Soldier vs machine gunner

The differences between soldiers and machine gunners can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a machine gunner has an average salary of $38,676, which is higher than the $36,491 average annual salary of a soldier.

The top three skills for a soldier include us army, weapons training and teamwork. The most important skills for a machine gunner are combat, support vehicles, and communications equipment.

Soldier vs machine gunner overview

	Soldier	Machine Gunner
Yearly salary	$36,491	$38,676
Hourly rate	$17.54	$18.59
Growth rate	3%	-
Number of jobs	108	30,778
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 41%	High School Diploma, 52%
Average age	24	24
Years of experience	-	-

Soldier vs machine gunner salary

Soldiers and machine gunners have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Soldier	Machine Gunner
Average salary	$36,491	$38,676
Salary range	Between $22,000 And $58,000	Between $24,000 And $61,000
Highest paying City	-	-
Highest paying state	-	-
Best paying company	-	-
Best paying industry	-	-

Differences between soldier and machine gunner education

There are a few differences between a soldier and a machine gunner in terms of educational background:

	Soldier	Machine Gunner
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 41%	High School Diploma, 52%
Most common major	Business	Criminal Justice
Most common college	-	-

Soldier vs machine gunner demographics

Here are the differences between soldiers' and machine gunners' demographics:

	Soldier	Machine Gunner
Average age	24	24
Gender ratio	Male, 77.5% Female, 22.5%	Male, 96.8% Female, 3.2%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 14.8% Unknown, 5.6% Hispanic or Latino, 18.0% Asian, 6.9% White, 54.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%	Black or African American, 14.0% Unknown, 5.6% Hispanic or Latino, 19.7% Asian, 6.3% White, 53.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%
LGBT Percentage	4%	4%

Differences between soldier and machine gunner duties and responsibilities

Soldier example responsibilities.

Achieve NREMT and CPR certificates.
Lead a platoon of communication specialists within a combat engineering company.
Demonstrate leadership, logistics expertise, communication abilities, computer competencies, teamwork, and multitasking.
Organize platoon physical training daily routine.
Complete military basic training, leadership training and teamwork skills
Train and remain proficient in use of the M4, M249, M240 rifles.

Machine gunner example responsibilities.

Accomplish a vast majority of BCT before receiving a general discharge for Hallux Valgus.
Detail patrolling, leadership and awareness training as well as CPR and advance first aid
Conduct tactical combat operations in any and all environments and conditions and execute all missions assign by senior leadership personnel.
Train in weapons and ammunition handling.
Perform multiple functions checks on the M240b and M4 daily to provide assurance that they fire readily.
Control the inspections for military weapons and ammunition.

Soldier vs machine gunner skills

Common soldier skills

US Army, 28%
Weapons Training, 7%
Teamwork, 6%
Logistics, 6%
Vehicle Maintenance, 5%
Security Clearance, 4%

Common machine gunner skills

Combat, 30%
Support Vehicles, 8%
Communications Equipment, 6%
Tactical Operations, 4%
Tactical Employment, 4%
Ribbon, 3%

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Soldier vs Machine Gunner

Updated January 8, 2025

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