Appellate Court Judge Overview
Working as an Appellate Court Judge
There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being an appellate court judge. For example, did you know that they make an average of $17.6 an hour? That's $36,601 a year!
Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 3% and produce 1,200 job opportunities across the U.S.
What Does an Appellate Court Judge Do
There are certain skills that many appellate court judges have in order to accomplish their responsibilities. By taking a look through resumes, we were able to narrow down the most common skills for a person in this position. We discovered that a lot of resumes listed listening skills, writing skills and communication skills.
When it comes to the most important skills required to be an appellate court judge, we found that a lot of resumes listed 36.5% of appellate court judges included oral arguments, while 17.3% of resumes included legal advice, and 14.6% of resumes included federal courts. Hard skills like these are helpful to have when it comes to performing essential job responsibilities.
How To Become an Appellate Court Judge
If you're interested in becoming an appellate court judge, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 18.2% of appellate court judges have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 4.5% of appellate court judges have master's degrees. Even though most appellate court judges have a college degree, it's impossible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.
Choosing the right major is always an important step when researching how to become an appellate court judge. When we researched the most common majors for an appellate court judge, we found that they most commonly earn doctoral degree degrees or bachelor's degree degrees. Other degrees that we often see on appellate court judge resumes include high school diploma degrees or master's degree degrees.
You may find that experience in other jobs will help you become an appellate court judge. In fact, many appellate court judge jobs require experience in a role such as legal extern. Meanwhile, many appellate court judges also have previous career experience in roles such as law clerk or judicial internship.
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Top Colleges for Appellate Court Judges
1. Stanford University
Stanford, CA • Private
2. Harvard University
Cambridge, MA • Private
3. Duke University
Durham, NC • Private
4. University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA • Private
5. Yale University
New Haven, CT • Private
6. Cornell University
Ithaca, NY • Private
7. Georgetown University
Washington, DC • Private
8. University of Michigan - Ann Arbor
Ann Arbor, MI • Public
9. Northwestern University
Evanston, IL • Private
10. University of Notre Dame
Notre Dame, IN • Private
Top Skills For an Appellate Court Judge
The skills section on your resume can be almost as important as the experience section, so you want it to be an accurate portrayal of what you can do. Luckily, we've found all of the skills you'll need so even if you don't have these skills yet, you know what you need to work on. Out of all the resumes we looked through, 36.5% of appellate court judges listed oral arguments on their resume, but soft skills such as listening skills and writing skills are important as well.
- Oral Arguments, 36.5%
- Legal Advice, 17.3%
- Federal Courts, 14.6%
- Court Staff, 8.6%
- Justices, 8.4%
- Other Skills, 14.6% See All Appellate Court Judge Skills