Navy

Quartermaster

Navigate ships using charts, GPS, and celestial navigation. Maintain navigational equipment and ensure safe passage of naval vessels.

ASVAB / entry requirement

ASVAB VE+MK: 100 OR AR+MK+AO+VE: 196 (temporary criterion; verify after September 30, 2026)

Enlisted

Catalog rank range: E-1 to E-8Maximum rank: E-8Initial term: 5 years

Catalog listing, not a contract offer. Confirm with a recruiter.

Inside the QM Quartermaster job

What the job looks like

Quartermasters are the ship's navigators, responsible for safe passage and position keeping. Work involves chart maintenance, voyage planning, fixing position, and maintaining the ship's log. Bridge watchstanding is central, including acting as helm safety officer and assisting the officer of the deck. Piloting in restricted waters demands continuous, accurate position fixes. Weather observation, signals, and navigation equipment maintenance round out the duties.

Skills you learn

You learn celestial and electronic navigation, chart work, piloting, and voyage planning. Tides, currents, and weather interpretation are taught as working competencies. The rating builds precise recordkeeping through the ship's deck log. You gain radar navigation and collision avoidance skills. Visual signaling and bridge resource management are part of the job.

What it builds in you

The job builds precision, because a navigation error puts a ship aground. You develop sustained concentration through long bridge watches. It teaches composure, since restricted-water piloting allows no drift in attention. Quartermasters tend to become careful, methodical people with strong spatial reasoning. You also gain early exposure to command-level decision making.

How it pays off after service

Merchant mariner credentialing turns sea time and navigation skill into a licensed civilian career with strong earnings. Commercial shipping, tug and barge, and passenger vessel operators hire directly. Vessel traffic services, port operations, and harbor pilot pathways are realistic longer-term goals. Marine surveying and maritime safety inspection suit the precision and documentation background. Shore-side logistics and transportation coordination are accessible for those leaving the water.

Service member stories

Published personal accounts with source links. Each describes an individual experience, not a typical assignment or a guarantee of your own experience.

“Our main focus is to deal with the safe navigation of the ship, making sure we’re in safe waters, assisting the officer of the deck or the navigator and making sure everything is running smoothly when he’s not on the bridge.”
“We have to be confident in our position just in case the commanding officer asks where we are in this part of the world.”
“In ‘A’ school, we learned paper charts, Morse code, digital fluxgate magnetic compasses, traditional magnetic compasses and the basics of how to use those, but we’ve moved into the electronic era, so a lot of things are changing.”

— Quartermaster 3rd Class Diamond CopesU.S. Navy (Defense Media Activity feature)

“We can use them to greet other ships when we see them and pass messages. Each flag has a meaning and sometimes more than one. For example, ‘A’ can mean [both] alpha and divers in the water, so we really have to make sure we’re clear when we’re talking to other ships.”

— Quartermaster 3rd Class Destiny McCreaU.S. Navy (Defense Media Activity feature)

Quotes are from U.S. government public-domain news stories (DVIDS, army.mil and other official sources). Individuals and units are named as reported at time of publication.

A day in the life of a Quartermaster

You start on the bridge updating charts, checking the ship's position, and briefing the navigation plan for the day's transit. Your work involves fixing the ship's position with GPS, radar, and celestial observations, maintaining navigational publications, and standing watch as the navigator's right hand. Piloting through channels and shoal water with your fathometer and charts is the highlight of a busy day.

No suitable exact-MOS or related career-field video has been verified for this page yet. No unrelated video or search-results page is substituted.

Illustrative annual base pay

$43,902–$74,948

2026 basic pay only; the same grade and service time pay the same across jobs. Promotions are assumed, not promised. Excludes allowances, bonuses and special pays.

E-4 · over 4 years: $43,902
E-6 · over 10 years: $57,114
E-7 · over 20 years: $74,948

Allowances, special pays, pension and full breakdown DFAS 2026 source

Training achievements and distinctions

Possibilities for serving Sailors, including those in support roles—not guaranteed admission or awards. Individual eligibility, assignment, selection, available training or competition places and successful qualification apply.

Enlisted Surface Warfare Specialist (ESWS)
Assignment-dependent qualification and insignia earned aboard a qualifying surface ship or afloat staff—not automatically awarded for this rating.
Eligibility and official sources for Enlisted Surface Warfare Specialist (ESWS)
For enlisted Sailors in an eligible surface assignment, including support ratings. Complete the command's current qualification standards, assessments and approval process. A shore or submarine assignment alone does not establish eligibility; confirm current enrollment rules with the command.
- Navy ESWS and EAWS insignia policy (opens in a new tab)
Enlisted Aviation Warfare Specialist (EAWS)
Assignment-dependent aviation qualification and insignia; support Sailors may qualify at authorized aviation commands.
Eligibility and official sources for Enlisted Aviation Warfare Specialist (EAWS)
Requires a qualifying aviation assignment or an authorized support-command arrangement, required in-rating technical qualifications and command approval. Current enrollment and pay-grade prerequisites must be checked; this is not a promotion or a badge awarded just for holding this rating.
- Navy aviation-warfare enrollment guidance (opens in a new tab)
- Navy ESWS and EAWS insignia policy (opens in a new tab)
Enlisted Expeditionary Warfare Specialist (EXW)
Restricted to qualifying expeditionary assignments; recognizes tested field and unit-specific proficiency, including support duties.
Eligibility and official sources for Enlisted Expeditionary Warfare Specialist (EXW)
Requires assignment to a command authorized to administer EXW and completion of its general and unit-specific personnel qualification standards and approval process. Published NSW program evidence establishes this route, not that every Navy unit offers it. Confirm current command authorization and prerequisites.
- Navy EXW qualification program (opens in a new tab)

Sources reviewed 2026-10-03. Confirm current course and badge requirements with official school guidance and your unit.

