Personnel/Administrative Chief
The civilian and federal jobs that hire Marines Personnel/Administrative Chiefs — with real salaries and the resume that gets callbacks.
Every 0193 has more options than a Google search will tell you. Below: career paths, BLS salary data, federal GS series, certifications by target career, and how to translate your experience without losing what made you valuable to the Marines in the first place.
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After the Navy I got hired into 6 federal career fields and tech sales, and sat on federal hiring panels along the way. I spent the last 2 years rebuilding everything I learned into BMR, tuned for how AI actually screens resumes today. This is the system I wish I'd had on day one.
Military Role Overview
The 0193 Personnel/Administrative Chief is the Marine who runs the admin shop. By the time you earn this MOS you have already served as a 0121 or 0151, completed the Advanced Personnel Administration Course at MCB Camp Lejeune, and stepped into a supervisory billet. You are the mid-level office manager who keeps a unit's personnel records, correspondence, and reporting on track. That means owning the Marine Corps Total Force System (MCTFS), the On-line Diary System (OLDS), and the Unit Diary/Marine Integrated Personnel System (UD/MIPS) at a level where a single bad entry can cost a Marine their pay or their promotion.
Your assignments put you at the reporting unit level, in consolidated administration centers, in the adjutant's office, and in staff billets like an S-1 or G-1 shop or a section at Headquarters Marine Corps. You supervise the flow of inbound and outbound correspondence, manage drafting and publishing of directives, and keep junior Marines in 0121 and 0151 billets technically proficient. You are accountable for accuracy across hundreds of records and for hitting deadlines that other sections depend on.
Civilian employers value this background because you ran a records and information operation under audit-level scrutiny, supervised a team, and held the line on compliance when the rules were not optional. That is the same work that human resources departments, records management offices, and operations teams pay for. If you are weighing your options, start with the military career crosswalk tool to see how the 0193 skill set maps across civilian and federal roles. Marines coming out of related fields like 0431 Logistics/Embarkation Specialist and 3043 Supply Administration face the same translation problem, and our military to human resources guide walks through the HR path in detail.
I sat on the federal hiring side after the Navy, and 0193s are an easier hire than most Marines realize. The problem is never the experience. It is that "personnel/administrative chief" reads like a clerk to someone who has never run an S-1. When the resume shows that you owned MCTFS accuracy for a battalion and supervised a team against hard deadlines, the GS-0201 and GS-0203 doors open fast. — Brad Tachi, Navy Diver veteran & BMR founder
Pay Reality Check
The number that matters when you're deciding what's next: how does civilian pay compare to what you make now?
Military comp is approximate (varies by location/dependents). Civilian is BLS median. Federal includes locality pay. Your real number depends on duty station, family status, GS step, and overtime.
Private Sector Career Paths
Your most direct civilian path is human resources. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reports a May 2024 median wage of $72,910 for human resources specialists (O*NET 13-1071.00) and $140,030 for human resources managers (O*NET 11-3121.00). The gap between those two numbers is the career ladder you are stepping onto. As a 0193 you already supervised personnel actions and a team, which positions you above an entry-level HR coordinator from day one.
Records and office management is the other obvious lane. Administrative services managers (O*NET 11-3012.00) earned a BLS May 2024 median of $108,390, and that role is essentially the civilian version of running an admin center. Specialized HR functions pay well too: compensation, benefits, and job analysis specialists (O*NET 13-1141.00) had a median of $77,020, and compensation and benefits managers (O*NET 11-3111.00) reached $140,360. If you ran training proficiency for your junior Marines, training and development specialists (O*NET 13-1151.00) sat at $65,850.
Be honest with yourself about the market. HR hiring is competitive at the manager level and many postings ask for a SHRM-CP or PHR certification or a bachelor's degree. The specialist and coordinator roles are the realistic entry point, and they convert into management once you have a year or two of civilian HR on the resume. Larger metros and corporate headquarters concentrate the higher-paying roles, so geography matters. Marines who held adjacent records and operations roles like Army 42A Human Resources Specialist and Navy Yeoman compete for the same civilian openings. Our roundup of the best certifications for veterans by career field covers the credentials that move HR salaries, and you can build your resume now to get the experience translated correctly.
