One of our most important rights —the right to a fair trial— rests on the shoulders of judges and hearing officers. They conduct pretrial hearings, resolve administrative disputes, facilitate negotiations between opposing parties, and issue legal decisions. Judges hear cases that range from traffic offenses to the rights of large corporations. Before a trial, they often review documents, research legal issues, and listen to arguments to determine if a trial is warranted. Depending on the case, judges either instruct jurors on the law and guide them in considering evidence, or decide the case directly, determining whether a sentence or penalty is justified. Critically, they ensure fair proceedings so that the legal rights of all involved parties are protected. Administrative law judges, adjudicators, and hearing officers operate outside the courts— they work for government agencies, on issues such as determining eligibility for workers’ compensation benefits or verifying a case of employment discrimination. Judges and hearing officers work for state, local, and federal governments. Hours are full time, sometimes with evening and weekend hours, and on-call duty for emergencies. Although a few positions require only a bachelor’s degree… a law degree, license, and years of work experience as a lawyer are typically required for judges or hearing officers. Some positions are elected… others are appointed… for terms lasting from 4 years to life.
What they 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.
On the job, you would:
Determine existence and amount of liability according to current laws, administrative and judicial precedents, and available evidence.
Monitor and direct the activities of trials and hearings to ensure that they are conducted fairly and that courts administer justice while safeguarding the legal rights of all involved parties.
Prepare written opinions and decisions.
Safety and Government
law and government
Arts and Humanities
English language
Business
customer service
administrative services
Health
medicine and dentistry
Basic Skills
listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions
reading work related information
Problem Solving
noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it
People and Technology Systems
thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one
Verbal
listen and understand what people say
read and understand what is written
Ideas and Logic
make general rules or come up with answers from lots of detailed information
use rules to solve problems
People interested in this work like activities that include leading, making decisions, and business.
They do well at jobs that need:
Integrity
Attention to Detail
Self Control
Independence
Stress Tolerance
Analytical Thinking
You might use software like this on the job:
Electronic mail software
Email software
Microsoft Outlook
Data base user interface and query software
Microsoft Access
Online databases
Information retrieval or search software
LexisNexis
Thomson Reuters WestLaw
doctoral degree or bachelor's degree usually needed
Get started on your career:
New job opportunities are less likely in the future.
In the military:
see titles from the Air Force or Army.
Produced by 
License