Also called: West Point Permanent Professor, Naval Academy instructor, Air Force Academy faculty
Officer (or civilian) who teaches college courses to cadets and midshipmen at West Point, Annapolis, Colorado Springs, or the Coast Guard Academy.
Academy faculty teach small classes in everything from physics to philosophy, coach teams, and mentor cadets. Many officers rotate in for 2-3 years after a funded master's; permanent professors with PhDs stay for decades.
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.
Doctorate (PhD), about 8 years after high school. Bachelor's, commission, and a funded master's or PhD. 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, Graduate school. Training cost: Get paid while you train.
Majors to look at: Any academic discipline, Engineering, History, Mathematics.
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 tutors help cadets study; teaching small classes and mentoring stay human.
Classes: AP courses in your favorite subject, Speech.
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.