How To Become A Judicial Clerk: What It Is and Career Path

What is a judicial clerk and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

2 min read

Quoted experts

Andrea Schneider,

Jennifer Brobst

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a judicial clerk. For example, did you know that they make an average of $20.74 an hour? That's $43,142 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 0% and produce -5,200 job opportunities across the U.S.

What general advice would you give to a judicial clerk?

Andrea Schneider

Professor of Law, Marquette University

Take every opportunity to network and volunteer. Make connections with leaders in your local and state bar organizations and those who lead legal service organizations in your area. Think about how your skills can be used in a variety of ways, and make connections throughout the community.

ScoreJudicial ClerkUS Average

Salary

3.4

Avg. Salary $43,142

Avg. Salary $59,228

Diversity

7.8

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.33%

Asian 9.70%

Black or African American 9.44%

Hispanic or Latino 18.27%

Unknown 7.99%

White 54.27%

Gender

female 54.88%

male 45.12%

Age - 39

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 - 39

Stress level

5.3

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity level

7.7

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

6.8

Work life balance is good

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a judicial clerk

Explore judicial clerk education requirements

Most common judicial clerk degrees

Bachelor's

53.1 %

Doctorate

32.6 %

Master's

5.7 %

Start to develop specific judicial clerk skills

Skills	Percentages
Motion Hearings	10.62%
Legal Issues	9.87%
Domestic Violence	7.41%
Court Orders	5.36%
Oral Arguments	4.61%

Complete relevant judicial clerk training and internships

Accountants spend an average of Less than 1 month on post-employment, on-the-job training. New judicial clerks 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 judicial clerk based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real judicial clerk resumes.

Research judicial clerk duties and responsibilities

Demonstrate strong math skills in managing inmate s accounts and calmly and effectively deescalating outbursts of belligerent inmates.
Answer general questions and concerns regarding probate cases.
Compile accurate information from other departments in order to answer complaints, interrogatories and other legal documents on a timely basis.
Receive civil claims, small claims and evictions and follow the processing of them to completions and then collection status.

Prepare your judicial clerk resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your judicial clerk resume.

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