Career Atlas

Judges vs Patent Examiners

Compare Judges and Patent Examiners side by side: median pay, job outlook, AI exposure, education, and top skills. Patent Examiners pays about $6k more.

Judges

Median pay$154k
OutlookGrowing
AI exposureHigh 84%, modeled
EducationDoctoral (JD) plus election or appointment
Active ListeningCritical ThinkingReading ComprehensionWritingSpeaking

Patent Examiners

Median pay$160k
OutlookGrowing fast
AI exposureHigh 85%, modeled
EducationBachelor's in technical field
SpeakingReading ComprehensionActive ListeningCritical ThinkingWriting
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Pay and outlook: BLS (OEWS 2025, Employment Projections 2024-2034). Skills: O*NET 30.3. AI exposure is a modeled estimate. How we model AI exposure.