Also called: Air Force 32E, RED HORSE officer
Engineer officer who builds and maintains Air Force bases, runways, and utilities, and repairs bombed airfields.
Civil engineer officers manage construction projects, lead Prime BEEF and RED HORSE heavy construction squadrons, and train to repair cratered runways fast so jets can fly again.
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.
Bachelor's degree (4-year), about 4 years after high school. ABET-accredited engineering bachelor's degree plus a commission. 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, 4-year college. Training cost: Get paid while you train.
Majors to look at: Civil Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering.
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. AI aids project planning; repairing bombed runways and leading crews stays human.
Classes: AP Physics, AP Calculus, Drafting / CAD.
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.