How To Become A 2nd Lieutenant: What It Is and Career Path

What is a 2nd lieutenant and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

2 min read

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a 2nd lieutenant. For example, did you know that they make an average of $19.58 an hour? That's $40,732 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 3% and produce 20,600 job opportunities across the U.S.

Score2nd LieutenantUS Average

Salary

3.2

Avg. Salary $40,732

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

10.0

Growth rate 3%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

2.3

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 1.36%

Asian 1.76%

Black or African American 11.01%

Hispanic or Latino 14.62%

Unknown 3.91%

White 67.33%

Gender

female 17.78%

male 82.22%

Age - 47

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 47

Stress level

10.0

Stress level is very high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

7.3

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

4.6

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a 2nd lieutenant

Explore 2nd lieutenant education requirements

Most common 2nd lieutenant degrees

Bachelor's

81.2 %

Master's

7.9 %

Associate

7.6 %

Start to develop specific 2nd lieutenant skills

Skills	Percentages
Platoon	22.74%
Logistics	14.88%
Combat	10.76%
Emergency Situations	8.25%
Weapon Systems	3.76%

Complete relevant 2nd lieutenant training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New 2nd lieutenants learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a 2nd lieutenant based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real 2nd lieutenant resumes.

Research 2nd lieutenant duties and responsibilities

Manage minutiae of daily activities as logistics officer
Receive various operation orders from company leadership, generate courses of action to accomplish assignments, and complete exercises.
Develop and implement improvement plans for unit physical fitness and combat readiness.
Brief senior military commanders and DoD civilians.

Prepare your 2nd lieutenant resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your 2nd lieutenant resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a 2nd lieutenant resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable 2nd lieutenant resume templates

Build a professional 2nd lieutenant resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your 2nd lieutenant resume.