Career-PathGPS
← All education and training
Career

Lawyers

Typical education: Doctoral or professional degreeHigh pressure

What they do

Represent clients in criminal and civil litigation and other legal proceedings, draw up legal documents, or manage or advise clients on legal transactions. May specialize in a single area or may practice broadly in many areas of law.

Kinds of work

  • Enterprising: Leading, persuading, selling and starting new projects or businesses.
  • Conventional: Organizing information, following clear procedures and working with data and details.
  • Investigative: Science, research, figuring out how things work and solving complex problems.

High pressure: How much pressure workers in this job report: deadlines, conflict, dealing with upset people, the cost of mistakes, responsibility for others' safety, competition and long hours. It varies a lot from one employer to the next. Source: U.S. Department of Labor worker surveys.

Pay, tasks and more

Salary

United States $159,670 Median per year · $76.76/hr Most earn $78,360–$351,600

BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, 2025.

What you might do

  • Present evidence to defend clients or prosecute defendants in criminal or civil litigation.
  • Represent clients in court or before government agencies.
  • Interpret laws, rulings and regulations for individuals and businesses.
  • Negotiate settlements of civil disputes.
  • Negotiate contractual agreements.
  • Confer with colleagues with specialties in appropriate areas of legal issue to establish and verify bases for legal proceedings.

Job outlook

United States
5% more jobs by 2035, faster than average · about 28,700 openings a year

Openings include new jobs and jobs left by workers who retire or change careers. Projections: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. "Bright Outlook": U.S. Department of Labor.

Where they work

  • Legal services51.7%
  • Self-employed (their own business)11.3%
  • Local government, excluding education and hospitals8.0%
  • State government, excluding education and hospitals6.6%
  • Federal government, excluding postal service5.0%

Share of all workers in this career. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, National Employment Matrix.

Some remote workExperience before this job: 2 to 4 years

Career path

How people usually get into this career, from school to their first job and beyond.

Typical education: Doctoral or professional degreeExperience before this job: 2 to 4 years

Lawyer is not an entry-level job. Most people spend about 7 years in school (a bachelor's degree plus a law degree) and then usually work 2 to 4 years as a junior attorney before they're practicing as a lawyer on their own. Pay varies a lot by location and specialty, so check the career page for typical pay near you and nationally.

  1. Bachelor's degree (any major, with strong writing and reasoning skills)

    4 years

    Build strong writing, reading, and critical thinking skills, and keep your grades high, because law schools look closely at your undergraduate record.

  2. Juris Doctor (JD) law degree

    3 years

    Study law full time or part time, then take the bar exam in the state where you want to practice. Passing it is required to become a licensed lawyer.

  3. Associate Attorney

    2-4 years

    Work at a law firm, legal aid group, or government office under senior lawyers, handling real cases and building your own client experience.

  4. Lawyer

    Ongoing

    Practice law on your own terms, representing clients, drafting documents, and handling cases in your chosen area.

Where it can lead

  1. Administrative Law Judge

    4-6 years of experience first

    Move from representing clients to deciding cases in government agency hearings, which usually requires a lot of courtroom or hearing experience first.

  2. Judge

    6-8 years of experience first

    Preside over court cases and make rulings, usually after many years of practice and a strong reputation in the legal community.

What you can do now

Ideas for high school and college students.

In high school

  • Take English, history, and government classesStrong reading and writing skills are the foundation of legal work, and civics helps you understand how the legal system works.
  • Join debate or speech teamDebate teaches you to build an argument, think on your feet, and speak clearly, which are everyday skills for lawyers.
  • Try mock trial or a model legislature clubThese clubs let you act out real court cases or lawmaking, so you can see if you enjoy the courtroom side of law.
  • Volunteer at a courthouse, legal aid office, or local court help deskVolunteering shows you how legal offices run and gives you a real-world look at the work before you commit to a path.
  • Get a part-time job that builds responsibilityJobs that require reliability and customer service show employers and future schools that you can handle serious work.

In college

  • Pick a major that builds reading and writing skillsPolitical science, history, philosophy, and English all train the careful reading and argument-writing that law school demands, though many majors can lead to law school.
  • Take logic, public speaking, and statistics or research methodsLogic sharpens reasoning, public speaking builds confidence in court-style communication, and research skills help with case work.
  • Join a pre-law or mock trial student groupThese groups connect you with advisors, guest speakers, and other students who are thinking about law, and they can help you prepare for law school applications.
  • Work a paralegal internship or campus job in a legal settingParalegal or legal office work gives you hands-on experience with case files and client work, and it strengthens your law school application.
  • Keep your grades high and start preparing for the LSAT in your junior or senior yearLaw schools weigh your GPA and admission test scores heavily, so starting early gives you time to prepare and improve.

Tips for getting started

  • Ask a lawyer if you can shadow them or do an informational interview. Hearing what their days look like is the best way to find out if the job fits you.
  • Look for a summer job or internship at a law office, courthouse, or legal aid group. Experience in these places makes law school applications and job searches much stronger.
  • Focus on writing and public speaking now. Lawyers spend a lot of time writing clearly and arguing well, and those skills are useful in any major.

Related jobs that often lead here

Related jobs a step up

Education, experience and related careers: U.S. Department of Labor. The step-by-step path, where it can lead and what you can do now were written by AI as typical examples; many people take other ways.

College majors that lead here

Majors: U.S. Department of Education and BLS (CIP–SOC crosswalk). Earnings and debt: College Scorecard, typical across U.S. colleges.

Related careers