Contract Prosecutor Positions Forum

[Anonymous User]

Hi,

I'm seeking insight into contract prosecutor positions. Every few months, the county will interview to fill contract prosecutor positions. The contract lasts 6 months and I was told that often these contracts are extended to 12 months. I was told by HR that contract prosecutors have a chance of being hired for a non-temp position if there is a permanent prosecutor position that opens up.

The training is basically a day or so, then they say they try to have you hit the ground running as soon as possible. I was told it was a good way to get experience in court, especially for fresh grads. The pay is pretty low, I think it comes down to a bit less than $30,000 for the 6 months with no benefits. Which in this market, is a little more than what document review pays. I don't owe any student loans and I'm more interested in landing a permanent career in government than immediate money. But the job is in a large city that is within the top 20 for highest cost of living, so at some point my finances could become a problem later on if this doesn't work out.

Does anyone have any insight on these type of contract prosecutor positions? Are people usually retained for the entire year unless they're clearly bad? I'm assuming almost all of the temp prosecutors are competing for full time positions, so only a very small percentage actually land permanent careers out of this. Most permanent openings I see within the county and city require a few years prosecutor experience, so I'm not sure how well this job fulfills those requirements.

Thanks