Also called: Brigadier General, Rear Admiral, Four-star General
The most senior military leaders, who command divisions, fleets, and entire theaters, or run major parts of the Pentagon.
A general's day is packed: intelligence briefings, decisions on budgets and operations, meetings with foreign counterparts, testimony to Congress, and visits to troops. Fewer than 1 in 1,000 officers become generals. Many later serve as CEOs, corporate board members, university presidents, or cabinet officials.
RMC for O-7 to O-10, 2026 estimate; base pay is capped by law at Executive Schedule Level II, plus housing and food allowances and official residences.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
Master's degree, about 30 years after high school. Bachelor's plus usually a master's from a war college, and 25-30+ years of service.
Ways in: Military, 4-year college, Graduate school. Training cost: Get paid while you train.
Majors to look at: Any major, International Relations, History, Engineering.
Growing about average. Roughly 900 general and flag officer positions exist across all services.
Low risk for 10 years. AI briefs and war-game tools inform decisions; commanding forces and answering for them stay human.
Classes: US history, Government / Civics, Speech, Leadership class.
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.