Estimation question

Estimate the number of attorneys in the US.

Practice this question out loud. An AI interviewer asks it, follows up like a real interviewer would, and scores your answer. Type or speak.

What this question tests

Whether the candidate can build a bottoms-up estimate using population, profession density, and law school output assumptions.

State scope: assume all licensed, practicing attorneys in the US.
Estimate using a per-capita density assumption, for example roughly 3 to 4 attorneys per 1,000 residents, based on general knowledge that law is a fairly common profession.
Multiply: 335 million times 3.5 per 1,000 gives roughly 1.2 million attorneys.
Sanity check with a bottoms-up cross-check: roughly 40,000 to 45,000 new law graduates enter the field yearly, and assuming an average career length of 30 years implies a stock of roughly 1.2 to 1.4 million, which is consistent.
Land on a final estimate of roughly 1.2 to 1.3 million, presented as a range.

Cross-checks the top-down per-capita estimate against a bottoms-up flow calculation (annual graduates times career length), a strong estimation technique.
States each assumption (density ratio, graduate rate, career length) explicitly before combining them.
Lands on a range that is internally consistent across both estimation methods.

Chapters of the AI PM course that teach what this question tests.