Administrative law judges, adjudicators, and hearing officers
SOC Code: 23-1021
Administrative law judges, adjudicators, and hearing officers carries a 42% AI exposure score (High automation risk), with a median annual wage of $115,230 and -0.7% projected employment growth from 2024 to 2034 (BLS), affecting approximately 17,500 workers. Full task breakdown, skills, and employer data are below.
Proportion of tasks susceptible to AI automation (O*NET analysis)
At 42% AI exposure, Administrative law judges, adjudicators, and hearing officers sits 5 points above the 37.2% average across 832 U.S. occupations - more exposed than 73% of them. Most of its core tasks still require human judgment.
Career outlook score
50/100
Administrative law judges, adjudicators, and hearing officers, weighted across 3 of 3 tracked dimensions
A weighted composite of median wage, projected growth, and AI-automation security (inverted exposure), each benchmarked against every other tracked occupation. It describes this occupation's standing across those three dimensions, not a guarantee of future outcomes.
- Median wage A+ $115,230
Annual median wage, percentile rank vs all tracked occupations
- Projected growth F -0.7%
Projected employment change, 2024-2034, BLS Employment Projections
- AI exposure (inverted) F 42% exposure
Lower O*NET task-automability scores lower risk; this dimension scores security, not exposure
Home health and personal care aides is #1 of 832 occupations by employment (4.3M, AI exposure rank #392 at 35%) vs. Bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks #1 by AI task exposure (95%, employment rank #17 at 1.6M).
Automation-risk inventory
Exclusive cut of 832 occupations by PlainWorkforce automation-risk band. Orthogonal to the continuous AI-exposure distribution chart below and to this occupation's single risk badge, this is the corpus band mix, with Administrative law judges, adjudicators, and hearing officers in the High band.
Credential × growth standing
Graduate credential among the thinner entry shelves
Administrative law judges, adjudicators, and hearing officers is in the Graduate band (113 of 832) with BLS pace Slow growth (245/832). Graduate entry is a minority shelf - pairing it with slow growth growth is the standing that separates this SOC from bachelor-dominated neighbors.
Where Administrative law judges, adjudicators, and hearing officers sits among all occupations
AI-exposure score distribution across 832 U.S. occupations (O*NET task analysis). This occupation is marked in rose.
Where Administrative law judges, adjudicators, and hearing officers sits by AI exposure
AI-exposure score distribution across U.S. occupations (O*NET task analysis)
42% Around the middle lower than 27% of 832 occupations
Occupations, banded by AI-exposure score
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more occupations. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count and share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source O*NET task data (U.S. Department of Labor) · BLS 2024–2034
Source: O*NET task data (U.S. Department of Labor); AI-exposure scores are PlainWorkforce's analysis. As of BLS 2024–2034.
Administrative law judges, adjudicators, and hearing officers vs. its occupational neighbors
AI exposure (horizontal) vs projected 2024–2034 growth (vertical) for occupations in the same SOC group. Administrative law judges, adjudicators, and hearing officers is marked in rose; the top-left corner is the most future-proof.
Source: BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034 (growth) and O*NET (AI-exposure analysis by PlainWorkforce).
Employment Projections
Where This Score Comes From
Administrative law judges, adjudicators, and hearing officers's High automation-risk tier is computed from O*NET Database 30.0 task-level analysis, where each documented task the occupation performs is evaluated against current generative AI, robotic process automation, and machine-learning capabilities. A score in the 40–70% range indicates meaningful automation pressure on specific task categories, but the role as a whole still requires human judgment for coordination, exception handling, or client interaction.
The employment, wage, and education figures above come from a second, separate federal source: BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034, matched to the O*NET task data by Standard Occupational Classification (SOC 23-1021) code, with the wage figure cross-validated against the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024 survey. BLS figures are presented exactly as published, with no adjustment on our part; the SOC-code match is what lets Administrative law judges, adjudicators, and hearing officers be compared directly against every other tracked occupation on the same basis, not just roles that happen to share a job title.
For career planners, this profile should be read alongside the task, skill, and knowledge breakdowns below and the list of employers whose workforce composition includes Administrative law judges, adjudicators, and hearing officers. Public companies with meaningful exposure to this occupation, such as Gartner Inc and Visa Inc., inherit a share of the same automation risk through their industry classification. Adjacent occupations shown further down offer lateral moves that preserve industry knowledge while potentially reducing exposure.
Education & Entry Requirements
Top Tasks (O*NET)
- 1. Determine existence and amount of liability according to current laws, administrative and judicial precedents, and available evidence.
- 2. Monitor and direct the activities of trials and hearings to ensure that they are conducted fairly and that courts administer justice while safeguarding the legal rights of all involved parties.
- 3. Prepare written opinions and decisions.
- 4. Authorize payment of valid claims and determine method of payment.
- 5. Conduct hearings to review and decide claims regarding issues, such as social program eligibility, environmental protection, or enforcement of health and safety regulations.
- 6. Research and analyze laws, regulations, policies, and precedent decisions to prepare for hearings and to determine conclusions.
