Airman vs officer

The differences between airmen and officers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, an officer has an average salary of $52,506, which is higher than the $51,612 average annual salary of an airman.

The top three skills for an airman include emergency situations, airmen and logistics. The most important skills for an officer are patrol, customer service, and public safety.

Airman vs officer overview

	Airman	Officer
Yearly salary	$51,612	$52,506
Hourly rate	$24.81	$25.24
Growth rate	-	3%
Number of jobs	373	114,267
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 31%	Bachelor's Degree, 56%
Average age	24	43
Years of experience	-	-

Airman vs officer salary

Airmen and officers have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Airman	Officer
Average salary	$51,612	$52,506
Salary range	Between $24,000 And $108,000	Between $26,000 And $103,000
Highest paying City	-	New York, NY
Highest paying state	-	New York
Best paying company	-	Meta
Best paying industry	-	-

Differences between airman and officer education

There are a few differences between an airman and an officer in terms of educational background:

	Airman	Officer
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 31%	Bachelor's Degree, 56%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	-	-

Airman vs officer demographics

Here are the differences between airmen' and officers' demographics:

	Airman	Officer
Average age	24	43
Gender ratio	Male, 75.8% Female, 24.2%	Male, 63.9% Female, 36.1%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 14.7% Unknown, 5.7% Hispanic or Latino, 19.1% Asian, 6.9% White, 52.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%	Black or African American, 15.2% Unknown, 5.7% Hispanic or Latino, 18.6% Asian, 6.6% White, 51.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.9%
LGBT Percentage	4%	6%

Differences between airman and officer duties and responsibilities

Airman example responsibilities.

Coordinate and manage daily briefings with senior military leadership on status of communication infrastructure and open trouble tickets/work orders.
Train EOD teams to recognize common insurgent devices and TTP.
Conduct initial and refresher simulator and classroom instruction in aircraft systems and air warfare tactics for F-14A aircrew.
Damage control operations include general shipboard firefighting, CBR (chemical, biological and radiological) operations, and HAZMAT operations.
Serve as the unit SME for intelligence support to mission planning, briefing/debriefing, threat systems and unit weapons system employment.
Certify & attend refresher courses for HAZMAT requirements.

Officer example responsibilities.

Lead 50 2nd lieutenants, manage schedules, and ensure timely completion of missions.
Achieve highest ranking of Lt.
Manage social media (Facebook): upload pictures, post announcements/news, update information.
Manage base active duty populations' compliance with USAF instructions regarding proper balance of fitness level and body fat percentage.
Manage training for CBRN response operations including detection and decontamination equipment.
Manage environmental safety occupational health compliance program, full spectrum threat response and anti terrorism programs.

Airman vs officer skills

Common airman skills

Emergency Situations, 8%
Airmen, 7%
Logistics, 5%
Combat, 4%
Law Enforcement, 4%
Troubleshoot, 4%

Common officer skills

Patrol, 19%
Customer Service, 18%
Public Safety, 10%
Emergency Situations, 6%
PowerPoint, 3%
CPR, 3%

Airman vs. similar jobs

Airman related careers

Airman related jobs

What similar roles do

Crew Chief responsibilities

Updated January 8, 2025

Browse military jobs