The 18 Best Jobs for Retired Army Officers

Today, I want to take a few minutes and talk about the best jobs for retired Army officers.

A wide range of companies and corporations enjoy hiring military veterans. One of the issues many Army officers find is not having pay that is comparable to what they were earning in the Army, not to mention the benefits. While many retired Army officers are willing to work for a reduced pay, there is only so much reduction they can handle, and still maintain their standard of living.

For those individuals who have been officers in the U.S. Army for a long period of time, it can be difficult entering the civilian lifestyle and finding a job that is satisfactory for you and your family. Hopefully, this post can assist you in your transplant from Army to civilian life.

I would highly suggest that if you are just joining the Army either as an enlisted soldier or as a commissioned officer, you should look into the PaYS program. It stands for the U.S. Army Partnership for Youth Success. This is an agreement between the Army and private businesses that will guarantee you an interview and a possible job after your Army obligation.

When it comes to life after your Army retirement, your job offers will vary based upon your rank, military experience, the current job market, how much you expect to make, and where you reside.

Best Jobs for Retired Army Officers

These 18 best jobs for retired Army officers are lilsted in no particular order, so scroll down and see them all.

# 1: Entrepreneur

I put this first because Charles Holmes (the owner of Part Time Commander), and I are entrepreneurs. While I am not a retired Army Officer, Chuck is a former officer (resigned his commission after 15 years). There are a wide range of opportunities in the entrepreneurship area. You could open a restaurant, a clothing store, a consulting business, buy a franchise, or start a home business, such as network marketing (that’s what Chuck does). The ideas are endless and hopefully, you have enough money saved that you could start a business and ride through the lean years your first few years in business..

# 2: Chief Information Officer

I would be willing to gamble that the majority of CIOs of corporations across America are ex military. The Army is all about communication, and the CIO of a company is the head of communication. What better position than managing the infrastructure of a company’s IT structure. The median pay for CIOs sits at around $160,000.

# 3: Intelligence Analyst

Intelligence gathering and analyzing is something that many Army officers do. Well, intelligence analyzing isn’t just a military job; many companies and corporations have data that needs to be analyzed. It could be competitor’s figures, or statistics on marketing, there is a lot of businesses who are looking for good intelligence analysts. The median pay sits around $86,000.

# 4: ROTC/JROTC Instructor

While the pay isn’t “out of this world,” with the median pay at around $38,000, the job of teaching future Army officers may be just right for retired Army Officers. You will still have the Army touch in your life, but with the civilian benefits.

# 5: Logistics Analyst

There are many Army officers who are logistics experts. The Army has to have logistics experts to move the amount of personnel and equipment it has to move in a moment’s notice. There are corporations that love to hire Army logistics experts to analyze their logistics nightmares. The median salary for a position like this is around $61,000.

# 6: Teacher

As an Army officer, you taught and led soldiers. As a retired Army Officer, you can now teach and lead children and teens. The Department of Defense has even realized just how great retired Army Officers can be as teachers, so they instituted the Troops to Teachers program. TTT is set up to lead prior military to the classrooms where they are needed greatly. The median pay sits around $55,000.

# 7: Program Manager

While the aviation industry is one who is looking for program managers the most, there are other industries also in need. Managing projects and contracts are something you had to do in the Army, why not do it in civilian life too? The median salary is around $115,000.

# 8: The Federal Government

There are many jobs available with the Federal Government, and former Army officers have an extra advantage when applying for those jobs. Go to this website to view them all.

# 9: F.B.I. Agent

While this job falls into # 8, I wanted to add it to fire up the retired Army officers. The FBI is looking for men and women that have the experiences of leading in the United States Army. You can go to the link in #8 to find FBI Agent jobs. The median pay falls around $110,000.

# 10: Police/Sheriff

While this job is not real high paying, it can be quite similar to the military lifestyle. You will still be protecting and serving citizens on a local basis. There are police and sheriff job openings all around the country. The median pay is approximately $50,000.

# 11: Pilot

This is really a no-brainer for those Army officers who are licensed pilots. There are pilot jobs that pay quite well be it in life flight helicopters, or flying planes or jets for corporations. Median pay is around $90,000.

# 12: Human Resources Manager

As an Army officer, you are in charge of people. The Army is one large Human Resources operation because there are so many individuals to manage. Many companies will consider a retired Army officer before others just because of their ability to manage people. The median salary for Human Resource Managers is around $57,000.

# 13: Systems Analyst

There are a lot of Army officers who are always analyzing the systems at use by the Army. Why not do the same thing for businesses? You can help find what works and what doesn’t work to help the business grow and succeed. The median salary range for this position sits around $85,000.

# 14: Registered Nurse

Army Nurses are commissioned officers. Once they retire from the Army, there are many positions at hospitals and Doctor’s offices nationwide. This is another no-brainer. The median salaries for Registered Nurses is $58,000.

# 15: Training Specialist

As an Army officer, training is a large part of your responsibilities. Most corporations understand this, and when they see that you are a retired Army officer, the job of developing and implementing training programs probably will be yours. Median pay runs around $59,000.

# 16: Security Manager

As an Army officer, you have been a leader of security forces for years. You can lead corporate security with your eyes closed. This position just makes good sense and the pay isn’t bad either with median salaries at about $70,000.

# 17: Policy Analyst

Senior Policy Analysts make around $91,000 per year. Many Army officers are quite skilled at researching the best policies to use for employees and the treatment of clients and customers.

# 18: Government Program Manager

Here is another after Army career that makes good sense. A lot of companies and corporations have Government contracts, and since you worked with the Government via the United States Army for years, you will be a natural for developing programs to fill Government contracts. The median salary for a position like this is approximately $71,000.

Final Thoughts

As a retired Army Officer, you have an advantage over the civilian career seekers. Most companies and corporations will look harder at a person with your training, experience and leadership abilities. There are a lot of jobs out there you are qualified for.

Are there any other jobs for retired Army Officers you can think of? Do you have any questions? You can post any, and all in the comment section below.  I hope this post helps inspire you in your post Army career job search.

Sincerely,








Chuck Holmes
Former Army Major (resigned)
Publisher, Part-Time-Commander.com
Email: mrchuckholmes@gmail.com

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