Also called: Staff Attorney (Legal Services), Public Interest Lawyer
Gives free legal help to low-income people facing eviction, debt, or loss of benefits.
A legal aid lawyer might spend the morning in housing court stopping an eviction and the afternoon helping a veteran appeal a denied benefit. They see dozens of clients a week. Pay is modest, but loan forgiveness programs help.
Eligible for Public Service Loan Forgiveness.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
Professional degree (MD, JD, DVM…), about 7 years after high school. Bachelor's in any subject, then a 3-year Juris Doctor (JD) and passing the state bar exam.
Ways in: 4-year college, Professional school. Training cost: Over $150k.
Majors to look at: Sociology, Political Science, Social Work, Public Policy, Spanish.
Growing about average (about 4% over 10 years). BLS projection for all lawyers (2024-34).
Low risk for 10 years. AI chatbots may answer simple tenant questions; court defense against evictions and real advocacy for poor clients stays human.
Classes: AP U.S. Government, Spanish, Sociology, Speech and debate.
Official data: O*NET occupation 23-1011.
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.