How To Become A Branch Chief: What It Is and Career Path

What is a branch chief and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a branch chief. For example, did you know that they make an average of $53.54 an hour? That's $111,362 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 6% and produce 189,200 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScoreBranch ChiefUS Average

Salary

7.9

Avg. Salary $111,362

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

9.6

Growth rate 6%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

3.5

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.47%

Asian 6.36%

Black or African American 6.17%

Hispanic or Latino 15.16%

Unknown 4.34%

White 67.51%

Gender

female 16.22%

male 83.78%

Age - 44

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 - 44

Stress level

9.6

Stress level is very high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

9.2

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

3.6

Work life balance is poor

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a branch chief

Explore branch chief education requirements

Most common branch chief degrees

Bachelor's

61.9 %

Master's

23.1 %

Associate

10.5 %

Start to develop specific branch chief skills

Skills	Percentages
Oversight	12.71%
Direct Support	7.20%
DOD	6.57%
Human Resources	6.50%
Logistics Support	6.34%

Complete relevant branch chief training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New branch chiefs 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 branch chief based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real branch chief resumes.

Gain additional branch chief certifications

Branch chief certifications can show employers you have a baseline of knowledge expected for the position. Certifications can also make you a more competitive candidate. Even if employers don't require a specific branch chief certification, having one may help you stand out relative to other applicants.

The most common certifications for branch chiefs include Project Management Professional (PMP) and Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP).

More About Certifications

Research branch chief duties and responsibilities

Coordinate and lead foreign military delegations to CONUS exercises.
Manage human sources of information program, and perform duties as intelligence oversight and personnel reliability/security program manager.
Evaluate progress of program plans to determine whether overall command-wide objectives are being accomplish economically with reference to budget and manpower.
Conduct insurance verification; Medicaid and private-pay billing and collections.

Prepare your branch chief resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your branch chief 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 branch chief resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable branch chief resume templates

Build a professional branch chief 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 branch chief resume.