General magistrate vs circuit court judge

The differences between general magistrates and circuit court judges can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 8-10 years to become both a general magistrate and a circuit court judge. Additionally, a general magistrate has an average salary of $69,134, which is higher than the $57,974 average annual salary of a circuit court judge.

The top three skills for a general magistrate include legal research, and . The most important skills for a circuit court judge are legal research, circuit court, and legal issues.

General magistrate vs circuit court judge overview

	General Magistrate	Circuit Court Judge
Yearly salary	$69,134	$57,974
Hourly rate	$33.24	$27.87
Growth rate	-1%	-1%
Number of jobs	41,785	1,339
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Doctoral Degree, 50%	Bachelor's Degree, 50%
Average age	46	46
Years of experience	10	10

General magistrate vs circuit court judge salary

General magistrates and circuit court judges have different pay scales, as shown below.

	General Magistrate	Circuit Court Judge
Average salary	$69,134	$57,974
Salary range	Between $42,000 And $113,000	Between $38,000 And $87,000
Highest paying City	-	-
Highest paying state	-	-
Best paying company	-	-
Best paying industry	-	-

Differences between general magistrate and circuit court judge education

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

	General Magistrate	Circuit Court Judge
Most common degree	Doctoral Degree, 50%	Bachelor's Degree, 50%
Most common major	Law	Law
Most common college	University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill	University of Richmond

General magistrate vs circuit court judge demographics

Here are the differences between general magistrates' and circuit court judges' demographics:

	General Magistrate	Circuit Court Judge
Average age	46	46
Gender ratio	Male, 54.5% Female, 45.5%	Male, 45.6% Female, 54.4%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 4.1% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 6.2% Asian, 5.0% White, 80.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%	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%
LGBT Percentage	10%	10%

Differences between general magistrate and circuit court judge duties and responsibilities

General magistrate example responsibilities.

Handle all aspects of arbitration proceeding from fact gathering to witness testimony to, determination and authoring/rendering decision.
Handle all aspects of arbitration proceeding from fact gathering to witness testimony to, determination and authoring/rendering decision.

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.

General magistrate vs circuit court judge skills

Common general magistrate skills

Legal Research, 100%

Common circuit court judge skills

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

General Magistrate vs. similar jobs

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General Magistrate vs Circuit Court Judge

Updated January 8, 2025

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