224k).
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
Professional degree (MD, JD, DVM…), about 18 years after high school. Bachelor's, JD, bar license, and usually 10-15+ years as a practicing lawyer before appointment or election.
Ways in: 4-year college, Professional school. Training cost: Over $150k.
Majors to look at: Political Science, Criminal Justice, History.
Growing slowly. Small, stable number of positions.
Low risk for 10 years. AI helps review warrant affidavits and filings; signing warrants, setting bail and settling cases stay with human judges.
Classes: AP U.S. Government, Speech and debate, AP English Language, Psychology.
Official data: O*NET occupation 23-1023.
Career Universe is an early version. Pay, training and AI-risk figures are estimates to start your own research, not verified facts. The research was written with AI research assistants, checked by validation scripts and spot-checked by hand. Check anything important with schools, employers and official sources. How the numbers work.