Also called: Combat Sports Referee, Fight Judge
Referees or judges boxing and MMA bouts for state athletic commissions, enforcing the rules, protecting fighters, and scoring rounds from ringside.
A referee checks gloves and hand wraps, gives instructions before the bout, and watches every second to decide when to stop a fight. Judges score each round from ringside.
Approximate.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
No formal education, about 0 years after high school. Officiating amateur events for a couple of years, then a state commission license; Association of Boxing Commissions training is common.
Ways in: Certification. Training cost: Under $15k.
Growing about average (about 3% over 10 years). Similar to officials.
Low risk in 5 years, medium in 10. AI scoring may assist or replace some judges; instant safety calls by referees still need trained humans.
Classes: Physical education, Health, Psychology.
Official data: O*NET occupation 27-2023.
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.