Advancement (2024)

Promotions

You will have regular opportunities for advancement. For enlisted Airmen, a typical promotion timeline looks like this:

Rank	4-Year Enlistment	6-Year Enlistment	Top Starting Rank
E-1 Airman Basic	0 Months	0 Months	n/a
E-2 Airman	6 Months	2 Months	n/a
E-3 Airman First Class	16Months	7 Months	0Months
E-4 Senior Airman	36 Months	28 Months	28 Months
E-5 Staff Sergeant	n/a	60* Months	60*Months
E-6 Technical Sergeant	n/a	n/a	n/a

* Average time to reach E-5. E-5 promotions are based on WAPS testing (see below for details).

**The top rank that can be earned for initial enlistment is E-3/Airman First Class. You may earn an initial enlistment rank of E-1, E-2 or E-3 with 20 or more semester hours of credit from a degree-granting college/university or through: 1) Boy or Girl Scouts, Eagle Scout or Gold Award, 2) JROTC or AFROTC, 3) Billy Mitchell, Amelia Earhart or Carl Spaatz Award or 4) Civil Air Patrol. Talk to your recruiter for more information.

E-1 to E-4 Promotions

For enlisted Airmen, the promotion timeline looks like this:

Airman Basic (E-1) is eligible for promotion to Airman (E-2) with six months' time-in-grade.
E-2 is eligible for promotion to Airman First Class (E-3) with 10 months' time-in-grade.
E-3 is eligible for promotion to Senior Airman (E-4) within 18 to 24 months' time-in-grade (depending on earlier promotions).

E-5+ Promotions

Promotion to Staff Sergeant (E-5) and beyond is based on how hard you study and apply yourself.

Note that most Airmen take two, 100-question tests. One, commonly called the SKT (Specialty Knowledge Test), is used to compute your job knowledge score. The other, commonly referred to as the PDG (Professional Development Guide), is used to compute your overall Air Force military knowledge. You will have all the study materials that you will need to prepare for these tests.

Professional Development

Continued education and training are critical in preparing Airmen to meet emerging challenges throughout their careers. We operate in an unpredictable landscape which requires flexibility and responsiveness in the Air Force's developmental education processes, resulting in a variety of professional training opportunities for Airmen of all levels. We are focused on making simple, transparent and agile systems that are responsive to the Air Force's and Airmen's training needs so all Airmen can reach their full potential.

Professional Military Education

We pride ourselves in providing every Airman with unsurpassed educational opportunities to develop into even stronger Airmen. We invest time and resources to fuel innovation to help you achieve your goals and bring out your highest potential.

Other Professional Development Programs

When you enlist straight out of high school, the Air Force offers exclusive programs and hands-on experience to help you develop your skills and advance in your career. With financial assistance available every step of the way, we provide you with the opportunity to take your training and education as far as you strive to go.

Commissioning Programs

If you enlist in the Air Force, you may work toward becoming an Air Force Officer at a later point in your career. If you aspire to be an officer, we suggest you examine the officer path carefully to decide whether you can meet the requirements before joining. For example, if you are already in or aspire to attend college, the Air Force can help you with continuing education opportunities and financial assistance. If you enlist, the Air Force offers many opportunities for growth throughout your career.

Leaders Encouraging Airmen Development (LEAD)

This program delegates authority to unit and wing commanders to nominate highly qualified Airmen to attend the Air Force Academy.

The Nurse Enlisted Commissioning Program (NECP)

People selected for NECP receive a tuition and fees scholarship for up to $15,000 per year as well as a textbook allowance of $600 per year. Those selected may participate for up to three years, depending on their degree programs and previous academics.

The Airman Scholarship and Commissioning Program (ASCP)

This program offers Airmen the opportunity to earn a commission while completing their bachelor's degree in a variety of fields, including technical, nontechnical, nursing, pre-health and foreign language areas.

Professional Officer Course-Early Release Program (POC-ERP)

This program is open to students in all majors who are within two years of completing all bachelor's degree and commissioning requirements.

Pay Grade to Civilian Job Level Comparison

This section explains how your military pay grade translates to civilian job levels. Many successful civilian employers focus more on hiring by pay grade than by military occupation. The shaded boxes denote the best comparison between your military pay grade and potential civilian jobs levels.

	Airman Tier E-1 to E-3	NCO Tier E-4 to E-6	Senior NCO Tier E-7 to E-9	Company Grade Officers O-1 to O-3	Field Grade Officers O-4 to O-6	General Officers O-7 to O-10
C-Suite
Executive
Director
Manager
Supervisor
Individual Contributor Levels
Entry Level

Filters

This page does not include filters that are relevant to your profile. Please select another page if you would like to change your filter settings.