Unlicensed Junior Engineer
Federal headcount, average salary, length of service, and pay comparison for the Unlicensed Junior Engineer occupation series (code 9954), drawn directly from the OPM FedScope dataset (June 2026).
The verdict
Unlicensed Junior Engineer is a smaller, specialized federal occupation: 79 employees (0.0% of the federal civilian workforce) in the Vessel Jobs Family (excluded From the Federal Wage System) family. At an average salary of $58,665 it pays below the federal average, and headcount declined from the prior period.
- Headcount change
- -1.3%
- Pay change
- +0.1%
- Avg tenure
- 16.3 yrs
- Rank in family
- #27 of 55
FedScope read on Unlicensed Junior Engineer (thin series)
On pay, the move between reporting periods was a small shift, within the range of normal year-to-year rounding rather than a broad pay-table change. On length of service, 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.
Code 99, the Vessel Jobs Family (excluded From the Federal Wage System) family, is where the federal government classifies Unlicensed Junior Engineer alongside 54 related occupations. Candidates browsing USAJOBS for Unlicensed Junior Engineer postings should also review these sibling occupations in the Vessel Jobs Family (excluded From the Federal Wage System) family. Unlicensed Junior Engineer makes up 1.2% of the Vessel Jobs Family (excluded From the Federal Wage System) family's 6,786 combined employees.
Salary context · lean-pay series
How Unlicensed Junior Engineer pay compares to the federal average
Occupation Average
$58,665
Federal Average
$117,339
vs. Federal Avg
-50.0%
Where Unlicensed Junior Engineer ranks on lean federal pay
Unlicensed Junior Engineer earns more on average than 13% of federal occupation series (70 of 541). The highlighted bar marks where Unlicensed Junior Engineer sits in the federal pay distribution.
Average-salary distribution across all 541 federal occupation series; the highlighted bar marks Unlicensed Junior Engineer.
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 Unlicensed Junior Engineer 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 (79 here).
Similar lean average salary
Nearest average salaries in other occupation families ($58,665 here).
Key takeaways
- Place Unlicensed Junior Engineer 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 Unlicensed Junior Engineer 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.