Also called: Navy HM-L00C, Submarine IDC, Surface Force IDC
Navy enlisted medical expert who serves as the only medical provider on a submarine or small ship.
On a submarine underwater for months, the IDC is the doctor: running sick call, managing medicines, checking air quality, and handling emergencies with a satellite link to physicians. Afterward many become PAs or nurses.
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 3 years after high school. Experience as a hospital corpsman, then ~1 year of IDC school. 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: Physician Assistant Studies, Nursing.
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 decision support helps; being the only medic on a submarine stays human.
Classes: Anatomy & physiology, Biology, Chemistry.
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.