- 7. Review and evaluate data on documents, such as claim applications, birth or death certificates, or physician or employer records.
- 8. Recommend the acceptance or rejection of claims or compromise settlements according to laws, regulations, policies, and precedent decisions.
- 9. Rule on exceptions, motions, and admissibility of evidence.
- 10. Explain to claimants how they can appeal rulings that go against them.
Key Skills Required
- Reading Comprehension
- Active Listening
- Critical Thinking
- Writing
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Speaking
- Social Perceptiveness
- Complex Problem Solving
- Active Learning
- Monitoring
Knowledge Areas
- Law and Government
- English Language
- Customer and Personal Service
- Administrative
- Medicine and Dentistry
- Administration and Management
- Computers and Electronics
- Mathematics
- Therapy and Counseling
- Personnel and Human Resources
Frequently Asked Questions
Will AI replace Administrative law judges, adjudicators, and hearing officers?
Administrative law judges, adjudicators, and hearing officers has an AI exposure score of 42%, indicating a high level of automation risk. Some tasks in this role can be augmented or partially automated by AI, but core responsibilities require human judgment.
What is the job outlook for Administrative law judges, adjudicators, and hearing officers?
According to BLS Employment Projections 2024-2034, Administrative law judges, adjudicators, and hearing officers is projected to decline by 0.7% over the decade. Current employment stands at approximately 17,500 workers.
What skills are needed for Administrative law judges, adjudicators, and hearing officers?
Key skills for Administrative law judges, adjudicators, and hearing officers include Reading Comprehension, Active Listening, Critical Thinking, and others. Typical entry-level education is Doctoral or professional degree.
How much do Administrative law judges, adjudicators, and hearing officers earn?
The median annual wage for Administrative law judges, adjudicators, and hearing officers is $115,230, according to BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (May 2024). Actual earnings vary by location, experience, industry, and employer. The BLS publishes detailed wage percentiles by region in its Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program.
What education is required for Administrative law judges, adjudicators, and hearing officers?
The typical entry-level education for Administrative law judges, adjudicators, and hearing officers is Doctoral or professional degree. Employers generally expect 5 years or more of related work experience. On-the-job training typically involves Short-term on-the-job training. Requirements can vary by employer and specialization.
Which companies employ Administrative law judges, adjudicators, and hearing officers?
Public companies with significant Administrative law judges, adjudicators, and hearing officers workforce shares include Gartner Inc, Visa Inc., Mastercard Inc, among others. These employers are mapped by industry classification (SIC/NAICS) to BLS occupation-industry employment distributions. See the full employer rankings for AI displacement risk grades.
Employers with High AI Exposure in This Occupation Group
Public companies whose industry occupation mix includes a significant share of Administrative law judges, adjudicators, and hearing officers roles.
| Company | AI Grade | Risk Score |
|---|---|---|
| Gartner Inc | C | 47.9% |
| Visa Inc. | C | 47.9% |
| Mastercard Inc | C | 47.9% |
| Alibaba Group Holding Ltd | C | 47.9% |
| Uber Technologies, Inc | C | 47.9% |
| PDD Holdings Inc. | C | 47.9% |
| S&P Global Inc. | C | 47.9% |
| Accenture plc | C | 47.9% |
AI Exposure Rating
High automation risk based on 10 analyzed tasks. A moderate share of tasks may be augmented by AI tools.
Nationwide occupations with similar workforce profiles
Two data-derived peer sets for Administrative law judges, adjudicators, and hearing officers: AI-exposure neighbors and BLS 2034 growth neighbors (distinct comparison neighborhoods, cross-occupation).
Similar AI exposure score
Nearest O*NET task-automability scores nationwide (42% here).
- Budget analysts · AI exposure 42%
- Chemical plant and system operators · AI exposure 42%
- Compensation and benefits managers · AI exposure 42%
- Cost estimators · AI exposure 42%
Similar projected growth (2024–2034)
Nearest BLS employment change rates nationwide (-0.7% here).
- Database administrators · growth -0.7%
- Detectives and criminal investigators · growth -0.7%
- Waiters and waitresses · growth -0.7%
- Gambling dealers · growth -0.6%
Peers are nearest-neighbor matches on published BLS + O*NET metrics among occupations with ≥10,000 workers in 2024; corpus ranks above sort the full tracked set.
Related Occupations
What to do with this
Use Administrative law judges, adjudicators, and hearing officers' numbers above to compare, not just read in isolation.
- Compare Administrative law judges, adjudicators, and hearing officers side by side against another occupation on wage, growth, and AI exposure. Workforce comparison tool
- Understand how the AI exposure score above is actually calculated before treating it as a verdict. Reading AI exposure scores
- See the full ranked list of occupations with the lowest automation exposure nationwide. Safest occupations from AI
AI exposure scores estimate task automatability from O*NET data; they are not a certainty of job loss, and BLS growth projections are estimates, not guarantees.
Data sources: Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections 2024–2034 and O*NET Database 30.0. Employment figures are rounded. Wage data from BLS Occupational Employment Statistics (OES).