Boatswain
Everything OPM FedScope (June 2026) reports about the Boatswain occupation series (code 9920): headcount, average salary, length of service, and pay comparison.
The verdict
In the Vessel Jobs Family (excluded From the Federal Wage System) family, Boatswain counts 106 employees, a smaller, specialized federal occupation at 0.0% of the federal civilian workforce, and headcount edged down from the prior period; pay averages $77,466, which pays below the federal-wide average.
- Headcount change
- -0.9%
- Pay change
- 0.0%
- Avg tenure
- 23.3 yrs
- Rank in family
- #21 of 55
FedScope read on Boatswain (thin series)
For job seekers weighing career length: this series shows a long average tenure, typical of career federal roles where employees stay through much of a full career before retirement. Headcount moved down versus the prior period, though at this small a headcount, year-to-year swings can reflect a handful of hires or departures rather than a broad hiring trend. As for pay, the latest move was a small shift, within the range of normal year-to-year rounding rather than a broad pay-table change.
Code 99, the Vessel Jobs Family (excluded From the Federal Wage System) family, is where the federal government classifies Boatswain alongside 54 related occupations. Candidates browsing USAJOBS for Boatswain postings should also review these sibling occupations in the Vessel Jobs Family (excluded From the Federal Wage System) family. Across the Vessel Jobs Family (excluded From the Federal Wage System) family, 6,786 employees work in 55 occupations; Boatswain is 1.6% of that headcount.
Salary Context
How Boatswain pay compares to the federal average
Occupation Average
$77,466
Federal Average
$117,339
vs. Federal Avg
-34.0%
Where Boatswain ranks on federal pay
Boatswain earns more on average than 34% of federal occupation series (184 of 541). The highlighted bar marks where Boatswain sits in the federal pay distribution.
Average-salary distribution across all 541 federal occupation series; the highlighted bar marks Boatswain.
Related Occupations in Vessel Jobs Family (excluded From the Federal Wage System)
10 other occupations in the same family
| Occupation | Employees | Avg Salary | Avg LOS |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steward Utilityman | 646 | n/a | 5.1 yrs |
| Ordinary Seaman | 619 | $42,990 | 2.5 yrs |
| Able Seaman-Maintenance | 556 | n/a | 11.2 yrs |
| Wiper | 449 | $42,656 | 2.9 yrs |
| Able Seaman | 338 | $51,760 | 12.1 yrs |
| Engine Utilityman | 283 | n/a | 8.5 yrs |
| Third Officer | 249 | n/a | 4.2 yrs |
| Boatswain's Mate | 199 | $60,969 | 16.9 yrs |
| Assistant Storekeeper | 194 | n/a | 6.1 yrs |
| Second Assistant Engineer | 186 | $107,628 | 13.5 yrs |
Nationwide peers near this thin headcount
Two peer sets for Boatswain outside the Vessel Jobs Family (excluded From the Federal Wage System) family, on headcount and average salary axes that vary across all OPM occupation series.
Similar thin headcount
Nearest employee counts in other occupation families (106 here).
Similar average salary
Nearest average salaries in other occupation families ($77,466 here).
Key takeaways
- Place Boatswain pay in context with the pay-rank chart above, then compare it with another occupation.
- Turn an average salary into a grade: the GS pay grade tables show how grades and steps map to pay.
- Browse the Vessel Jobs Family (excluded From the Federal Wage System) family occupations in the table above, or search current Boatswain postings on USAJOBS.
OPM FedScope and Federal Workforce Data figures are federal civilian headcounts, average salaries, and length-of-service statistics - not job-quality scores, hiring advice, or a live vacancy listing. A larger or higher-paid agency is not a better employer.