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By Fred Decker Updated June 29, 2018
Getting ahead in government service is a long-term project, with promotions coming from a combination of your ability and your willingness to stick around long enough for seniority to work in your favor. This holds true whether you're a civilian employee or a member of the military, so it's not surprising that you can draw parallels between military ranks and federal civil service grades. If you're considering a federal job when you leave the military, it's especially useful information to have at your fingertips.
At the Entry Level
The lowest level in the federal government's General Schedule pay table for civilian employees is GS-1, which is for new hires with minimal experience, education and/or skills. That's equivalent to a private in the U.S. Army or a seaman recruit in the U.S. Navy. GS-2 is the next grade, roughly the same as a private 2 in the army or a seaman apprentice in the navy. If you're currently a private first class in the army, or a seaman in the navy, a civilian at the GS-3 pay grade is closest to the same level.
NCOs and Senior NCOs
As you get into the NCO and senior NCO ranks, there are some overlaps and gray areas between the military ranks and the civilian GS pay grades. Civilians at GS-4, GS-5 and GS-6 are about the same as petty officers – 3rd, 2nd and 1st class – in the navy, or specialists, corporals and sergeants in the army. When you get up to GS-7 and GS-8, you're looking at the civilian equivalents of senior NCOs, the equivalent of naval warrant officers or the army's sergeant majors. It's harder to draw direct lines between the military ranks and their civilian equivalents at this level; in either service, seniority, special qualifications and above-average performance can lead to a lot of differences between individuals.
Junior Officers
Civilian service grades don't draw a line between commissioned officers and enlisted ranks the way the armed forces do, so a naval ensign or newly minted lieutenant junior grade translates roughly to a GS-7 or GS-8 pay grade, the same as a senior NCO. After that, the comparisons become relatively predictable. A civilian GS-9 compares to a 2nd lieutenant in the army or a more senior lieutenant junior grade in the navy. Pay grades GS-10, 11 and 12 are roughly equivalent to a first lieutenant or captain in the army, or to lieutenants and lieutenant-commanders in the navy.
Senior Officers
For federal civilian employees, GS-13 is where pay grades begin to correspond to senior officers in the army or navy. That's equivalent to a major in the army, or a commander in the navy. The GS-14 and GS-15 pay grades are roughly equal to those of lieutenant-colonels and colonels in the army, or to more senior commanders and captains in the navy.
The next step takes you into the government equivalent of the executive suite in private industry, where you find the most senior of managers. In the civil service, it's referred to as senior executive service, which begins at SES level 5, or SES-V. That's the equivalent of a brigadier-general in the army, or a lower-half rear admiral in the navy. SES-IV and SES-III correspond to upper-half rear admirals and vice admirals in the navy, or major-generals and lieutenant-generals in the army. SES-II and SES-I are the equivalent of full generals or full admirals.
Transitioning to the Civil Service
If you're planning to transition from the military to the federal civil service, knowing how your current rank translates to its civilian equivalent is only part of the picture. If you've got your eye on one or two specific job listings, take a close look at the requirements for each position. You'll need to meet the educational requirements, to begin with, and you'll also need to look at how your military experience translates to the demands of the new job. If it requires the kind of technical skills you've acquired in the field, that should count in your favor. Management and administrative experience translate well, because those roles are pretty much the same in the civilian world. Your new civilian job might put you at a pay grade that's nominally below that of your military rank, but that shouldn't be your focus. Civilian positions pay relatively higher than their military equivalents, so you'll likely still come out ahead.
Something to Be Aware Of
One thing you need to know about switching to the civil service is its effect on your military pension. You can collect your military and civilian pensions separately, but when you turn 62 and become eligible for Social Security, your military benefits will be clawed back. That can cost you as much as $1,000 a month, so it's a pretty vital piece of information.
You can avoid that when you switch to your civilian job by taking advantage of a program called Catch 62. It means you can make a deposit into your federal civil service pension and "buy back" the time you've spent in military service. Basically, it means you have to make a catch-up payment to your civilian pension, so it's as if you were in the civil service the whole time instead of the military. You'll have to work out how the math applies in your own case, but usually it's well worth doing.
