How hard is it to become a district attorney?

Becoming a district attorney is quite challenging, as it requires finishing a significant amount of education, passing the bar exam, and gaining substantial experience in the field of law.

How To Become A District Attorney: What It Is and Career Path

What is a district attorney and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted expert

Charity Rohlfs J.D.

You've probably heard of the term â€˜D.A.' in crime shows and police movies, but what exactly does a D.A. or district attorney do?

By definition, a district attorney is a lawyer who is elected by local government officials to represent the state government in criminal cases that are brought in a judicial district. Their duties include reviewing police reports, determining whether to charge the arrested people and prosecuting cases in court.

As you would probably expect, the job of a district attorney is far from easy. They usually manage a large amount of caseload to prepare for hearings or litigation. On top of that, they also perform various admin tasks like issuing subpoenas and screening depositions apart from their main duties in court.

The road to becoming a district attorney is a long one. An aspiring D.A. will have to earn an American Bar Association (ABA) accredited bachelor's degree, go to law school, complete an internship, pass the bar, get trial experience, and finally, succeed in enough cases to become selected as the district attorney.

If this sounds like a lot of work, consider it as an investment for a yearly salary that can go up to around $76,000 a year.

What general advice would you give to a district attorney?

Charity Rohlfs J.D.

Associate Professor of Paralegal Studies, Website

Find a mentor and be involved with your local legal associations. Porter Gale said, “your network is your net worth.” And, I couldn’t agree more! As a new paralegal, legal operations specialist, or attorney, growing your network helps in all aspects of your career. You will gain new skills, increase your business development ability, engage in meaningful volunteering opportunities, and truly find an area of law you want to specialize in.

ScoreDistrict AttorneyUS Average

Salary

5.7

Avg. Salary $72,965

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

10.0

Growth rate 10%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

2.5

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.31%

Asian 6.27%

Black or African American 5.43%

Hispanic or Latino 7.65%

Unknown 4.36%

White 75.98%

Gender

female 54.42%

male 45.58%

Age - 45

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 45

Stress level

10.0

Stress level is very high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

10.0

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

4.9

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a district attorney

Explore district attorney education requirements

Most common district attorney degrees

Bachelor's

51.7 %

Doctorate

30.1 %

Associate

8.0 %

Start to develop specific district attorney skills

Skills	Percentages
Pre-Trial Conferences	10.48%
Legal Research	10.00%
Law Enforcement Agencies	7.64%
Subpoenas	4.69%
Criminal Cases	4.18%

Complete relevant district attorney training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-2 years on post-employment, on-the-job training. New district attorneys learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a district attorney based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real district attorney resumes.

Research district attorney duties and responsibilities

Manage, train and mentore newly hire ADA's in courtroom management and trial advocacy.
Maintain legal files and filing/tracking systems on all court cases, appeals, invoices and billings.
Research, analyze and write response to an order to show cause in appeals proceeding.
Represent county officials in arbitration proceedings and employment litigation matters.

Prepare your district attorney resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your district attorney resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a district attorney resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable district attorney resume templates

Build a professional district attorney resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your district attorney resume.