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Infantry: Career Profile

Operate weapons and equipment in ground combat operations. Duties include operating and maintaining weapons, such as rifles, machine guns, mortars, and hand grenades; locating, constructing, and camouflaging infantry positions and equipment; evaluating terrain and recording topographical information; operating and maintaining field communications equipment; assessing need for and directing supporting fire; placing explosives and performing minesweeping activities on land; and participating in basic reconnaissance operations.

The Daily Work of Infantry Do?

Related Job Titles

Common job titles for this role include:

• Combat Rifle Crewmember
• Expeditionary Force - Combat Skills
• Fighting Vehicle Infantryman
• GWOT IA/ILO Multi-National Force, Not Deployed
• GWOT Support Assignment-Basic Combat Unit Member
• Heavy Antiarmor Weapons Infantryman
• Indirect Fire Infantryman
• Individual GWOT IA/ILO Multi-National Force

Employment and Demand

The U.S. employs around 26,826 infantry working in the United States today. Demand is forecast to grow by +11.1% over the projection horizon.

Infantry Pay

Statistic	Value
Annual median	$57,244
Hourly median	$27.52
10th percentile	$31,816
25th percentile	$44,530
75th percentile	$69,958
90th percentile	$82,671

Wages vary widely based on experience, location, and industry.

About the Data

This profile draws on the following authoritative sources:

• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) for employment and wage data by state and industry.
• BLS Employment Projections for total employment and growth forecasts.
• O*NET (Occupational Information Network) for skills, knowledge, tasks, work activities, work context, technology, and education-zone data.

SOC code: 55-3016.00 (Infantry).