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What would an AUSA coming out of biglaw with a clerkship and 5 or so years of experience make in a city like Boston? Or NYC? How would that salary compare to working at a federal agency in the same areas?

5 YOE (factors such as clerkship don't matter to salary)
Boston USAO : Approx. $100,553
NYC USAO : Approx. $104,394

These two calculations are based off the AD pay scale at 5 years (https://www.justice.gov/usao/career-cen ... lan-charts) in the Q2 percentile, which is what most large and competitive USAOs offer. There is no room to negotiate, as there are thousands behind you just as qualified hoping for that spot.

If you went to a Federal Agency in the same locales, with 5 YOE most agencies would grade you as a GS-15 Step 1.
Boston: exactly $146,859
NYC: $152,469

Additionally, if you went to Main Justice as a prosecutor in one of their numerous divisions, you would also be at a GS-15 Step 1.

The above is correct, except that many agencies cap standard attorney jobs at GS-14. I'm also not certain that agencies using the GS scale always automatically bump you up based purely on years of experience the way that USAOs do. I'm not in one of these agencies, so someone else would have to comment on how that would play out in your hypothetical.

To expand a little, at a USAO you're paid on the AD scale with locality pay based on where your office is located (https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversig ... l-schedule, the same locality pay standards apply across the different pay systems).

Your grade on the AD scale is based on years of experience (any experience, not just federal). What percentile you're paid is where there's some variation. Offices will start you in the Q2 percentile, but I think there's some variation on where in the Q2. However, the variation is set by the office and I think it applies to everyone, rather than varying by individual applicant - for instance, a friend of mine worked at one office that started everyone (in whichever grade) at the 25th %ile but then moved to an office in a very HCOL city that started everyone at the 35th %ile (or something in the 30s, I forget the exact number), so got a raise, but b/c of office policy, not as a function of her particular candidacy. So I don't think there's negotiation where an office will offer a higher percentile to get a stronger candidate, for instance.

Also, you'll see that once you hit AD-29, 9+ years experience, you're at the highest grade, so your future raises will be increases in the percentile. I think this is where there can be some variation by office (whether they're generally stingy or generous), budget year (how much money did the office get for salary increases), and merit.

The GS scale is set higher than the AD scale and it's a bone of contention for some people. Some of the financial regulators, like the SEC, have their own scale which is even higher.

Anonymous User wrote: ↑

Sun Dec 18, 2022 3:44 pm

5 YOE (factors such as clerkship don't matter to salary)
Boston USAO : Approx. $100,553
NYC USAO : Approx. $104,394

These two calculations are based off the AD pay scale at 5 years (https://www.justice.gov/usao/career-cen ... lan-charts) in the Q2 percentile, which is what most large and competitive USAOs offer. There is no room to negotiate, as there are thousands behind you just as qualified hoping for that spot.

If you went to a Federal Agency in the same locales, with 5 YOE most agencies would grade you as a GS-15 Step 1.
Boston: exactly $146,859
NYC: $152,469

Additionally, if you went to Main Justice as a prosecutor in one of their numerous divisions, you would also be at a GS-15 Step 1.

Why do AUSAs get paid so incredibly poorly? Fed agency positions getting 50% more money doesn’t make sense.

Anonymous User wrote: ↑

Sun Dec 18, 2022 5:30 pm

Anonymous User wrote: ↑

Sun Dec 18, 2022 3:44 pm

5 YOE (factors such as clerkship don't matter to salary)
Boston USAO : Approx. $100,553
NYC USAO : Approx. $104,394

These two calculations are based off the AD pay scale at 5 years (https://www.justice.gov/usao/career-cen ... lan-charts) in the Q2 percentile, which is what most large and competitive USAOs offer. There is no room to negotiate, as there are thousands behind you just as qualified hoping for that spot.

If you went to a Federal Agency in the same locales, with 5 YOE most agencies would grade you as a GS-15 Step 1.
Boston: exactly $146,859
NYC: $152,469

Additionally, if you went to Main Justice as a prosecutor in one of their numerous divisions, you would also be at a GS-15 Step 1.

Why do AUSAs get paid so incredibly poorly? Fed agency positions getting 50% more money doesn’t make sense.

I think the idea is that the jobs ultimately cap out at similar salaries, but the problem is that it takes longer to get there on the AD scale than the GS scale. There's some reference to myths supporting the current system here: https://www.naausa.org/assets/docs/Aug- ... equity.pdf

I don't know the origins of the AD-scale, but I think it persists in part b/c USAOs are able to get away with it and still get excellent candidate pools. I think I heard something once about wanting to make sure AUSAs were going into the job for the right reasons (i.e. not self-interested), but that seems pretty bogus to me.

Anonymous User wrote: ↑

Sun Dec 18, 2022 5:30 pm

Anonymous User wrote: ↑

Sun Dec 18, 2022 3:44 pm

5 YOE (factors such as clerkship don't matter to salary)
Boston USAO : Approx. $100,553
NYC USAO : Approx. $104,394

These two calculations are based off the AD pay scale at 5 years (https://www.justice.gov/usao/career-cen ... lan-charts) in the Q2 percentile, which is what most large and competitive USAOs offer. There is no room to negotiate, as there are thousands behind you just as qualified hoping for that spot.

If you went to a Federal Agency in the same locales, with 5 YOE most agencies would grade you as a GS-15 Step 1.
Boston: exactly $146,859
NYC: $152,469

Additionally, if you went to Main Justice as a prosecutor in one of their numerous divisions, you would also be at a GS-15 Step 1.

Why do AUSAs get paid so incredibly poorly? Fed agency positions getting 50% more money doesn’t make sense.

The same reason that legal jobs in the White House and on the Hill pay so poorly: because they have discretionary pay scales and the employer can get away with paying less while still attracting many qualified candidates. Main Justice staffers are in a sweet spot with non-discretionary pay for jobs that are considered desirable (and that also largely rise to GS-15).

At least at DOJ, you can get to GS14 in 3 years, which makes the difference between pay at USAO and Main Justice even more offensive.

AUSA/AFPD here. We are paid on different scales but we are supposed to match perfectly in our city. I'm a 2nd year in xp, but first year in this role, in a small market. My pay is around 80-90k.

AUSA here with many years of experience. Pay is $154K in a low cost city. I'm happy as a lark.

That salary for young AUSAs in Boston and NYC is shocking to me, I have to admit. On the flip side, if you invest in a federal legal career, including getting your national security clearance et al., the financial rewards are not too shabby in the long run. I guess you'll have to survive those starving-wage Boston years though.