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Magistrate vs federal judge

The differences between magistrates and federal 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 magistrate and a federal judge. Additionally, a magistrate has an average salary of $210,238, which is higher than the $58,711 average annual salary of a federal judge.

The top three skills for a magistrate include legal research, district court and legal issues. The most important skills for a federal judge are settlement conferences, legal research, and criminal cases.

Magistrate vs federal judge overview

MagistrateFederal Judge
Yearly salary$210,238$58,711
Hourly rate$101.08$28.23
Growth rate-1%-1%
Number of jobs44836
Job satisfaction4-
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 54%Bachelor's Degree, 66%
Average age4646
Years of experience1010

Magistrate vs federal judge salary

Magistrates and federal judges have different pay scales, as shown below.

MagistrateFederal Judge
Average salary$210,238$58,711
Salary rangeBetween $123,000 And $358,000Between $38,000 And $90,000
Highest paying CityPort Saint Lucie, FL-
Highest paying stateTexas-
Best paying companyU.S. District Court-
Best paying industryGovernment-

Differences between magistrate and federal judge education

There are a few differences between a magistrate and a federal judge in terms of educational background:

MagistrateFederal Judge
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 54%Bachelor's Degree, 66%
Most common majorLawLaw
Most common collegeStanford UniversityUniversity of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Magistrate vs federal judge demographics

Here are the differences between magistrates' and federal judges' demographics:

MagistrateFederal Judge
Average age4646
Gender ratioMale, 49.6% Female, 50.4%Male, 60.7% Female, 39.3%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 5.6% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 7.8% Asian, 6.4% White, 75.5% 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 Percentage10%10%

Differences between magistrate and federal judge duties and responsibilities

Magistrate example responsibilities.

  • Issue various types of processes including: arrest warrants, summonses, search warrants, subpoenas, and civil commitments.
  • Prepare subpoenas and dockets for municipal court proceedings.
  • Issue various types of processes such as arrest warrants, summonses, bonds, search warrants, and medical detention orders.
  • Issue criminal and civil summonses.
  • Advise defendants of their rights, set bonds, and accept pleas.
  • Accept payments of bonds set by magistrates, and district and superior court judges.
  • Show more

Federal 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.

Magistrate vs federal judge skills

Common magistrate skills
  • Legal Research, 16%
  • District Court, 12%
  • Legal Issues, 10%
  • Legal Principles, 9%
  • Phone Calls, 7%
  • Criminal History, 6%
Common federal judge skills
  • Settlement Conferences, 28%
  • Legal Research, 27%
  • Criminal Cases, 24%
  • Legal Intern, 21%