Also called: Air Force 62E, Space Force 62E
Engineer officer who designs, tests, and buys new aircraft, weapons, and satellites.
Developmental engineers work in labs and program offices, running tests of new jet engines or satellites and checking contractor designs. Some work at research labs on lasers or hypersonics. Afterward they're snapped up by aerospace companies.
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. Bachelor's in an engineering discipline and Air Force or Space Force 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: Aerospace Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical 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 in 5 years, medium in 10. AI speeds simulation, coding and test analysis; judging designs and running test programs stay human.
Classes: AP Physics, AP Calculus, AP Computer Science.
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.