How To Become A Leading Petty Officer: What It Is and Career Path

What is a leading petty officer and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

The average leading petty officer salary is $46,435. The most common degree is a bachelor's degree degree with an business major. It usually takes 4-6 years of experience to become a leading petty officer. Leading petty officers with a EPA Amusement Operators Safety Certification (EPA) certification earn more money. Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 3% and produce 38,000 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScoreLeading Petty OfficerUS Average

Salary

3.6

Avg. Salary $46,435

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

8.0

Growth rate 3%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

4.3

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.63%

Asian 5.18%

Black or African American 11.60%

Hispanic or Latino 17.07%

Unknown 4.71%

White 60.81%

Gender

female 11.98%

male 88.02%

Age - 48

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 - 48

Stress level

8.0

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

8.7

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

6.2

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a leading petty officer

Explore leading petty officer education requirements

Most common leading petty officer degrees

Bachelor's

47.6 %

Associate

28.1 %

High School Diploma

13.7 %

Start to develop specific leading petty officer skills

Skills	Percentages
Sailors	7.96%
Preventive Maintenance	6.72%
Logistics	6.17%
Corrective Maintenance	5.64%
Combat Systems	4.60%

Complete relevant leading petty officer training and internships

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

Research leading petty officer duties and responsibilities

Manage the Safety/ HAZMAT programs.
Manage school and education tracks necessary to maintain communication and radar equipment.
Lead division payroll meetings and maintain documentation available in share directory and portal to facilitate communication and standardization of payroll procedures.
Supervise preventative maintenance and repairs on all submarine auxiliary equipment conduct by junior sailors, intermediate maintenance activity and shipyard personnel.

Get leading petty officer experience

Generally, it takes 4-6 years to become a leading petty officer. The most common roles before becoming a leading petty officer include work center supervisor, petty officer team lead and instructor.

Prepare your leading petty officer resume

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

Choose from 10+ customizable leading petty officer resume templates

Build a professional leading petty officer 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 leading petty officer resume.