How To Become A Junior Associate: What It Is and Career Path

What is a junior associate and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

A junior associate works in a professional services firm, such as a law firm or consulting firm. They are usually recent graduates or entry-level employees looking to learn about their field. Junior associates conduct research, draft documents, attend meetings, and assist senior colleagues. They work to complete tasks in a timely manner while also building skills and knowledge through training and mentorship. Junior associates often play a critical role in supporting the firm's clients.

ScoreJunior AssociateUS Average

Salary

6.0

Avg. Salary $77,094

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

6.9

Growth rate 10%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

6.1

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.21%

Asian 12.16%

Black or African American 5.42%

Hispanic or Latino 11.23%

Unknown 4.12%

White 66.86%

Gender

female 50.92%

male 49.08%

Age - 43

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 - 43

Stress level

6.9

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

7.0

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

6.6

Work life balance is good

6.4 - fair

What are the pros and cons of being a junior associate?

Pros

Possibility of advancement within the firm
Competitive salary and benefits
Learning from mistakes under supervision of senior attorneys
Opportunity to build reputation and credibility in the field
Chance to work on diverse projects and cases

Cons

Limited autonomy and independence in decision-making
Low job security in a highly competitive field
High expectations for quality of work
Limited work-life balance due to unpredictable hours and client demands
Potential conflicts with colleagues or superiors

Key steps to become a junior associate

Explore junior associate education requirements

Most common junior associate degrees

Bachelor's

67.8 %

Master's

10.2 %

Doctorate

10.2 %

Start to develop specific junior associate skills

Skills	Percentages
PowerPoint	11.16%
Litigation	7.21%
Financial Statements	6.81%
Press Releases	6.10%
Due Diligence	5.96%

Complete relevant junior associate training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New junior associates 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 junior associate based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real junior associate resumes.

Research junior associate duties and responsibilities

Construct and execute portfolios of interest rate and credit derivatives to manage duration and credit risk of loan and bond portfolios.
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Collect, organize, and analyze data relating to securities class action litigation in preparation for leading and managing projects.
Used basic HTML processes to quickly locate problems.

Prepare your junior associate resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your junior associate 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 junior associate resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable junior associate resume templates

Build a professional junior associate 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 junior associate resume.