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What is a policy officer 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 policy officer. For example, did you know that they make an average of $54.35 an hour? That's $113,052 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 6% and produce 189,200 job opportunities across the U.S.
ScorePolicy OfficerUS Average
Salary
7.9

Avg. Salary $113,052

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level
10.0

Growth rate 6%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity
1.6
Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.65%

Asian 7.63%

Black or African American 3.75%

Hispanic or Latino 7.74%

Unknown 3.89%

White 76.34%

Gender

female 35.49%

male 64.51%

Age - 52
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 - 52
Stress level
10.0

Stress level is very high

7.1 - high

Complexity level
10.0

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance
3.0

Work life balance is poor

6.4 - fair

Policy officer career paths

Key steps to become a policy officer

  1. Explore policy officer education requirements

    Most common policy officer degrees

    Bachelor's

    63.8 %

    Master's

    24.8 %

    Doctorate

    4.6 %
  2. Start to develop specific policy officer skills

    SkillsPercentages
    Policy Issues14.84%
    DOD14.54%
    Government Officials11.57%
    Technical Assistance10.66%
    Strategic Direction8.59%
  3. Research policy officer duties and responsibilities

    • Manage all issues relate to high quality survey administration including training and approval/certification, performance oversight and data collection.
    • Ensure compliance with applicable U.S. Army, DOD, and NSA security policies and directives.
    • Coordinate DoD NBC defense actions, initiatives and issues within the U.S. government interagency community.
    • Direct operational and administrative improvement initiatives to build a high-performing infrastructure and deliver the highest quality of care to patients.
  4. Get policy officer experience

    Generally, it takes more than 10 years to become a policy officer. The most common roles before becoming a policy officer include officer, internship team lead and research assistant.
  5. Prepare your policy officer resume

    When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your policy 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 policy 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 policy officer resume templates

    Build a professional policy 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 policy officer resume.
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    Policy Officer Resume
    Policy Officer Resume
    Policy Officer Resume
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    Policy Officer Resume
    Policy Officer Resume
    Policy Officer Resume
  6. Apply for policy officer jobs

    Now it's time to start searching for a policy officer job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

    1. Browse job boards for relevant postings
    2. Consult your professional network
    3. Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
    4. Watch out for job scams

How did you land your first policy officer job

Zippi

Are you a policy officer?

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Average policy officer salary

The average policy officer salary in the United States is $113,052 per year or $54 per hour. Policy officer salaries range between $79,000 and $159,000 per year.

Average policy officer salary
$113,052 Yearly
$54.35 hourly

What am I worth?

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How do policy officers rate their job?

-/5

5 stars

4 stars

3 stars

2 stars

1 star

Policy officer reviews

profile
A zippia user wrote a review on Jul 2020
Pros

Organizing and executing my jobs. Doing a job well and having a successful event.

Cons

When things go amiss. Confusion, too many last minute changes that have the potential to ruin things.


profile
A zippia user wrote a review on Sep 2019
Pros

the opportunity to relate and meet with different people, the ability to solve problems on the go as they arise, and the fact that its people oriented

Cons

its time consuming,can be very stressful especially when they is a busy schedule


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Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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