Lieutenant vs staff sergeant

The differences between lieutenants and staff sergeants can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a lieutenant has an average salary of $47,781, which is higher than the $41,479 average annual salary of a staff sergeant.

The top three skills for a lieutenant include public safety, patrol and direct supervision. The most important skills for a staff sergeant are combat, logistical support, and emergency situations.

Lieutenant vs staff sergeant overview

	Lieutenant	Staff Sergeant
Yearly salary	$47,781	$41,479
Hourly rate	$22.97	$19.94
Growth rate	-	3%
Number of jobs	79,272	68,521
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 60%	Bachelor's Degree, 48%
Average age	46	46
Years of experience	-	-

What does a lieutenant do?

A lieutenant is responsible for overseeing operations in police departments, evaluating departmental cases, cooperating in law enforcement investigations, monitoring internal activities, and ensuring the safety and security of the premises. Lieutenants also enforce rules and regulations for everyone's strict compliance, inspect police department facilities, and identify serious offenses. They also confiscate violating items, document any evidence for further investigation. A lieutenant must have excellent leadership skills, as well as extensive knowledge of the law regulations to maintain the credibility and integrity of the police operations.

What does a staff sergeant do?

A staff sergeant is a noncommissioned officer under the supervision of a staff sergeant. Staff sergeants train junior officers who enter the unit for marine operation study. They interact with many soldiers and supervise property and equipment. Their other duties and responsibilities include the development, maintenance, and utility of the potential of soldiers. They can work as a medical laboratory specialist, avionics system repair, technical engineer, and water treatment specialist. The skills necessary for this job include strong communication skills, leadership, attention to detail, and physical fitness.

Lieutenant vs staff sergeant salary

Lieutenants and staff sergeants have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Lieutenant	Staff Sergeant
Average salary	$47,781	$41,479
Salary range	Between $41,000 And $55,000	Between $31,000 And $54,000
Highest paying City	Denver, CO	-
Highest paying state	Colorado	-
Best paying company	Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory	-
Best paying industry	Technology	-

Differences between lieutenant and staff sergeant education

There are a few differences between a lieutenant and a staff sergeant in terms of educational background:

	Lieutenant	Staff Sergeant
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 60%	Bachelor's Degree, 48%
Most common major	Criminal Justice	Business
Most common college	Pennsylvania State University	Pennsylvania State University

Lieutenant vs staff sergeant demographics

Here are the differences between lieutenants' and staff sergeants' demographics:

	Lieutenant	Staff Sergeant
Average age	46	46
Gender ratio	Male, 83.6% Female, 16.4%	Male, 86.1% Female, 13.9%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 11.2% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 15.0% Asian, 1.8% White, 66.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.4%	Black or African American, 10.3% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 15.9% Asian, 1.8% White, 66.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.4%
LGBT Percentage	11%	11%

Differences between lieutenant and staff sergeant duties and responsibilities

Lieutenant example responsibilities.

Manage a robust fire training program meeting NFPA, DoD, AFOSH, and German fire credentials.
Manage respiratory and cardiac emergencies to include performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).
Facilitate the planning, delegation of duties, and conduct all training events for ROTC personnel.
Coordinate the logistics throughout fully simulate combat operations in preparation to deploy to Afghanistan.
prepare paperwork to send to ems biller.
Mentore underclassmen in ROTC policies and procedures.

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Staff sergeant example responsibilities.

Manage training for CBRN response operations including detection and decontamination equipment.
Facilitate meetings and submit weekly reports, briefings and PowerPoint slides.
Use varies Microsoft programs to create reports, memorandums, newsletters, PowerPoint presentations, spreadsheets and email.
Study activities relating to narcotics, money laundering, gangs, terrorism, or other national security threats.
Maintain and operate petroleum logistics operations.
Supervise and discipline airmen under direct supervision.

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Lieutenant vs staff sergeant skills

Common lieutenant skills

Public Safety, 11%
Patrol, 10%
Direct Supervision, 8%
Security Procedures, 7%
Incident Command, 7%
Criminal Justice, 6%

Common staff sergeant skills

Combat, 12%
Logistical Support, 8%
Emergency Situations, 7%
Platoon, 6%
NCO, 5%
Law Enforcement, 3%

Lieutenant vs. similar jobs

Lieutenant related careers

Lieutenant related jobs

What similar roles do

Updated January 8, 2025

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