Also called: Army FA30, Air Force 14F, Navy Information Warfare officer
Plans how the military influences and protects information, from countering enemy propaganda to deceiving adversaries.
Information operations officers coordinate cyber, electronic warfare, deception, and public messaging into one plan, studying how adversaries spread disinformation and how to counter it.
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 8 years after high school. Bachelor's, commission, several years in another career field, then information operations qualification. 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: Communications, Psychology, International Relations.
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 generates and tracks messaging at scale; planning deception and ethics calls stay human.
Classes: Psychology, World history, English composition, Media studies.
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.