Citizen-soldiers who keep civilian jobs or school while training part-time, plus the full-time members who run Guard and Reserve units. They answer both governors (floods, wildfires, hurricanes) and the President (overseas deployments).
Top pay: highest pay, longest training
The Adjutant General (TAG): The general appointed by a state's governor to command that state's Army and Air National Guard. Typical pay $210k.
National Guard Domestic Operations Officer: Plans and coordinates how a state's Guard responds to hurricanes, floods, wildfires, and civil emergencies. Typical pay $122k.
Mid pay: solid pay, degree or apprenticeship
WMD Civil Support Team Member: Full-time Guard specialists who respond to suspected chemical, biological, radiological, or nuclear incidents in their state. Typical pay $85k.
Dual-Status Military Technician: Civilian federal employees who keep Guard and Reserve units running full-time and also serve in uniform as members of the same unit. Typical pay $75k.
Active Guard Reserve (AGR) Service Member: Guard and Reserve members who serve full-time, recruiting, training, and administering units that mostly drill part-time. Typical pay $75k.
National Guard Counterdrug Analyst: Guard members who support police and federal agencies fighting drug trafficking with analysis, aerial surveillance, and training. Typical pay $70k.
MAFFS Aerial Firefighting Aircrew: Guard and Reserve C-130 crews who roll special tanks into their planes and drop fire retardant on wildfires. Typical pay $90k.
State Partnership Program Coordinator: Runs a state National Guard's partnership with a foreign country, planning joint training, disaster exercises and officer exchanges. Typical pay $90k.
LC-130 Ski-Plane Aircrew: Flies the ski-equipped LC-130 cargo planes of the New York Air National Guard, landing on snow and ice in Antarctica and Greenland. Typical pay $90k.
Starter: fastest way in
Youth ChalleNGe Academy Cadre: Staff at National Guard-run residential academies who mentor and lead 16-to-18-year-olds who dropped out of high school. Typical pay $42k.
STARBASE Instructor: Teaches fun, hands-on science and engineering classes to fifth-graders at military bases through the Defense Department's STARBASE program. Typical pay $50k.
Military Funeral Honors Team Member: Guard and Reserve members who fold the flag, play Taps, and fire rifle volleys at veterans' funerals in their home state. Typical pay $30k.
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.