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USN5100

Civil Engineer Corps Officer

Plans, designs, and manages construction projects and facilities for Navy bases and installations worldwide.

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Recruiter vs. Reality
What they tell you

As a Civil Engineer Corps Officer, you'll lead construction and infrastructure projects around the world — from building bases in remote locations to disaster recovery operations that save lives. You'll command Seabees, manage multi-million-dollar construction programs, and apply your engineering expertise in environments that civilian engineers never experience. The CEC combines engineering with military leadership in a way no other career can match.

What it's actually like

You are a Civil Engineer Corps Officer, which means you build things for the Navy — bases, piers, runways, barracks, and whatever structure the admiral just decided needs to exist by next fiscal year. You are a licensed professional engineer in uniform, and your portfolio includes projects in every climate zone on Earth, in locations that civilian contractors would charge triple hazard pay to visit. You'll manage MILCON projects that cost hundreds of millions using an acquisition process that costs your sanity. The timeline says 36 months. The funding cycle says maybe. The environmental review says probably not. The end user says they needed it yesterday. You will build in war zones with Seabees — the Navy's construction battalions — who can turn rubble into a functioning airfield in 72 hours and silence into a fistfight in 30 seconds. Your Seabees are the hardest-working, most creative, most stubbornly competent people in the Navy, and managing them is like herding caffeinated, heavily tattooed cats who are really good at welding. Your PE license is real, your project management experience is measured in billions, and civilian construction management firms will fight over you.

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MOS Intel

ClearanceSecret
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PromotionAverage
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Deploy TempoModerate
Career Intel
Duty StationsPort Hueneme (CA) · Gulfport (MS) · Various NAVFAC locations worldwide · Washington D.C. · Rota (Spain)
Daily LifeCivil engineering and construction management — leading Seabee battalions in military construction, managing base infrastructure through NAVFAC, and overseeing facility engineering worldwide. CEC officers alternate between operational Seabee tours (leading construction battalions in the field) and NAVFAC facility management tours (engineering and project management at installations).
AIT / SchoolCEC officers enter with engineering degrees and attend CEC Basic Qualification Course at Port Hueneme (CA). The training covers military construction, Seabee operations, and NAVFAC facility management. Total initial training: approximately 5 months. A PE (Professional Engineer) license is expected and supported.
Physical DemandsModerate. Seabee battalion duty involves field construction in austere environments. NAVFAC facility management is office-based.
DeploymentsSeabee battalions deploy for 6-9 months to construction sites worldwide; NAVFAC billets are primarily shore-based
Certifications
CEC Officer qualificationProfessional Engineer (PE) licenseDAWIA certificationsProject Management Professional (PMP)Seabee Combat Warfare qualification
Pro Tips
  1. 1Get your PE license as early as possible. The Navy provides study time and pays for the exam. A PE license is the most valuable engineering credential you can carry into the civilian world.
  2. 2Seabee battalion tours are the most unique and rewarding assignments. You lead construction projects in places no civilian engineer will ever work — and the Seabees are some of the most capable and dedicated people in the military.
  3. 3NAVFAC experience in facilities management and military construction contracting translates directly to Army Corps of Engineers, GSA, and private construction management firms at senior levels.
The Honest Truth

Civil Engineer Corps Officer is one of the best-kept secrets in the Navy for engineers. The recruiter probably won't lead with CEC because it's niche, but here's the truth: you get to practice engineering with a PE license, lead Seabee construction battalions in some of the most interesting construction projects in the world, and manage billions of dollars in military infrastructure — all while earning military pay, benefits, and a pension. What they won't tell you: the bureaucracy of government construction is staggering, NAVFAC can feel more like a government agency than a military command, and the alternation between operational Seabee tours (exciting, field-based) and NAVFAC tours (office-based project management) creates a career with dramatic quality-of-life swings. The civilian career translation is excellent: construction management, facility engineering, government engineering (GS/SES), and private sector engineering leadership positions at $120-180K+ are common for retiring CEC officers. If you're an engineer who wants to build things and lead people, CEC delivers both.

Training Pipeline
1
OCS or USNA13w
Newport (RI) or Annapolis (MD)
2
Chaplain OBC10w
Newport (RI)
Master of Divinity required. Religious ministry, pastoral counseling, command support.
On the Outside

What this actually is in the real world

Your skills translate. Here's what civilian employers call this job — and what they pay.

Civil Engineers

Strong match
$95,890$60,850$153,810/yr median
Job market: Average (6%)

Construction Managers

Related field
$104,900$64,410$175,210/yr median
Job market: Average (8%)

Electrical Engineers

Related field
$107,890$68,020$165,000/yr median
Job market: Average (9%)

Salary data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program, retrieved Feb 2026. BLS.gov cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from BLS.gov.

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