Civilian Job Title Translations
| Civilian Job Title | Industry | BLS Median Salary | Outlook | Match |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Human Resources Specialist O*NET: 13-1071.00 | Human Resources | $72,910 | 8% (Faster than average) | strong |
Human Resources Manager O*NET: 11-3121.00 | Human Resources | $140,030 | 6% (Faster than average) | strong |
Administrative Services Manager O*NET: 11-3012.00 | Office & Records Management | $108,390 | 5% (Faster than average) | strong |
Compensation, Benefits & Job Analysis Specialist O*NET: 13-1141.00 | Human Resources | $77,020 | 6% (Faster than average) | strong |
Compensation & Benefits Manager O*NET: 11-3111.00 | Human Resources | $140,360 | 3% (Slower than average) | moderate |
Training & Development Specialist O*NET: 13-1151.00 | Human Resources | $65,850 | 11% (Much faster than average) | moderate |
General & Operations Manager O*NET: 11-1021.00 | Business Operations | $102,950 | 6% (Faster than average) | moderate |
Postsecondary Education Administrator (Registrar) O*NET: 11-9033.00 | Education Administration | $103,960 | 3% (As fast as average) | moderate |
Companies That Hire This Background
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“I used the resume program to transition a very government centric resume into one that could be easily understood and appreciated in the civilian sector. I applied to several government and corporate jobs using the resume builder to adjust my details according to the job I was applying for. I…”
Federal Career Paths
Federal service is where an 0193 background is most underrated. The work you did in an S-1 is the day-to-day work of an entire federal occupational family, and Veterans' Preference gives you a measurable scoring advantage over non-veteran applicants in the competitive service.
Start with the GS-0203 Human Resources Assistance series and the GS-0201 Human Resources Management series. A junior 0193 with strong MCTFS and personnel-action experience typically targets GS-0203 at the GS-5 to GS-7 level, while a chief who supervised an admin shop competes for GS-0201 at GS-7 to GS-9 and climbs from there. The GS-0301 Miscellaneous Administration and Program series and GS-0341 Administrative Officer series are natural fits for someone who managed correspondence flow, directives, and office operations. The GS-0344 Management and Program Clerical and Assistance series captures the records and reporting side of your work.
From there, your experience reaches further than you might expect. The GS-0340 Program Management and GS-0343 Management and Program Analyst series reward Marines who tracked metrics and reported up the chain. If you handled unit budgets or pay issues, the GS-0560 Budget Analysis and GS-0561 Budget Clerical and Technician series are in range. The GS-1101 General Business and Industry series is a broad catch-all for administrative business roles. Qualification comes down to matching your specialized experience to the grade, which our specialized experience guide explains in plain language. The GS-0301 resume guide and the Veterans' Preference breakdown are both worth reading before you apply. When you are ready, start your federal resume.
GS Series & Position Matches
| GS Series | Federal Job Title | Typical Grades | Match | Explore |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GS-0203 | Human Resources Assistance | GS-5, GS-6, GS-7 | View Details → | |
| GS-0301 | Miscellaneous Administration and Program | GS-7, GS-9, GS-11 | View Details → | |
| GS-0201 | Human Resources Management | GS-9, GS-11, GS-12 | View Details → | |
| GS-0341 | Administrative Officer | GS-7, GS-9, GS-11 | View Details → | |
| GS-0344 | Management and Program Clerical and Assistance | GS-5, GS-6, GS-7 | View Details → | |
| GS-0561 | Budget Clerical and Technician | GS-5, GS-6, GS-7 | View Details → | |
| GS-0343 | Management and Program Analyst | GS-9, GS-11, GS-12 | View Details → |
Federal resumes follow different rules. We know them.
Federal hiring uses keyword-matching and structured experience. BMR builds federal-format resumes (USAJobs-ready) with the right keywords, hours/week, and supervisor info — for any GS series above.
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Want to Change Careers Entirely?
Not everyone wants to stay in a related field. These career paths leverage your transferable skills — leadership, risk management, logistics, project planning — in completely different industries.
Claims Adjuster, Examiner, and Investigator
Adjudicating claims is the same disciplined, rules-bound file work you did processing personnel actions, where one wrong entry has real consequences for a person.
Insurance Underwriter
Underwriting evaluates applications against strict rules, which is exactly the judgment you applied determining personnel eligibility and entitlements.
Loan Officer
Loan processing rewards the same verification rigor and compliance focus you used keeping pay and personnel records defensible.
Medical and Health Services Manager
Running a clinic or department office is administrative leadership over records, staff, and compliance, which is the core of an admin-chief billet.
Meeting, Convention, and Event Planner
Coordinating ceremonies, formations, and unit functions builds the deadline-driven logistics and stakeholder coordination this field runs on.
Property, Real Estate, and Community Association Manager
Managing a property is administering records, budgets, and people the way you ran an admin office, just with tenants instead of Marines.
Paralegal and Legal Assistant
Legal work runs on exacting documents, deadlines, and procedure, which is the daily standard for correspondence and directives in an S-1.
Pivoting industries? You don't need to start from scratch.
