Law and public safety
Every kind of lawyer, plus courts, police, fire, borders and corrections.
39 careers
Lawyers
12Corporate LawyerHandle the deals, contracts and rules that companies run on. Long training, long hours, serious money.Typical pay$160kTo qualify7 to 8 yrsDemandModerateCriminal Defense LawyerStand between one person and the power of the state. Seven years of school, and the pay is nothing like television.Typical pay$160kTo qualify7 to 8 yrsDemandModerateEmployment LawyerFirings, harassment, unpaid wages and discrimination. You act for the worker or for the company, and the two jobs look very different.Typical pay$160kTo qualify7 to 8 yrsDemandModerateEnvironmental LawyerPermits, pollution and land. Most of the work is paperwork that stops a problem before it starts.Typical pay$160kTo qualify7 to 8 yrsDemandModerateFamily LawyerDivorce, custody and adoption. You handle the worst week of somebody's life, over and over.Typical pay$160kTo qualify7 to 8 yrsDemandModerateImmigration LawyerHelp people stay, work or become citizens, in a system where a paperwork mistake can end a life here.Typical pay$160kTo qualify7 to 8 yrsDemandModerateIntellectual Property LawyerProtect inventions, brands and creative work. The patent side is the one law job that wants your science degree.Typical pay$160kTo qualify7 to 8 yrsDemandModerateLawyerArgue, advise, negotiate and write. Seven years of school and one hard exam stand between you and the license.Typical pay$160kTo qualify7 to 8 yrsDemandModeratePersonal Injury LawyerYou represent people hurt in crashes, falls and accidents, and you usually only get paid if they win.Typical pay$160kTo qualify7 to 8 yrsDemandModerateProsecutorYou decide who gets charged with a crime and then you have to prove it. Government pay, courtroom experience nobody else gets this early.Typical pay$160kTo qualify7 to 8 yrsDemandModerateReal Estate LawyerProperty is contracts, title and land law. You are the person who makes sure the deal actually holds.Typical pay$160kTo qualify7 to 8 yrsDemandModerateTax LawyerWork out what the tax code actually requires, and argue it when the government disagrees. Long training, and one of the better paid corners of law.Typical pay$160kTo qualify7 to 9 yrsDemandModerate
Courts and legal support
10Court ClerkRun the paperwork that makes a courtroom work. A government job you can reach straight out of high school.Typical pay$49kTo qualifyup to 2 yrsDemandModerateCourt ReporterCapture every word said in a courtroom at over 200 words a minute. Two years of school, no degree needed.Typical pay$72kTo qualify2 to 4 yrsDemandLimitedJudgeTwenty years of law first, then you decide. There are only about 27,000 of these jobs in the whole country.Typical pay$154kTo qualify15 to 25 yrsDemandModerateJudicial Law ClerkYou research the law and draft the decisions for a judge. One or two years that change the rest of a legal career.Typical pay$65kTo qualify7 to 8 yrsDemandModerateLegal AssistantKeep a law practice running: files, deadlines, drafts and clients. A two-year degree gets you in the door.Typical pay$63kTo qualify2 to 4 yrsDemandLimitedMediatorSit between two sides of a fight and help them settle it themselves, without a judge and without a verdict.Typical pay$76kTo qualify1 to 10 yrsDemandModerateParalegalDo the research, drafting and case preparation that lawyers bill for, without going to law school.Typical pay$63kTo qualify1 to 4 yrsDemandLimitedPrivate InvestigatorFind facts for lawyers, insurers and families. Far more records and databases than car chases.Typical pay$51kTo qualify2 to 5 yrsDemandGoodProbation OfficerSupervise people serving sentences in the community, and try to keep them from coming back.Typical pay$66kTo qualify4 to 5 yrsDemandModerateSheriffThe county's own law enforcement office: patrol, the jail, the courthouse and the paperwork nobody else serves.Typical pay$76kTo qualify1 to 4 yrsDemandModerate
Police and fire
10911 DispatcherAnswer the worst call of someone's life, work out what they need, and send help while keeping them alive on the line.Typical pay$53kTo qualifyup to 1 yrDemandModerateBorder Patrol AgentA federal law enforcement job patrolling the land between the ports of entry, mostly in the desert Southwest.Typical pay$76kTo qualify1 to 2 yrsDemandModerateCorrectional OfficerKeep order inside a jail or prison. No tuition, paid training, and a job that asks a lot of you.Typical pay$59kTo qualifyup to 1 yrDemandLimitedFBI AgentInvestigate federal crimes for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). You need a degree, real work experience first, and patience with a long hiring process.Typical pay$94kTo qualify6 to 9 yrsDemandLimitedFire InspectorCheck buildings before they burn, and work out why when one does. Most people come to it after years on a fire engine.Typical pay$76kTo qualify2 to 6 yrsDemandModerateFirefighterRun toward the thing everyone else runs from, and spend most shifts on medical calls instead.Typical pay$59kTo qualify1 to 3 yrsDemandModeratePolice DetectiveTake the cases that patrol officers hand over and work them until they close. You patrol first, for years.Typical pay$94kTo qualify4 to 8 yrsDemandModeratePolice OfficerHired first, trained second, paid from the first day of the academy. No degree required in most of the country.Typical pay$76kTo qualify1 to 4 yrsDemandModerateState TrooperYou patrol the highways and the rural areas no town police department covers. The state hires you first and trains you at its own academy, paid.Typical pay$76kTo qualify2 to 4 yrsDemandModerateWildland FirefighterFight fire in forests and rangeland with hand tools, chainsaws and water. Seasonal, brutal, and the hardest job to walk away from.Typical pay$59kTo qualifyup to 1 yrDemandModerate
Military and security
7Coast Guard MemberSearch and rescue, law enforcement and pollution response on American waters. You can enlist straight out of high school.Typical pay$52kTo qualifyup to 1 yrDemandModerateCode Enforcement OfficerKnock on doors about unsafe buildings, illegal work, junk lots and zoning. The city's rules only exist if somebody enforces them.Typical pay$81kTo qualifyup to 4 yrsDemandModerateEnlisted Service MemberJoin straight out of high school, get trained and paid from day one, and sign away several years of your choices to do it.Typical pay$38kTo qualifyup to 1 yrDemandGoodGame WardenA sworn police officer whose beat is the woods and the water. Armed, alone, and usually the only one out there.Typical pay$74kTo qualify2 to 5 yrsDemandLimitedIntelligence OfficerCollect and make sense of information governments need. A long hiring process, a polygraph, and a job you cannot talk about.Typical pay$94kTo qualify4 to 6 yrsDemandModerateMilitary OfficerLead service members, take legal responsibility for them and for the mission, and sign away years of your own choices to do it.Typical pay$64kTo qualify4 to 5 yrsDemandModerateSecurity GuardWatch, patrol, report. One of the fastest jobs in America to get licensed for, and a doorway into a lot of others.Typical pay$38kTo qualifyup to 1 yrDemandVery high