Also called: Sonar Technician (Submarine), Acoustic Intelligence Specialist
Listens to the ocean for ships, submarines, and sea life using a submarine's or ship's sonar.
On watch in a dark sonar room, you listen through headphones and watch waterfall displays, identifying faint sounds that could be a far-off submarine. Skills transfer to defense contractors and ocean research later.
Military pay includes housing and benefits; depends on rank.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
High school diploma, about 1 year after high school. Enlist in the Navy; technical school after boot camp.
Ways in: Military. Training cost: Get paid while you train.
Majors to look at: Navy Sonar Technician Training.
Growing about average. BLS does not project this specialty separately; rating estimated from related occupations.
Low risk in 5 years, medium in 10. AI helps classify sounds, but sailors still stand sonar watches and maintain gear; the Navy pays for training.
Classes: Physics, Algebra II, Music.
Official data: O*NET occupation 55-3019.
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.