Personnel Specialists

Background

Personnel management helps individuals develop their military careers. It also serves the military's need to fill jobs with qualified workers. Personnel specialists work directly with service personnel and their families. Personnel specialists collect and store information about the people in the military, such as training, job assignment, promotion, and health information.

What They Do

Personnel specialists in the military perform some or all of the following duties:

• Assign personnel to jobs
• Assist personnel and their families who have special needs
• Enter and retrieve personnel information using computer terminals
• Organize, maintain, and review personnel records
• Prepare correspondence, organizational charts, and prepare reports
• Provide career guidance

Physical Demands

No information available.

Special Requirements

No information available.

Helpful Attributes

Helpful attributes include:

• Ability to compose clear instructions or correspondence
• Ability to follow detailed procedures and instructions
• Interest in working closely with others

Helpful School Subjects

Helpful school subjects include:

• Business administration
• English
• Speech

Helpful Fields of Study

No information available.

Work Environment

Personnel specialists normally work in office settings on land or aboard ships.

Services offering this career:

• Air Force
• Army
• Coast Guard
• Marine Corps
• Navy

Hiring Practices

To serve in the military, a person must be at least 17; the maximum age for enlistment varies. To enlist, a person must pass a physical exam and an aptitude test. An enlistee must also meet military standards of discipline and be a US citizen or permanent resident alien.

This position is for enlisted personnel.

Wages

The military is competitive with the civilian world when it comes to pay and benefits. All branches offer the same basic pay and benefits.

Pay depends mainly on rank or grade as well as length of service. Bonuses and the situation in which the person is serving (for example: flight duty, sea duty, hazardous duty) also affect pay. 

Cost-of-living increases usually occur every year, based on inflation. The military also pays allowances for food, clothing, and housing. All these factors combined are called Regular Military Compensation (RMC). They should all be considered when comparing military pay to civilian pay.

There are two main parts to RMC: basic pay and allowances. There are also additional incentives for special abilities, training, or hazardous duty.

Check out the RMC Calculator to calculate your RMC based on your inputs.

Training Provided

Job training consists of seven to nine weeks of classroom instruction.

Course content typically includes:

• Computer update and retrieval procedures
• Personnel records management
• Preparation of military correspondence and forms

Further training occurs on the job and through advanced courses.

Civilian Counterparts

Civilian personnel specialists work for all types of organizations, including industrial firms, retail establishments, and government agencies. They perform duties similar to military personnel clerks. However, specific jobs vary from company to company.

Related Civilian Careers

• Human Resources Assistants
• Job Benefits and Analysis Specialists

Employment and Outlook

In peace time the services have about 20,000 personnel specialists. In times of military action the number may be different, depending on the type of specialties required. Each year the services need new specialists due to changes in personnel and the demands of the field. After job training, specialists process personnel actions and add information to records. In time, they may supervise other personnel specialists and eventually may manage personnel offices.