AET vs SK
Avionics Electrical Technician (USCG) vs Storekeeper (USCG)
Both Coast Guard, both underestimated, both have given up explaining at Thanksgiving and now just say "boats."
When a AET and a SK both hit terminal leave in the same month, the job market receives two very different veterans. The AET brings: the civilian avionics job market pays well, especially with an A&P license and CG operational experience. The SK arrives with: the supply chain career path is one of the more consistently employable transitions from any branch, with the APICS certifications doing real work in the application process. Both earned their DD-214. The civilian world values them at different exchange rates. Same military. Same "thank you for your service." Very different things being thanked for.
After the Uniform
The part the recruiter skips: what each job actually translates to once you're a civilian — and what it pays.
Salary data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program. A guide, not a guarantee.
Recruiter vs. Reality
The pitch versus what people who actually did the job report back.
“You'll keep Coast Guard aircraft mission-ready by maintaining the avionics and electrical systems that make search and rescue possible. AETs work on some of the most capable search and rescue aircraft in the world, and the avionics skills transfer directly to civilian aviation.”
You maintain the wiring, instruments, navigation systems, and communication equipment that pilots depend on to fly missions in the worst weather conditions imaginable. Coast Guard aircraft fly when everyone else is grounded — and they need to work perfectly every time. The A-school is at Elizabeth City, NC and the technical training is rigorous. The civilian avionics job market pays well, especially with an A&P license and CG operational experience.
“You'll manage the supply chain that keeps Coast Guard operational units stocked and functional — procurement, inventory, logistics coordination for cutters that may be at sea when the parts arrive. The government contracting, procurement documentation, and inventory management skills transfer to federal acquisition, defense logistics contractor positions, and civilian supply chain management careers. APICS certifications add professional structure to the operational experience the Coast Guard builds.”
You'll count things. Then count them again to confirm the first count was wrong. Then explain to the CO why the thing they need is backordered from a supplier whose lead time is measured in fiscal quarters. Government procurement is a labyrinth of forms, approval chains, and appropriations limitations that makes Amazon Prime feel like science fiction. The system works — eventually — and the logistics skills you develop are real and transferable. Federal supply positions and defense logistics contractors hire CG SK veterans. The supply chain career path is one of the more consistently employable transitions from any branch, with the APICS certifications doing real work in the application process.
The Real Life
Same dimensions, side by side. AET on the left, SK on the right.
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Managing supply operations — ordering parts, managing inventory, processing requisitions, and maintaining supply accounts. On cutters, you manage the ship's supply chain. On shore, you support base or sector supply operations.
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A-school at Training Center Petaluma (CA) is about 11 weeks covering supply management, financial management, and procurement.
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Low to moderate. Warehouse work involves some lifting. Most work is desk-based supply management.
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Storekeeper is the Coast Guard's supply and financial management rate. The honest truth: you order parts, manage inventory, and handle financial accounts. It is administrative and not exciting. But the combination of supply chain and financial management skills is genuinely valuable in the civilian market. Federal procurement, corporate supply chain, and financial operations positions all hire from this community. The rate is stable, predictable, and provides marketable skills.
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