Yes, Military/Government/Technical is a good career path. While working in the public sector generally isn’t as lucrative as the private sector, it does have other advantages. The first, of course, is that it benefits society and the nation as a whole. For many people in these positions, that’s the main motivator.
However, government jobs also come with security and benefits. They don’t pay a lot, but they are known for excellent benefits and low turnover. They also have the advantage of giving you experience in the field. So if you choose to move to a different position later, the experience you gained in the job boosts your desirability tremendously.
Jobs in the armed services not only have the honor of serving your country, but they also set you up with tremendous opportunities. The different military branches will train their personnel in many different fields, allowing you to pursue a path that suits you, as well as setting you up for a good career in civilian life if you so choose.
Best Paying Jobs in Military or Government
While a career in public service isn’t generally as lucrative as the alternative, high levels of experience and skill can still land you a good paycheck. These jobs require a lot of skill and training, and/or education to achieve. Here are some jobs in government or military you might consider.
- Military Intelligence AnalystAverage Annual Salary: $68,000Intelligence is a vital part of the running of the military. It’s paramount in actual warfare, but even when not in a hot war or conflict, intelligence helps to determine potential threats and ways to react to them.Military intelligence analysts’ jobs vary depending on their area of focus. However, they spend a lot of time working with sensitive information and making interpretations from it. They also make recommendations to leadership based on their findings.
- Military PilotAverage Annual Salary: $114,000Military pilots’ duties can be vastly different depending on what branch of the military they serve in and what sort of aircraft they operate. Most of them will be in the Air Force, but the Navy has a large number of pilots as well – particularly on aircraft carriers.Military pilots also aren’t limited to fixed-wing aircraft but can fly helicopters as well – particularly if they’re in the Army or the Coast Guard.
- Legislative AnalystAverage Annual Salary: $72,000As the name implies, legislative analysts spend their time analyzing legislation. They’ll work on the details of a draft bill, figuring out all the effects it’ll have. They’ll also follow hearings on the matter to keep up with changes and where other members of the legislature stand on the matter.Strong reading and communication skills are a must. They also must have a strong knowledge of policy and the legislative process in order to understand the challenges potential legislation faces and what effects it’ll have. Both legislative offices and lobbying firms rely on them.
- Civil EngineerAverage Annual Salary: $76,000Engineering is vital in all military branches. Civil engineers have a large role to play, though, as they’re all about different types of transportation.Their area of expertise is in bridges, roadways, and railways. This means that if the unit needs to build a bridge to advance, they have engineers to tell them how, what they need, and whether all their equipment can make it across.
- CaptainAverage Annual Salary: $55,000This rank is in several branches of the military, with different meanings. However, the best-known one is as captain of a ship. In the Navy and Coast Guard, this is a highly skilled position with tremendous responsibility – more so, the larger and more valuable the ship.
- GovernorAverage Annual Salary: $72,000In our political system, the governor is the head of state in a state. It’s unusual to reach the governorship without having experience in a lower office first. The amount of responsibility and power the governor has is dependent on the laws of the state that elected them, but it’s undeniably a prestigious position.Governors are in charge of a lot of economic and political decisions in a state, as well as appointments and pardons. They need to be able to work with the legislature to get laws passed as well as deal with any disasters in the state and respond to constituents’ complaints and requests.
