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Special Forces: Job Description

Implement unconventional operations by air, land, or sea during combat or peacetime as members of elite teams. These activities include offensive raids, demolitions, reconnaissance, search and rescue, and counterterrorism. In addition to their combat training, special forces members often have specialized training in swimming, diving, parachuting, survival, emergency medicine, and foreign languages. Duties include conducting advanced reconnaissance operations and collecting intelligence information; recruiting, training, and equipping friendly forces; conducting raids and invasions on enemy territories; laying and detonating explosives for demolition targets; locating, identifying, defusing, and disposing of ordnance; and operating and maintaining sophisticated communications equipment.

What Do Special Forces Perform?

Other Special Forces Job Titles

Common job titles for this role include:

• Advance Seal Delivery System Maintainer
• Amphibian Crewmember
• Basic Combatant Swimmer
• Combatant Swimmer (SEAL)
• Joint Special Operations
• Master Naval Parachutist
• Naval Special Warfare Medic
• Parachutist

Employment and Demand

There are roughly 39,034 special forces working in the United States today. Demand is forecast to grow by +4.1% over the projection horizon.

How Much Do Special Forces Make?

Statistic	Value
Annual median	$56,978
Hourly median	$27.39
10th percentile	$40,219
25th percentile	$48,599
75th percentile	$65,358
90th percentile	$73,738

Pay can vary substantially based on experience, location, and industry.

Degree Programs

Aspiring special forces typically earn programs in:

Military Technologies and Applied Sciences

4 programs across 2 majors

• Intelligence & Command Operations
• Military Systems & Maintenance

Homeland Security, Law Enforcement, Firefighting and Related Protective Services

3 programs across 2 majors

• Security Science and Technology
• Homeland Security

1 programs across 1 majors

• Military Science & Operations

Sources

Statistics shown above are sourced from 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: 55-3018.00 (Special Forces).