Also called: Army 12A, Marine 1302 Combat Engineer Officer
Leads engineer units that build bridges, clear minefields, and construct bases.
An engineer lieutenant might plan a river crossing with floating bridges one week and supervise building a runway the next. Some serve with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on dams, levees, and disaster recovery. Many become licensed Professional Engineers and project managers after service.
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 (engineering preferred) and commission, then the Engineer Basic Officer Leader Course. 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, Construction Management.
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. Design software and route-clearing robots help; leading bridge, breach and build missions stays human.
Classes: AP Physics, AP Calculus, Leadership class, 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.