What Your Skills Pay Outside
Real median wages for the civilian jobs veterans move into — by metro, straight from the federal wage survey. Pick where you are headed and see what the work is worth there.
| Occupation | Median pay | vs. national |
|---|---|---|
| Loading wage data… | ||
A “—” means the survey doesn’t publish that cell for that metro (too few workers to report), not that the job doesn’t exist there. Medians describe the middle of everyone in the occupation — experienced military maintainers and leaders routinely come in above it. MOS tags show which military jobs most directly feed each occupation; the full translation lives in our MOS career guides.
Three things the table can't say
Cost of living moves too
A Duluth wage buys Duluth housing. Compare the spread between metros, not just the biggest number.
You're not the median
Ten years running a military maintenance section doesn't price like a mid-career civilian. Negotiate from your scope, not the table.
Total pay > base pay
Shift differentials, overtime and per-diem move real earnings well past the median in most of the trades here.
Get an offer, not an estimate
The fastest way to learn what you're worth is a real offer. Free for candidates, always.