Clark County Public Defender • Staff Attorney
Springfield, OH · On-site
$60 - $125/hr
Senior Technical Marketing Engineer, Distributed Networking & Content Delivery
Columbus, OH · On-site
$119.60 - $215.40/hr
10 of the Most Popular Types of Public Defender Jobs in 2026
See what kind of roles similar to Public Defender jobs are hiring now
Public defenders must be licensed to practice law by their state bar. To work as a public defender, complete your bachelor’s degree, take the LSAT exam, and attend law school to earn a J.D. degree. Focus your studies on criminal defense law, and hone your research skills. During your law school summers take internships in public defender offices. You can also intern in a prosecutor’s office or a public interest firm to gain experience for a career as a public defender. After you complete law school you must pass your state’s bar exam. Most states also require legal professionals to pass the Multistate Professional Responsibility Exam (MPRE). Once you are licensed to practice law in your state, you can apply to public defender offices.
If you are interested in a job related to Public Defender, here are some popular related job searches with the most open positions on ZipRecruiter.
Top Types Of Public Defender Jobs
Federal Defender Investigator
Salary range: $52,500 - $98,500
Federal Defender Investigator is a more unusual job search query but still may give you interesting job results. Most salaries for Federal Defender Investigator jobs pay between $52,500 (25th percentile) and $98,500 (75th percentile) annually. Currently, there are not many open positions nationwide for Federal Defender Investigator job searches hiring now on ZipRecruiter. You can take a look at what is available and find similar job searches in this list.
Federal Public Defender Investigator
Salary range: $52,500 - $98,500
Federal Public Defender Investigator is a typical job search query Most salaries for Federal Public Defender Investigator jobs pay between $52,500 (25th percentile) and $98,500 (75th percentile) annually. Currently, there are not many open positions nationwide for Federal Public Defender Investigator job searches hiring now on ZipRecruiter. You can take a look at what is available and find similar job searches in this list.
Public Health Research Scientist
Salary range: $107,500 - $173,000
Public Health Research Scientist is a more unusual job search query but still may give you interesting job results. Most salaries for Public Health Research Scientist jobs pay between $107,500 (25th percentile) and $173,000 (75th percentile) annually. Currently, there are not many open positions nationwide for Public Health Research Scientist job searches hiring now on ZipRecruiter. You can take a look at what is available and find similar job searches in this list.
Public Defender Social Worker
Salary range: $59,000 - $91,500
Public Defender Social Worker is a typical job search query Most salaries for Public Defender Social Worker jobs pay between $59,000 (25th percentile) and $91,500 (75th percentile) annually. Currently, there are not many open positions nationwide for Public Defender Social Worker job searches hiring now on ZipRecruiter. You can take a look at what is available and find similar job searches in this list.
Public Defender Mitigation
Salary range: $38,000 - $58,000
Public Defender Mitigation is a more unusual job search query but still may give you interesting job results. Most salaries for Public Defender Mitigation jobs pay between $38,000 (25th percentile) and $58,000 (75th percentile) annually. Currently, there are not many open positions nationwide for Public Defender Mitigation job searches hiring now on ZipRecruiter. You can take a look at what is available and find similar job searches in this list.
Paralegal Public Defender
Salary range: $48,000 - $68,500
Paralegal Public Defender is a more unusual job search query but still may give you interesting job results. Most salaries for Paralegal Public Defender jobs pay between $48,000 (25th percentile) and $68,500 (75th percentile) annually. Currently, there are not many open positions nationwide for Paralegal Public Defender job searches hiring now on ZipRecruiter. You can take a look at what is available and find similar job searches in this list.
Chief Public Defender
Salary range: $93,000 - $146,000
Chief Public Defender is a more unusual job search query but still may give you interesting job results. Most salaries for Chief Public Defender jobs pay between $93,000 (25th percentile) and $146,000 (75th percentile) annually. Currently, there are not many open positions nationwide for Chief Public Defender job searches hiring now on ZipRecruiter. You can take a look at what is available and find similar job searches in this list.
Courtroom Artist
Salary range: $36,500 - $58,000
Courtroom Artist is a common job search query. Most salaries for Courtroom Artist jobs pay between $36,500 (25th percentile) and $58,000 (75th percentile) annually. There are plenty of open positions nationwide for Courtroom Artist job searches hiring now on ZipRecruiter.
Wildlife Internships Remote
Salary range: $45,500 - $69,500
Wildlife Internships Remote is a more unusual job search query but still may give you interesting job results. Most salaries for Wildlife Internships Remote jobs pay between $45,500 (25th percentile) and $69,500 (75th percentile) annually. Currently, there are not many open positions nationwide for Wildlife Internships Remote job searches hiring now on ZipRecruiter. You can take a look at what is available and find similar job searches in this list.
Project Innocence
Salary range: $81,000 - $125,500
Project Innocence is a common job search query. Most salaries for Project Innocence jobs pay between $81,000 (25th percentile) and $125,500 (75th percentile) annually. You’ll find many open positions nationwide for Project Innocence job searches hiring now on ZipRecruiter.