The skills that made you a good Marine, Sailor, Airman, or Soldier transfer further than you think. BMR rewrites your bullets for any of the pivot careers above — without making you sound like you've never done the work.
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Skills Translation Guide
If you are applying to another HR or admin office, your terminology already lands. HR recruiters know what an S-1 does. This section is for 0193s targeting careers outside personnel administration, where a civilian hiring manager has never heard of MCTFS or a unit diary and needs the work described in business language.
The fix is to translate the system into the function and quantify the scale. "I ran MCTFS" means nothing to a logistics director. "I administered the system of record for 600 personnel files with zero pay-affecting errors across a 12-month audit cycle" lands everywhere. Lead with what you were accountable for, the size of the operation, and the result.
Our glossary of 50 military terms translated to civilian language covers the common ones, and the guide to converting your evaluations into resume bullets shows how to pull accomplishments from your FITREPs and proficiency/conduct records. You can also build your resume now and let the tool handle the translation as you write.
Resume Bullet Examples
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Certifications by Career Path
Which certifications you need depends on where you're headed. Find your target career path below.
Administrative & Office Management
Federal Employment
Human Resources
Project Management
Records & Information Management
Training & Development
Got a cert? Don't bury it. List it the right way.
The wrong placement can sink an otherwise strong application. BMR knows where each cert ranks, what to call it, and how to frame it for ATS keyword matching and hiring manager attention.
Free to start · Built around your real certs and clearance
Transition Resources
Use these resources based on whether you are staying in personnel administration or pivoting out of it.
Staying in HR and Administration
The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) offers the SHRM-CP, the most recognized HR credential, and many employers list it as preferred. HRCI offers the aPHR for early-career and the PHR for experienced professionals. Both can often be funded with the GI Bill or COOL benefits. The International Association of Administrative Professionals (IAAP) and ARMA International (for records and information management) are the professional homes for the office-management and records side of your career. Look for SkillBridge placements with corporate HR departments and staffing firms during your final months of service.
Careers Outside the Field
For a clean pivot, the Project Management Institute (PMI) offers the CAPM and PMP, and the value of project management for veterans is covered in our project management without a PMP guide. American Corporate Partners (ACP) provides free one-on-one mentorship with corporate professionals. For federal applicants, the SFL-TAP transition timeline walks through the separation milestones, and the USAJOBS application guide covers the federal apply process step by step.
Build Your Resume
Translate your 0193 experience with our military resume builder for private-sector roles or the federal resume builder for USAJOBS applications. Explore matching civilian roles with the career crosswalk, or get started here.
See Also
Related personnel and administration roles across the branches: Air Force 3F0X1 Personnel, Navy PS Personnel Specialist, and Coast Guard YN Yeoman.
Your 30 / 60 / 90-Day Transition Plan
Most people do this backwards. They wait until terminal leave to start, then panic. Here's the sequence that works. Already out? Same plan, start at day one today.
Set the foundation
- Pull your DD-214 (request from Milconnect if separated)
- List your top 3 civilian roles AND top 3 GS series
- Build your tailored 0193 resume — BMR does it free
- Write 1 strong LinkedIn headline (not "veteran seeking opportunities")
- Pull together your evals/performance reports for accomplishments
Apply with intent
- Apply to 5–10 jobs/week — quality over quantity
- Tailor every resume to the job description (BMR auto-tailors)
- Connect with 5 people/week on LinkedIn (not a spray)
- Set up a USAJobs profile and a saved-search alert for your GS series
- Practice translating your military bullets out loud — explain to a civilian friend
Close the offer
- Track every application — date, status, contact, notes
- Follow up 7–10 days after each application
- Prep for behavioral interviews using the STAR method
- Negotiate salary — don't take the first offer (BLS median is your floor)
- Stay applying even after one offer — leverage = options
Print this. Tape it to your monitor. Veterans who treat the job search like a 90-day op get hired faster than the ones who treat it like an emergency.
Frequently Asked Questions
What civilian jobs can a Marine Corps 0193 get?
How much do former personnel/administrative chiefs make in civilian HR?
What federal GS series should an 0193 target?
Do I need a degree to move into HR after the Marine Corps?
What if I want to leave personnel administration entirely?
How valuable is a security clearance for an 0193?
Can I use the GI Bill or COOL for HR certifications?
Does Veterans' Preference help for federal HR jobs?
Where are the HR and admin jobs concentrated geographically?
How do I describe MCTFS and unit diary work on a civilian resume?
Translate your 0193 Personnel/Administrative Chief experience into a resume that gets callbacks
Stop rewriting from scratch every time you apply. BMR turns your military experience into civilian and federal resumes — tailored to each job.