Career
Arbitrators, mediators, and conciliators
Help people settle disputes without going to court.
$75,530
Median pay
+4.7%
Job growth, 2025–35
300
Openings a year
Bachelor's degree
Typical education
4 years
Typical time after high school
Here's what you actually need to know.
The work
What people in this job do
- Prepare written opinions or decisions regarding cases.
- Apply relevant laws, regulations, policies, or precedents to reach conclusions.
- Conduct hearings to obtain information or evidence relative to disposition of claims.
- Determine extent of liability according to evidence, laws, or administrative or judicial precedents.
- Rule on exceptions, motions, or admissibility of evidence.
The outlook
How the forecast changed this year
The deeper question
What kind of person does this path ask you to become?
What this work centers on
O*NET interest profile, scored 1–7.
The work
Do you want most of your days spent on persuasion & leadership, then information & systems?
Responsibility
Are you willing to be the one responsible for this?
“Prepare written opinions or decisions regarding cases.”
Development
What would you need to build over the next 5–10 years?
Negotiation, Active Listening, Writing, Reading Comprehension.
Trade-offs
What does it ask of you in exchange?
4 years of education after high school (bachelor's degree), for a median of $75,530 a year and 300 openings nationally each year.
Paths in
Degrees that lead here
- LawCIP 22.0101
- Peace Studies and Conflict ResolutionCIP 30.0501
- Dispute ResolutionCIP 30.2801
Paths across
Careers that use similar skills
- Administrative Law Judges, Adjudicators, and Hearing Officers$117,860 · +0.0%
- Lawyers$159,670 · +4.7%
- Labor Relations Specialists$95,420 · +2.1%
- Judicial Law Clerks$64,920 · +2.8%
- Judges, Magistrate Judges, and Magistrates$153,990 · +2.8%
Ask anything about this career.
“Would this make sense if I don't want to sit at a desk all day?” Answers will come from the sources on this page, with citations. Coming soon.
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Sources
- BLS Employment Projections, 2025–35, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- BLS Employment Projections, 2024–34 (archived), U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- O*NET 31.0 Database (August 2026), National Center for O*NET Development / U.S. Department of Labor. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 Crosswalk, NCES and BLS. Retrieved 2026-10-01.