Retail Services Specialist (Ship's Store & Barber)

Also called: Navy RS rating (formerly Ship's Serviceman), Navy barber

Runs a warship's store, laundry, vending, and barbershop, keeping sailors supplied during long deployments.

A day in the life

RSs manage the ship's store inventory and cash, run the laundry, and cut hundreds of sailors' hair. It's retail management at sea.

Pay over a career

Starting
$48k
Typical
$62k
High
$92k

Regular military compensation (RMC = base pay + housing and food allowances + their tax advantage) for typical E-1 to E-6 ranks, 2026 estimate. Cash in hand is lower early on because junior troops often live in free barracks and eat in dining halls. Enlistment bonuses can add thousands.

Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.

Training

High school diploma, about 0.5 years after high school. High school diploma and ASVAB, then basic training plus about 1 month of technical job training. 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: Retail Management.

Outlook

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.

Will it last? Our AI estimate

Medium risk for 10 years. Self-service stores and inventory software cut clerk work; haircuts and laundry stay human.

Start now, in high school

Classes: Business math, Cosmetology / barbering CTE.

More Navy, Coast Guard & Maritime careers

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.