Also called: Civilian on the Battlefield role player, OPFOR role player, Cultural role player
Civilians paid to act as villagers, shopkeepers, or enemy fighters in realistic military training exercises.
At training centers like Fort Irwin and Fort Polk, role players live in fake villages for weeks, playing local leaders or insurgents so soldiers can practice. Native speakers of foreign languages are in high demand.
Usually temporary, hourly contract work during exercises. Estimate.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
No formal education, about 0 years after high school. No degree; language skills and acting ability help.
Ways in: On-the-job training. Training cost: Get paid while you train.
Majors to look at: Theater, Foreign Languages.
Growing about average. Depends on training schedules.
Low risk in 5 years, medium in 10. AI characters in VR training may replace some live role-players; in-person exercises remain.
Age 18+. One way to start: Sign up with role-player staffing companies near Army training bases
Classes: Theater / drama, A foreign language.
Official data: O*NET occupation 27-2011.
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.