Also called: Navy STS
Listens to and analyzes underwater sounds to detect ships, submarines, and marine life.
Sonar techs sit in a dim control room wearing headsets, identifying contacts from the sound of propellers or whale songs. They also maintain sonar equipment. Skills transfer to ocean research, acoustics, and defense contractors.
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 1 year after high school. High school diploma, then ~6-9 months of training; submarine pay adds to compensation. 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: Acoustics, Electronics Technology, Oceanography.
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.
Medium risk for 10 years. AI acoustic classifiers identify more contacts automatically; skilled ears still confirm the hard ones.
Classes: Physics, Music (ear training), Computer science.
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.