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The differences between assistant district attorneys and legal externs can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both an assistant district attorney and a legal extern. Additionally, an assistant district attorney has an average salary of $73,970, which is higher than the $47,238 average annual salary of a legal extern.
The top three skills for an assistant district attorney include felony cases, criminal justice and criminal cases. The most important skills for a legal extern are litigation, legal intern, and legal issues.
| Assistant District Attorney | Legal Extern | |
| Yearly salary | $73,970 | $47,238 |
| Hourly rate | $35.56 | $22.71 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 15,857 | 10,986 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Doctoral Degree, 55% | Bachelor's Degree, 68% |
| Average age | 46 | 46 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
An Assistant District Attorney helps the District Attorney, a government official. They represent the government in the prosecution of criminal offenses.
Legal externs are law students who took the opportunity to do on-the-job training at a law firm. Instead of monetary compensation, they receive academic credits. Legal externs primarily engage in job shadowing. They are usually assigned mentors in the law firm, and they would shadow their mentors in their daily routines. Legal externs are exposed to the actual work done by lawyers. Legal externs are involved in cases, providing insights while building a solid case for their client, giving advice to clients, and representing clients under the supervision of the actual lawyers in the firm. They are usually not given administrative or clerical tasks since they are expected to do more tasks directly related to being a lawyer.
Assistant district attorneys and legal externs have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Assistant District Attorney | Legal Extern | |
| Average salary | $73,970 | $47,238 |
| Salary range | Between $50,000 And $108,000 | Between $23,000 And $93,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | Washington, DC |
| Highest paying state | California | New York |
| Best paying company | Gwinnett Center | Jones Day |
| Best paying industry | Government | Professional |
There are a few differences between an assistant district attorney and a legal extern in terms of educational background:
| Assistant District Attorney | Legal Extern | |
| Most common degree | Doctoral Degree, 55% | Bachelor's Degree, 68% |
| Most common major | Law | Law |
| Most common college | Stanford University | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between assistant district attorneys' and legal externs' demographics:
| Assistant District Attorney | Legal Extern | |
| Average age | 46 | 46 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 55.2% Female, 44.8% | Male, 46.0% Female, 54.0% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 5.4% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 7.6% Asian, 6.3% White, 76.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% | Black or African American, 5.6% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 7.8% Asian, 6.4% White, 75.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% |
| LGBT Percentage | 10% | 10% |