Also called: Army 56A, Navy Chaplain Corps 4100, Air Force 52R
Ordained clergy member and officer who provides religious services, counseling, and moral guidance to troops of all faiths.
Chaplains lead services, visit troops in the field, counsel people through divorce, grief, or crisis, and advise commanders on morale and ethics. Conversations with a chaplain are confidential. Chaplains come from Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu, and other traditions. Afterward, they serve as pastors, hospital chaplains, or counselors.
RMC (base pay + housing/food allowances + tax advantage) for officers O-1 (2nd Lieutenant/Ensign) to O-5 (Lieutenant Colonel/Commander), 2026 estimate. A 20-year career also earns a lifetime pension starting right after retirement.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
Master's degree, about 7 years after high school. Bachelor's plus a 72-credit-hour graduate theology degree (like a Master of Divinity), ordination and endorsement from a faith group, and usually 2 years of ministry experience. Free-college benefits: Tuition Assistance (up to $4,500/yr) while serving, the Post-9/11 GI Bill (36 months of tuition + housing stipend) afterward, and SkillBridge internships before separating.
Ways in: Military, Graduate school. Training cost: $60k – $150k.
Majors to look at: Religious Studies, Theology, Philosophy, Psychology.
Growing about average. Military specialties are not in BLS projections. The services recruit for this job every year and openings track force size and retention rather than market growth.
Low risk for 10 years. Counseling, grief support and services for troops in the field stay deeply human.
Classes: World religions, Psychology, Speech, Philosophy.
Career Universe is an early version. Pay, training and AI-risk figures are estimates to start your own research, not verified facts. The research was written with AI research assistants, checked by validation scripts and spot-checked by hand. Check anything important with schools, employers and official sources. How the numbers work.