Marines · 0451
As an Airborne and Air Delivery Specialist, you prepared and delivered supplies by air—rigging life-critical loads with zero margin for error. That precision and accountability transfer to logistics, quality and safety inspection, warehouse operations, and aviation-cargo careers.
There's no one-to-one civilian crosswalk for 0451—the Department of Labor doesn't map a single job title to it. These are the specific civilian roles Airborne and Air Delivery Specialist experience genuinely maps to: what each pays, what it involves, and why it fits.
$34,830/yr mediantypical $26k–$45k~645K U.S. jobs
Typical entry: High-school diploma plus short on-the-job training
Pack or package by hand a wide variety of products and materials.
Why it fits: Your Airborne and Air Delivery Specialist experience maps directly onto the transportation & logistics side of this role.
$75,020/yr mediantypical $46k–$115k~138K U.S. jobs
Typical entry: Associate degree, apprenticeship, or vocational training
Diagnose, adjust, repair, or overhaul aircraft engines and assemblies, such as hydraulic and pneumatic systems.
Why it fits: Your Airborne and Air Delivery Specialist experience maps directly onto the aviation & aircraft side of this role.
$45,850/yr mediantypical $32k–$72k~585K U.S. jobs
Typical entry: High-school diploma plus short on-the-job training
Inspect, test, sort, sample, or weigh nonagricultural raw materials or processed, machined, fabricated, or assembled parts or products for defects, wear, and deviations from specifications.
Why it fits: Your Airborne and Air Delivery Specialist experience maps directly onto the manufacturing & production side of this role.
$37,660/yr mediantypical $29k–$50k~3M U.S. jobs
★ Bright Outlook — many openings
Typical entry: High-school diploma plus short on-the-job training
Manually move freight, stock, luggage, or other materials, or perform other general labor.
Why it fits: Your Airborne and Air Delivery Specialist experience maps directly onto the transportation & logistics side of this role.
$36,390/yr mediantypical $29k–$49k~2.9M U.S. jobs
★ Bright Outlook — Rapid growth; many openings
Typical entry: High-school diploma plus short on-the-job training
Receive, store, and issue merchandise, materials, equipment, and other items from stockroom, warehouse, or storage yard to fill shelves, racks, tables, or customers' orders.
Why it fits: Your Airborne and Air Delivery Specialist experience maps directly onto the transportation & logistics side of this role.
$38,330/yr mediantypical $30k–$56k~372K U.S. jobs
★ Bright Outlook — Rapid growth
Typical entry: High-school diploma plus short on-the-job training
Operate or tend machines to prepare industrial or consumer products for storage or shipment.
Why it fits: Closely related to your Airborne and Air Delivery Specialist occupations on the manufacturing & production side—a natural next step.
$39,250/yr mediantypical $30k–$53k~45K U.S. jobs
Typical entry: High-school diploma plus short on-the-job training
Feed materials into or remove materials from machines or equipment that is automatic or tended by other workers.
Why it fits: Closely related to your Airborne and Air Delivery Specialist occupations on the transportation & logistics side—a natural next step.
$44,310/yr mediantypical $33k–$58k~53K U.S. jobs
Typical entry: High-school diploma plus short on-the-job training
Set up, operate, or tend machines that cut or slice materials, such as glass, stone, cork, rubber, tobacco, food, paper, or insulating material.
Why it fits: Closely related to your Airborne and Air Delivery Specialist occupations on the manufacturing & production side—a natural next step.
$43,540/yr mediantypical $31k–$59k~13K U.S. jobs
Typical entry: High-school diploma plus short on-the-job training
Operate or tend bonding machines that use adhesives to join items for further processing or to form a completed product.
Why it fits: Closely related to your Airborne and Air Delivery Specialist occupations on the manufacturing & production side—a natural next step.
$34,360/yr mediantypical $28k–$42k~23K U.S. jobs
Typical entry: Little prep — a few days to a few months of training
Grade, sort, or classify unprocessed food and other agricultural products by size, weight, color, or condition.
