Flying, controlling, fixing, and loading military aircraft, from fighter jets and helicopters to drones and tankers.
Top pay: highest pay, longest training
Fighter Pilot: Flies jets like the F-35, F-22, or F/A-18 for air combat, strike, and air defense missions. Typical pay $140k.
Naval Aviator (Helicopter or Fixed-Wing): Navy or Marine officer who flies jets, helicopters, or patrol planes, often from aircraft carriers and ships. Typical pay $140k.
Remotely Piloted Aircraft Pilot: Flies large military drones like the MQ-9 Reaper from a ground control station, often thousands of miles away. Typical pay $140k.
Air Battle Manager: Officer who commands the air battle from radar planes like the E-3 AWACS, directing fighters and tankers. Typical pay $122k.
Military Test Pilot: Experienced pilot who flies new or modified aircraft to find out exactly what they can do safely. Typical pay $140k.
Hurricane Hunter Weather Officer: Air Force Reserve weather officer who flies into the eye of hurricanes to collect data that improves forecasts. Typical pay $122k.
Aircraft Maintenance Officer: Leads the hundreds of mechanics and technicians who keep a squadron's jets and helicopters ready to fly. Typical pay $122k.
Coast Guard Aviator: Flies Coast Guard helicopters and planes on search-and-rescue missions, drug interdiction, and hurricane response. Typical pay $125k.
Landing Signal Officer: A Navy or Marine pilot who stands at the back of an aircraft carrier and talks fellow pilots down onto the deck, grading every landing. Typical pay $122k.
Military Air Traffic Controller: Controls aircraft in the airspace around military airfields and ships, keeping them safely separated. Typical pay $70k.
Aircraft Loadmaster: Plans and supervises loading cargo, vehicles, and paratroopers onto transport planes like the C-17 and C-130. Typical pay $70k.
Naval Aircrewman / Rescue Swimmer: Helicopter crew member who jumps into the ocean to rescue downed pilots and sailors, and also operates sensors and weapons. Typical pay $70k.
Aircraft Maintenance Crew Chief: Inspects, services, and repairs a specific military aircraft and certifies it ready to fly. Typical pay $62k.
Aviation Boatswain's Mate (Flight Deck): Works the carrier flight deck: directing, launching, recovering, and fueling aircraft, and fighting deck fires. Typical pay $62k.
Aviation Ordnanceman: Loads bombs, missiles, and ammunition onto aircraft and maintains the weapons systems. Typical pay $62k.
Air Force Flight Attendant: Enlisted aircrew who serves and protects passengers on VIP jets, including those that fly the President and cabinet. Typical pay $62k.
Unmanned Aircraft Systems Operator: Enlisted drone operator who flies tactical drones or runs cameras and sensors on larger ones. Typical pay $62k.
Flight Engineer: Enlisted aircrew member who monitors engines, fuel, and systems in flight and helps pilots on large aircraft and helicopters. Typical pay $75k.
Special Missions Aviator (Aerial Gunner): Enlisted aircrew who operate guns, hoists, and cargo on gunships and helicopters, and scan for threats during missions. Typical pay $75k.
Aircrew Egress Systems Technician: Maintains the ejection seats and canopy systems that save pilots' lives when they have to bail out. Typical pay $62k.
Airfield Management Specialist: Keeps military runways safe and operating: inspecting pavement and lights, managing flight plans, and coordinating with air traffic control. Typical pay $62k.
Aircraft Fuel Systems Technician: Crawls inside the fuel tanks of military jets wearing a respirator to find and fix leaks, pumps and valves. Typical pay $62k.
Airborne Mission Systems Operator: Flies aboard radar and spy planes like the E-3 AWACS, running and fixing the radios, radar and computers mid-flight. Typical pay $70k.
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.