Superior Court Judge

Description: Judges are officials who oversee legal processes and preside over court proceedings. They research legal issues and decide which cases should go to trial. Superior Court judges hold unlimited jurisdiction over civil and criminal legal cases.

Knowledge Required: Judges have an extensive understanding of law and must be completely impartial during cases.

Skills: Critical reasoning, decision making, communication, listening, reading comprehension, writing skills.

Career Path: A law degree is necessary and usually requires 7 years of full-time study after high school.

Best Cities for this job: Washington D.C. and state capitols.

Median Annual Income: National: $119,270, CA: $172,460

Future Growth: Employment of judges, mediators, and hearing officers is expected to grow by seven percent from 2010 to 2020.

From the field: "I love everything about my job. If I won the lottery tomorrow I would still go to work, and I don’t think there are many people who would say that about their job.” – Hon. Leslie Landau

Did You Know?: The youngest Supreme Court appointee was Joseph Story (age 32). The oldest sitting justice was Oliver Wendell Holmes, who served until he was 90.