Also called: Navy 1310, Marine Corps 75XX
Navy or Marine officer who flies jets, helicopters, or patrol planes, often from aircraft carriers and ships.
Naval aviators plan and fly missions like submarine hunting, search and rescue, or carrier strikes, and must master landing on a moving deck at night. Off the flight schedule they run squadron departments like maintenance or safety. Many later fly for airlines or work in aviation safety and aerospace.
RMC for officers O-1 to O-5, 2026 estimate, plus aviation incentive pay (up to $1,000/month) and pilot retention bonuses of up to $50,000/year for those who sign on for more years. Airline pilot jobs after service often pay $200k-$350k+.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
Bachelor's degree (4-year), about 6 years after high school. Bachelor's degree and commission, then ~18-24 months of Navy flight training in Pensacola and Texas. 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: Aerospace Engineering, Aviation, Mathematics, Any major.
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 in 5 years, medium in 10. Carrier drones like the MQ-25 take some tanker and scout jobs; flying from ships stays largely human.
Classes: AP Physics, AP Calculus, PE / swimming.
Official data: O*NET occupation 55-1011.
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.