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25S Career Guide

Army

25S: Satellite Communication Systems Operator-Maintainer

Career transition guide for Army Satellite Communication Systems Operator-Maintainer (25S)

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Civilian Career Pathways

Top civilian roles for 25S veterans, with average salary and market demand data.

Satellite Communications Engineer

$115K
High matchHigh demand

Skills to develop:

Civilian satellite communication systems (e.g., Intelsat, SES)Specific vendor certifications (e.g., iDirect, Comtech EF Data)

Network Engineer

$95K
Good matchVery high demand

Skills to develop:

Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA) or higherCloud networking (AWS, Azure, GCP)Scripting (Python, Perl)

Telecommunications Specialist

$85K
Good matchStable demand

Skills to develop:

Fiber optic cabling and infrastructureVoIP systems administrationKnowledge of current telecommunications regulations

Information Security Analyst

$90K
Moderate matchVery high demand

Skills to develop:

Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) or CompTIA Security+Cybersecurity frameworks (NIST, ISO 27001)Vulnerability assessment and penetration testing

Technical Project Manager

$105K
Moderate matchGrowing demand

Skills to develop:

Project Management Professional (PMP) certificationAgile or Scrum methodologiesExperience with project management software (e.g., Jira, Asana)

Salary estimates from VWC career data

Hidden Strengths

Cognitive skills your 25S training built — and where they transfer.

System Modeling

Understanding satellite communication systems including orbital mechanics, signal propagation, and ground terminal equipment interactions

Working with complex, physics-dependent communication systems — applicable to satellite operations, telecommunications engineering, and space systems

Degraded-Mode Operations

Troubleshooting satellite links with degraded signal quality, repositioning antennas, and switching to alternate transponders when primary paths fail

Maintaining connectivity through creative troubleshooting — the resilience engineering mindset valued in telecommunications, remote operations, and broadcast engineering

Procedural Compliance

Following strict satellite access procedures, frequency allocation plans, and COMSEC protocols for classified communications

Operating within spectrum management and security frameworks — transfers to FCC compliance, satellite operations centers, and secure communications

Pattern Recognition

Diagnosing signal degradation by analyzing signal-to-noise ratios, bit error rates, and environmental interference patterns

Signal analysis and diagnostics — applicable to RF engineering, broadcast engineering, and wireless network optimization

Non-Obvious Career Matches

Satellite Operations Engineer

SOC 17-2071

You've operated military satellite systems — commercial satellite companies like SpaceX, ViaSat, and Intelsat need operators with exactly your skill set.

Broadcast Engineer

SOC 27-4012

Your satellite uplink/downlink experience and signal troubleshooting skills transfer directly to broadcast television and radio — managing satellite feeds and maintaining signal quality.

RF Engineer

SOC 17-2072

Your understanding of RF propagation, antenna systems, and signal analysis gives you the practical foundation for radio frequency engineering in telecommunications.

Training & Education Equivalencies

Satellite Communication Systems Operator-Maintainer AIT, Fort Eisenhower

920 training hours21 weeksUp to 18 semester hours recommended

Topics Covered

  • Satellite terminal operations
  • VSAT and BLOS communications
  • Signal propagation and antenna theory
  • Wideband and narrowband satellite systems
  • Transmission security (TRANSEC)
  • Network management
  • Equipment maintenance and fault isolation

Certification Pathways

Partial Coverage

CompTIA Network+60% covered

Wired networking fundamentals and LAN/WAN protocols

Certified Wireless Network Administrator (CWNA)50% covered

Commercial wireless standards and enterprise Wi-Fi design

Recommended Next Certifications

CompTIA Network+CompTIA Security+SatCom industry certifications

Technical Systems Translation

Military systems you've used and their civilian equivalents for your resume.

Military SystemCivilian Equivalent
SNAP (Space Network Access Program) TerminalVSAT and satellite earth station equipment
STT (Satellite Transportable Terminal)Transportable satellite communications terminals
TSC-85/93/154 SATCOM TerminalsCommercial satellite uplink/downlink ground station systems
DISA SATCOM ManagementSatellite bandwidth allocation and link budget analysis tools
WIN-T (Warfighter Information Network-Tactical)Enterprise telecommunications and network transport systems

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