How to Become a Court Clerk
Many people are interested in becoming a court clerk because of the variety of functions they handle. Learning how to become a court clerk will increase your ability to obtain employment and advance your career.
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If you are interested in starting and growing a career as a court clerk, these are the key steps:
- Get trained
- Get hired
- Gain experience
- Advance your career
Court Clerk Education & Training Requirements
The specific requirements for how to become a court clerk for the very first time will depend on several factors. The requirements for an entry level position in a smaller court may only require a high school diploma. However, a degree for a court clerk would help your resume to stand out from the rest and will make it easier for you to get hired.
Many mid-level court clerk education requirements include a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Criminal Justice or something similar to be considered for employment. If you have experience or a background that includes legal terminology, accounting practices or customer service, this will also help you to stand out.
Another way to get your foot in the door is through court clerk internships. Like with any other business, an internship allows you to actually work in the field and gain valuable experience, usually while you are working toward a degree. Having an internship on your resume will be a benefit when you start to seek full time employment.
Court Clerk Experience
You will gain experience as you work in the court clerk profession. This is a critical component if you hope to advance your career and increase your place on the pay scale. Most larger courts require a certain number of years of experience before they will consider your application. It will also be to your benefit if you have skills and experience with word processing, bookkeeping, business and personnel management, accounting and budgeting.
Once you have earned your degree for court clerk and gained experience, you will be able to advance your career. You can advance by moving to larger cities that have more people on their court clerk staff or by moving up to a higher level court. Another opportunity for advancement is to work in a supervisory role for other court clerk staff.
Learning how to become a court clerk is the first step toward building a career that has a lot of potential for advancement.
Advance Your Court Clerk Career
The median annual salary for a court clerk in the United States is $34,390, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. Where you fall on the pay scale will depend upon all of the factors that have been discussed above. Entry level positions that don’t require any experience will be much lower on the scale. However, as you gain experience and get a degree, you will be able to move to advance your career to a position that is higher on the pay scale. The area of the country will also have an impact on your salary. Each area of the country typically raises or lowers all salaries based upon the local unemployment rate, cost of living and various regional factors.
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics as of May 2010,http://www.bls.gov/ooh/office-and-administrative-support/information-clerks.htm#tab-5