You've probably heard of the term '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 is a District Attorney?
What Does a District Attorney Do
There are certain skills that many district attorneys 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 analytical skills, interpersonal skills and problem-solving skills.
How To Become a District Attorney
If you're interested in becoming a district attorney, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 51.7% of district attorneys have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 6.1% of district attorneys have master's degrees. Even though most district attorneys have a college degree, it's possible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.
District Attorney Career Paths
As you move along in your career, you may start taking on more responsibilities or notice that you've taken on a leadership role. Using our career map, a district attorney can determine their career goals through the career progression. For example, they could start out with a role such as attorney, progress to a title such as partner and then eventually end up with the title partner.
Average Salary for a District Attorney
What Am I Worth?
Top Colleges for District Attorneys
1. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill, NC • Private
2. University of Chicago
Chicago, IL • Private
3. University of Texas at Austin
Austin, TX • Private
4. Northeastern University
Boston, MA • Private
5. Florida State University
Tallahassee, FL • Private
6. University of Richmond
University of Richmond, VA • Private
7. University of California - Davis
Davis, CA • Private
8. University of Washington
Seattle, WA • Private
9. Boston University
Boston, MA • Private
10. University of Georgia
Athens, GA • Private
Top Skills For a District Attorney
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, 12.9% of district attorneys listed legal advice on their resume, but soft skills such as analytical skills and interpersonal skills are important as well.
Choose From 10+ Customizable District Attorney Resume templates
Zippia allows you to choose from different easy-to-use District Attorney templates, and provides you with expert advice. Using the templates, you can rest assured that the structure and format of your District Attorney resume is top notch. Choose a template with the colors, fonts & text sizes that are appropriate for your industry.
District Attorney Demographics
District Attorney Gender Distribution
After extensive research and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:
- Among district attorneys, 54.4% of them are women, while 45.6% are men.
- The most common race/ethnicity among district attorneys is White, which makes up 79.8% of all district attorneys.
- The most common foreign language among district attorneys is Spanish at 50.0%.
Online Courses For District Attorney That You May Like
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Best States For a District Attorney
Some places are better than others when it comes to starting a career as a district attorney. The best states for people in this position are California, Washington, New Jersey, and Nevada. District attorneys make the most in California with an average salary of $103,915. Whereas in Washington and New Jersey, they would average $83,688 and $82,177, respectively. While district attorneys would only make an average of $81,488 in Nevada, you would still make more there than in the rest of the country. We determined these as the best states based on job availability and pay. By finding the median salary, cost of living, and using the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Location Quotient, we narrowed down our list of states to these four.
1. California
$103,915
Avg. Salary
2. District of Columbia
$85,941
Avg. Salary
3. Georgia
$73,467
Avg. Salary
How Do District Attorney Rate Their Jobs?
Top District Attorney Employers
Most Common Employers For District Attorney
| Rank | Company | Average Salary | Hourly Rate | Job Openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New York & Company | $98,130 | $47.18 | 8 |
| 2 | Ventura County Community Foundation | $87,735 | $42.18 | 7 |
| 3 | San Bernardino County | $86,065 | $41.38 | 12 |
| 4 | Department of Public Social Services | $85,323 | $41.02 | 11 |
| 5 | King County | $79,513 | $38.23 | 20 |
| 6 | City of Philadelphia | $78,210 | $37.60 | 7 |
| 7 | SHASTA COUNTY | $76,524 | $36.79 | 13 |
| 8 | Tulare County Office of Education | $76,053 | $36.56 | 12 |
| 9 | Deschutes County | $74,987 | $36.05 | 11 |
| 10 | County of Riverside | $74,843 | $35.98 | 10 |