Second Officer
Everything OPM FedScope (June 2026) reports about the Second Officer occupation series (code 9906): headcount, average salary, length of service, and pay comparison.
The verdict
In the Vessel Jobs Family (excluded From the Federal Wage System) family, Second Officer counts 133 employees, a smaller, specialized federal occupation at 0.0% of the federal civilian workforce, and headcount declined from the prior period; pay averages n/a, which pays below the federal-wide average.
- Headcount change
- -2.2%
- Pay change
- 0.0%
- Avg tenure
- 10.2 yrs
- Rank in family
- #14 of 55
FedScope read on Second Officer (thin series)
For job seekers weighing career length: this series shows a mid-length average tenure, reflecting a mix of career employees and those who transfer or exit mid-career. 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 Second Officer alongside 54 related occupations. Candidates browsing USAJOBS for Second Officer postings should also review these sibling occupations in the Vessel Jobs Family (excluded From the Federal Wage System) family. The Vessel Jobs Family (excluded From the Federal Wage System) family totals 6,786 employees, and Second Officer accounts for 2.0% of them.
Salary context · lean-pay series
How Second Officer pay compares to the federal average
Occupation Average
n/a
Federal Average
$117,339
vs. Federal Avg
-100.0%
Where Second Officer ranks on lean federal pay
Second Officer earns more on average than 0% of federal occupation series (0 of 541). The highlighted bar marks where Second Officer sits in the federal pay distribution.
Average-salary distribution across all 541 federal occupation series; the highlighted bar marks Second Officer.
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 Second Officer 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 (133 here).
Similar lean average salary
Nearest average salaries in other occupation families (n/a here).
Key takeaways
- Place Second Officer 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 Second Officer 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.