Military pay

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.

musiq

Full Member
5+ Year Member
15+ Year Member
Joined
Apr 5, 2004
Messages
100
Reaction score
1
What is the pay for dentist in the military? I have been looking for a pay scale and have not found one. Thanks

Members don't see this ad.
 
In the Air Force, after OTC (officer's training course), as a dentist you would enter into the military with the officer's rank of Captain (O-3). You also get BAH, which pays for housing off base and it varies on cost of living in the area. (Where I live, we get a little over $1000 a month for BAH and the cost of living is really cheap here) Some pay scales include the fact you have full use of base shopping- which is cheaper and tax free. If you are deployed or TDY (temporary duty), you may get hazard pay and family separation pay as well.

Base salary $111,643
Bonuses $695
Social Security $7,209
401k/403b $4,067
Disability $2,741
Healthcare $5,390
Pension $3,640
Time off $12,271
Total $147,655

This is the national median and can vary depending on where you live.
 
Members don't see this ad :)
let's be careful and not pass on bad information. As a dentist you'll get a base salary for your rank based on years of service. You'll then get BAH based on where you live. BAS is for food, etc . You'll get an ASP bonus and a VSP bonus also based on years of service. This does not include a potential signing bonus or the money you earn while on scholarship. There is also MBRP bonus for the more senior dental officers.

The pay is broken up this way because your BAH and BAS are not taxable leaving you in a lower tax bracket to save you more money.

You can just google "military pay" and find the pay scale and then add the bonus. You will have to google "BAH" also to find what you would get based on where you live.

OK, so let's assume you're an O-3 with 4 years experience(accrued from your scholarship) living in Texas. You'll get..

4297.50 per month BASE PAY
187.49 per month BAS
1690.60 per month BAH
6,000.00 per year ASP bonus
583.33 per month VSP bonus


This does not include a possible 1000.00 - 2000.00 extra pay in COLA if you're overseas.
This does not include a possible $30,000 signing bonus if you sign after graduation.
This does not take into account all the paid leave you get
30 days leave
special liberty for taking care of doctor appt's, etc
military and national holidays

Hope this helps...
 
let's be careful and not pass on bad information. As a dentist you'll get a base salary for your rank based on years of service. You'll then get BAH based on where you live. BAS is for food, etc . You'll get an ASP bonus and a VSP bonus also based on years of service. This does not include a potential signing bonus or the money you earn while on scholarship. There is also MBRP bonus for the more senior dental officers.

The pay is broken up this way because your BAH and BAS are not taxable leaving you in a lower tax bracket to save you more money.

You can just google "military pay" and find the pay scale and then add the bonus. You will have to google "BAH" also to find what you would get based on where you live.

OK, so let's assume you're an O-3 with 4 years experience(accrued from your scholarship) living in Texas. You'll get..

4297.50 per month BASE PAY
187.49 per month BAS
1690.60 per month BAH
6,000.00 per year ASP bonus
583.33 per month VSP bonus


This does not include a possible 1000.00 - 2000.00 extra pay in COLA if you're overseas.
This does not include a possible $30,000 signing bonus if you sign after graduation.
This does not take into account all the paid leave you get
30 days leave
special liberty for taking care of doctor appt's, etc
military and national holidays

Hope this helps...


You seem to be the most accurate!! This guy is a little more on point!!
 
https://staynavytools.bol.navy.mil/PCC/?B3=Launch+Calculator
You can also visit this website which has a salary calculator that you can input you info and get how much you'll be making. Make sure to include the ASP and VSP bonuses that Dirty molar was talking about. And those of you that are doing the HSCP program with the Navy, make sure you put your paygrade as O-3E instead of O-3.
 
I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure the years you're on scholarship don't count towards years of service, so the pay will actually be a little less.

Also, I'm not sure how those bonuses work, I would love to hear if anyone knows for sure, but I wasn't expecting to receive nearly that much.
 
I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure the years you're on scholarship don't count towards years of service, so the pay will actually be a little less.

Also, I'm not sure how those bonuses work, I would love to hear if anyone knows for sure, but I wasn't expecting to receive nearly that much.

Your are correct in that if you are on an HPSP scholarship the years in school do not count towards pay, but if you are on an HSCP (Health Services Collegiate Program) offered through the Navy the years in school do count towards pay and retirement. On the HSCP program you are payed as an E-6 on active duty along with all allowances, health benefits, etc. The catch is that you pay for your own tuition, books and fees. It's really a pretty good program if you attend a less expensive school. I did all of the math awhile ago and the pay comes out to ~40k a year. The four years of active duty credit you get for school also means you are paid as an O-3E when you finish school which amounts to ~$1000 more a month base pay.
 
If you are on HPSP, you start at 0 years of service once you graduate.
If you are on HSCP, you start at years of service for every year you were with that program (which I incorrectly called a scholarship).

For both, you enter as an O-3 but you get paid more if on the HSCP program due to the accrued years of service

The bonus' work like this...

When you come in, you get the ASP and VSP bonus.
You only get the signing bonus if you sign up after graduation and were not funded by the military during school
You do not get the Multi-year retention bonus until after you finish your initial obligation (and have completed extra training (like ACP, comp, endo, etc...).
You only get COLA (cost of living adjustment) if you're stationed in an area
that is expensive (overseas, hawaii, etc...).

Also, if you have an advanced degree before you signed up with the military (like a MS or PhD that is science related) then you will be compensated for that by an earlier date of rank (instead of your date of rank being 2007 when you graduate, it would be 2005 with a MS or 2003 with a PhD). This gets you promoted earlier and more money much faster!
 
If you are on HPSP, you start at 0 years of service once you graduate.
If you are on HSCP, you start at years of service for every year you were with that program (which I incorrectly called a scholarship).

For both, you enter as an O-3 but you get paid more if on the HSCP program due to the accrued years of service

The bonus' work like this...

When you come in, you get the ASP and VSP bonus.
You only get the signing bonus if you sign up after graduation and were not funded by the military during school
You do not get the Multi-year retention bonus until after you finish your initial obligation (and have completed extra training (like ACP, comp, endo, etc...).
You only get COLA (cost of living adjustment) if you're stationed in an area
that is expensive (overseas, hawaii, etc...).

Also, if you have an advanced degree before you signed up with the military (like a MS or PhD that is science related) then you will be compensated for that by an earlier date of rank (instead of your date of rank being 2007 when you graduate, it would be 2005 with a MS or 2003 with a PhD). This gets you promoted earlier and more money much faster!

well said!
 
Top