What are the qualifications to be a judge?

You must first pass the Law School Admissions Test (LSAT). To even be considered eligible to take the LSAT, you must have a stellar academic record and a bachelor's degree related to law.

The LSAT is an infamously difficult exam that acts as the gatekeeper to law school. It is designed to test skills that undergraduate students may have not yet fully developed, such as the reasoning skills in the logic games section.

Courses in law school include constitutional law, ethics, property law, criminal law, a lawyer-client relationship, and civil procedure. While you should do your best to retain knowledge from all of these classes, you need to develop a mastery of criminal law if you want to become a judge.

Law school generally takes about three years to complete, and upon graduating, you will receive a Juris Doctor (JD).

• Pass the bar exam. If you make it through law school, you then must pass the Bar exam, which is even harder than the LSAT. The Bar exam requires you to do an immense amount of critical thinking when answering the written questions.

Philosophy, ethics, and many other esoteric topics may come into play when answering questions on the Bar exam. Not to mention you need to know your laws. The exam differs from state to state but usually takes two days to complete.

And make sure that you take the Bar exam in the state in which you want to become a prosecutor; otherwise, you'll likely have to take it again. The Bar exam is notoriously known to be difficult, with many law students needing to take it multiple times to pass.

• Get appointed or elected to the court. Generally, only experienced lawyers are considered for judge positions, so you need to make your mark as an attorney or prosecutor first before you can even consider becoming a judge.

Most judges have years upon years of experience in the law, qualifying them for the role. The process of being appointed or elected often involves politics. Some judges are elected by voters, while others are appointed by state or federal officials. In some states, appointed commissions evaluate candidates for judgeships.

• Complete Judgeship training. Both elected and appointed judges complete training programs. This is required in every state. Judicial education programs are given by the National Center for State Courts (NCSC) and the American Bar Association (ABA). In most states, judges are required to continue their education during their whole careers.