Why it fits: Closely related to the civilian jobs your Airborne and Air Delivery Specialist experience already matches.
$61,240/yr mediantypical $40k–$93k~30K U.S. jobs
Typical entry: High-school diploma plus short on-the-job training
Assemble, fit, fasten, and install parts of airplanes, space vehicles, or missiles, such as tails, wings, fuselage, bulkheads, stabilizers, landing gear, rigging and control equipment, or heating…
Why it fits: Closely related to your Airborne and Air Delivery Specialist occupations on the manufacturing & production side—a natural next step.
Roles selected from the O*NET occupations that fit Airborne and Air Delivery Specialist experience; the Department of Labor doesn't publish a one-to-one crosswalk for this code. Pay is BLS OEWS (May 2023). See the O*NET crosswalk.
Adjacent and stretch fields where your experience gives you a credible starting point.
$48,940/yr medianSurveying and Mapping Technicians (representative)
Why it fits: Airdrop and supply rigging map to logistics and distribution roles.
What it takes: Forklift/OSHA; document volume.
Explore this route →$81,140/yr medianOccupational Health and Safety Specialists (representative)
Why it fits: Life-critical rigging inspection transfers to quality and safety inspection.
What it takes: ASQ/OSHA credentials help.
Explore this route →$36,390/yr medianStockers and Order Fillers (representative)
Why it fits: Accountability and material handling fit warehouse and inventory roles.
What it takes: ERP/inventory skills.
Explore this route →$58,920/yr medianAircraft Cargo Handling Supervisors (representative)
Why it fits: Air-delivery experience supports aviation cargo and ground operations.
What it takes: Document equipment and safety.
Explore this route →$81,140/yr medianOccupational Health and Safety Specialists (representative)
Why it fits: Parachute rigging skills fit safety-equipment production and inspection.
What it takes: OEM/manufacturing training.
Explore this route →Why it fits: Logistics experience supports federal series.
What it takes: Target the specialized experience.
Explore this route →Use the level that reflects what you actually did—not rank alone. Two people with the same code and very different experience should not submit the same résumé.
Lead with hands-on tasks, tools, equipment, qualifications, safety discipline, and the conditions in which you performed. Do not inflate supervisory scope.
Add team leadership, training, inspections, work allocation, quality control, readiness, and the people or assets you directly supervised.
Emphasize multi-team operations, schedules, resource forecasting, safety systems, policy enforcement, advising leaders, and organization-level results.
A translated title isn't enough. These four moves turn Airborne and Air Delivery Specialist experience into evidence a civilian hiring manager can act on.
List the systems, vehicles, equipment, and tools you personally operated as Airborne and Air Delivery Specialist—plus qualifications, certifications, and the recurring high-stakes tasks you owned.
Marines led, dollar value of equipment you were accountable for, workload, readiness rates, and safety or quality outcomes. Scope beats adjectives.
For any target role, name the license, degree, or software it requires and start now—your GI Bill and credentialing assistance can cover most of it.
Recruiters rarely search “0451.” Search job boards by the equipment, skills, and outcomes above as much as by “Airborne and Air Delivery Specialist.”
You don't have to make this jump alone. These programs exist specifically to move service members into civilian careers—most are free, and several pay you while you train.
Train or intern with a civilian employer during your last ~180 days on active duty—at full military pay.
Earn a paycheck while you train for a trade or technical role; USMAP can credit the military training you already have.
Corporate fellowships and hiring events that place transitioning service members and military spouses.
Free career training and nationally recognized certifications for service members, veterans, and spouses.
VA-funded high-tech training (IT, cyber, data, software) that does not touch your GI Bill entitlement.
Free local career centers plus certification and state-by-state license finders for any field.
How to use this: Treat these as targets, not limits. Your exact duties depend on your assignments, so lead with what you actually did—and remember that regulated careers require their own license, certification, or degree.