Also called: Army 17E, Navy CTT rating, Marine 1721
Jams, detects, and locates enemy radios, radars, and drones using the electromagnetic spectrum.
EW specialists set up antennas, watch spectrum displays for suspicious signals, and figure out where an enemy transmitter is hiding. In Ukraine, EW against drones became front-line work. Skills transfer to RF engineering, telecom, and spectrum management.
RMC (base pay + housing/food allowances + tax advantage) for typical E-1 to E-7 ranks, 2026 estimate, plus the special-duty, hazardous-duty, or skill pays this specialty usually earns. Enlistment/reenlistment bonuses for this field can be $10k-$50k+.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
High school diploma, about 0.5 years after high school. High school diploma, then ~4-6 months of technical training. 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, On-the-job training. Training cost: Get paid while you train.
Majors to look at: Electrical Engineering Technology, Telecommunications.
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.
Medium risk for 10 years. AI-driven EW gear detects and jams signals on its own; operators set up and supervise.
Classes: Physics, Electronics CTE, 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.