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

What is a petty officer and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

A petty officer is a non-commissioned navy officer. He/She is the backbone of the United States Navy. He/She serves as the link between the junior enlisted ranks and the officer corps. Furthermore, he/she reviews and prioritizes division jobs daily. Also, he/she supervises the daily activities of the junior sailors. Asides from that, he/she handles the more demanding parts of the division's work. Being the senior trainer of the division, he/she may handle training the junior sailors in basic skills. The petty officer may have direct supervisory control over the junior personnel.

To become a petty officer, you must have six to fourteen years of experience. You will be expected to meet all the requirements for becoming surface warfare qualified. The rank of the petty officer is divided into six increasing higher ranks, starting from the E-4 to the E-9. Petty officers make an average salary of $59,236 per annum. It ranges between $38,000 and $93,000.

ScorePetty OfficerUS Average

Salary

3.1

Avg. Salary $39,336

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability Level

8.6

Growth Rate 3%

Growth Rate 0.3%

Diversity

10.0

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 1.58%

Asian 5.56%

Black or African American 12.39%

Hispanic or Latino 18.76%

Unknown 5.30%

White 56.40%

Gender

female 17.43%

male 82.57%

Age - 43

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 - 43

Stress Level

8.6

Stress level is very high

7.1 - high

Complexity Level

4.9

Complexity Level is intermediate

7 - challenging

Work Life Balance

9.4

Work Life balance is excellent

6.4 - fair

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Key steps to become a petty officer

Explore petty officer education requirements

Most common petty officer degrees

Bachelor's

40.4 %

High School Diploma

24.9 %

Associate

24.3 %

Start to develop specific petty officer skills

Skills	Percentages
Preventative Maintenance	9.48%
Law Enforcement	6.03%
Logistics	5.63%
Sailors	5.09%
Coast Guard	4.70%

Complete relevant petty officer training and internships

Accountants spend an average of Less than 1 month on post-employment, on-the-job training. New 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 petty officer based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real petty officer resumes.

Research petty officer duties and responsibilities

Lead three CPO's and 50 maintenance personnel in target maintenance planning on two C-2A aircraft.
Manage CPR and first aid program that involve directing quarterly CPR and first aid classes while tracking employee s certifications.
Manage the day to day operations of USS Olympia's EKMS account to include support and compliance for EKMS Visits/inspection.
Manage 13 ready-service-lockers containing all shipboard ordinances while personally keeping duty gunner's mate and ammunition handling qualify.

Prepare your petty officer resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your petty officer resume.

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Apply for petty officer jobs

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

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