Judges Make List of Top 10 High-Paying Jobs with No Future
If you are intent on landing a judgeship, you may want to think again.
CBS Moneywatch has compiled a list of the top 10 high-paying jobs with no future, and judges are first on the list. Moneywatch compiled the list from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Occupational Outlook Handbook.
The Bureau predicts budget cuts will help spur a loss of 700 jobs for judges, magistrate judges, and magistrates in the decade that ends in 2018. The agency also notes the turnover is slow, with the average tenure spanning 14 years.
Tamara Dillon, who researches the occupation for the BLS, told Moneywatch why judges are staying longer on the job. “Years ago, some left to become general counsel in the private sector, where they could triple their salary, but since the economic downturn, they’re staying longer on the bench,” she said.
Median pay for judges, magistrate judges, and magistrates was $110,220 in May 2008, according to the BLS report.
Also on the Moneywatch list of no-future, high-paying jobs: fashion designers, insurance underwriters, travel agents, newspaper reporters and broadcast announcers.
Lawyers didn’t make the Moneywatch list. According to the BLS report, job growth for lawyers is projected to be 13 percent between 2008 and 2018, about as fast as the average for all occupations. But the report notes that job growth will be in salaried jobs as businesses and governments hire growing numbers of staff attorneys. The report also notes that lawyers are increasingly finding work outside of law firms in areas where legal training is an asset, rather than a requirement.
