Circuit court judge vs magistrate assistant

The differences between circuit court judges and magistrate assistants can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 8-10 years to become both a circuit court judge and a magistrate assistant. Additionally, a circuit court judge has an average salary of $57,974, which is higher than the $49,713 average annual salary of a magistrate assistant.

The top three skills for a circuit court judge include legal research, circuit court and legal issues. The most important skills for a magistrate assistant are background checks, subpoenas, and bonds.

Circuit court judge vs magistrate assistant overview

	Circuit Court Judge	Magistrate Assistant
Yearly salary	$57,974	$49,713
Hourly rate	$27.87	$23.90
Growth rate	-1%	-1%
Number of jobs	1,339	76
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 50%	Bachelor's Degree, 48%
Average age	46	46
Years of experience	10	10

Circuit court judge vs magistrate assistant salary

Circuit court judges and magistrate assistants have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Circuit Court Judge	Magistrate Assistant
Average salary	$57,974	$49,713
Salary range	Between $38,000 And $87,000	Between $25,000 And $96,000
Highest paying City	-	-
Highest paying state	-	-
Best paying company	-	-
Best paying industry	-	-

Differences between circuit court judge and magistrate assistant education

There are a few differences between a circuit court judge and a magistrate assistant in terms of educational background:

	Circuit Court Judge	Magistrate Assistant
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 50%	Bachelor's Degree, 48%
Most common major	Law	Business
Most common college	University of Richmond	Boston University

Circuit court judge vs magistrate assistant demographics

Here are the differences between circuit court judges' and magistrate assistants' demographics:

	Circuit Court Judge	Magistrate Assistant
Average age	46	46
Gender ratio	Male, 45.6% Female, 54.4%	Male, 21.9% Female, 78.1%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 5.5% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 7.7% Asian, 6.3% White, 75.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%	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%
LGBT Percentage	10%	10%

Differences between circuit court judge and magistrate assistant duties and responsibilities

Circuit court judge example responsibilities.

Manage, and update all scheduling of events, meetings, and appointments for mediation and arbitration for family law cases.
Perform extensive research and prepare legal memoranda on domestic relations and probate issues.
Perform clerical work by cross-referencing voters' names with their identification.

Magistrate assistant example responsibilities.

Provide continuing oversight on the evaluation, hiring, and terminating of independent investment managers
Determine dispositions over traffic infractions, evictions, and small claims cases.

Circuit court judge vs magistrate assistant skills

Common circuit court judge skills

Legal Research, 29%
Circuit Court, 24%
Legal Issues, 20%
Appeals, 16%
Jury Trials, 5%
Law Enforcement, 3%

Common magistrate assistant skills

Background Checks, 27%
Subpoenas, 21%
Bonds, 18%
Telephone Calls, 18%
Legal Research, 17%

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Circuit Court Judge
Circuit Court Judge vs Magistrate Assistant

Updated January 8, 2025

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