Possible higher ranks and career paths

For Navy QM Quartermaster, official service-wide guidance and any exact feeder-list matches are distinguished below from unverified specialty-specific requirements. Ranks are not separate jobs, and these possibilities are not guaranteed promotions or available contracts.

Rank information for this listing

Rank Type: Enlisted
Catalog pay-grade range: Not independently verified for this specialty; no range asserted here.
Maximum Rank: Not independently verified for this specialty.

Examples of higher service ranks

E-5: Petty Officer Second Class
E-6: Petty Officer First Class
E-7: Chief Petty Officer
E-8: Senior Chief Petty Officer
E-9: Master Chief Petty Officer

These are service-wide rank names, not a verified promotion ladder for this specialty. Examples are not exhaustive; appointments sharing a pay grade are not additional promotion steps.

Official military rank reference

The Navy directs enlisted Sailors to rating-specific Learning and Development Roadmaps (LaDRs), and officers to their community managers and officer career-progression guidance. Rating conversion and commissioning are separate application paths, not automatic promotions.

Navy career planning: LaDRs, officer progression, and commissioning

Higher career paths — not verified

Service-level application reference—not a verified next step for this listing

Limited Duty Officer (LDO) and Chief Warrant Officer (CWO) appointments require separate applications and program-specific qualifications. The reviewed active-duty page contains FY28 cycle requirements, not Reserve eligibility. Its 1 October 2026 application deadline has passed; this is not an open application offer or a verified designator match for this listing.

Navy active-duty LDO/CWO applicant requirements

Specialty-specific advancement, senior assignments, and eligibility for a different personnel category have not been verified for this listing. No feeder eligibility or automatic transition to another specialty is implied.

Advancement depends on current service rules, performance, required education, qualifications, selection, and authorized positions—not simply years served. Confirm current requirements with an official recruiter or career counselor.

Related military jobs below are for exploration, not promised progression or confirmed transfer paths.

Sources reviewed 2026-10-03. This is a partial evidence review, not verification of every advancement route for this specialty. Source retrieval dates do not replace policy effective dates.

Civilian careers related to Surface Operations

Ship & Boat Captain / Mate$88,730 / year median Marine Engineer$100,270 / year median Sailor / Marine Oiler (Commercial)$51,550 / year median

Career-field mappings, not automatic qualifications. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (May 2024 national medians). O*NET links explain each occupation; military experience does not guarantee a job or salary.

Categories & Specializations

Surface Operations

Navigation

Seamanship

Technical

Non-combat

QM questions, answered

What does Navy QM Quartermaster do?

Navigate ships using charts, GPS, and celestial navigation. Maintain navigational equipment and ensure safe passage of naval vessels.

What can day-to-day work in Quartermaster look like?

What skills does Navy QM Quartermaster develop?

How can Quartermaster experience translate after service?

What entry requirement is listed for Navy QM Quartermaster?

ASVAB VE+MK: 100 OR AR+MK+AO+VE: 196 (temporary criterion; verify after September 30, 2026). This is the catalog's listed requirement, not an individual eligibility decision. Confirm the current standard and any exceptions with the service.

Can a civilian enter Navy QM Quartermaster directly?

This specialty can be pursued through an initial enlistment, subject to eligibility and available contracts. Confirm the current status of this specific classification with an official recruiter.

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Sources & Review

Catalog sources consulted: 2026-09-26. This is not an entry-by-entry verification date. No record-specific verification date is recorded. Occupation audit evidence reviewed: 2026-09-26; this does not re-verify every requirement.

Official branch occupation evidence

Occupation identified. This occupation was identified in the cited source. This does not verify requirements, benefits, or a current opening.

Navy enlisted occupational standards, NAVPERS 18068F, July 2026, Appendix B (rating enumeration) · reviewed 2026-09-26

Confirmed. Catalog evidence is not an inventory of open contracts.

No dated public inventory confirmed a currently open recruiting contract for this role. This does not mean there are no openings. Confirm current eligibility and offers with an official recruiter.

Advertised — Navy, as of 2026-09-28

Signal details

Deployment likelihood: Moderate*

* Estimated. Rank progression and specialty-pay eligibility are illustrative assumptions. Deployment likelihood, when shown, is inferred from similar specialties in the branch and career field, not a published specialty deployment rate.

Descriptions may change. No military role is free from risk of injury or death, including non-combat work. Catalog review dates do not establish current openings or re-verification of every requirement.

Recruiting signals reflect what each branch published on the dates shown. They are not offers, and they do not mean a contract is open for you. Eligibility depends on your ASVAB scores, medical qualification, security clearance eligibility, and ship date. Confirm everything with an official recruiter. See our Disclaimer and Terms.