Working for the Army is a rewarding career that can teach you things you wouldn’t learn in civilian life and it’ll take you places you couldn’t afford to go to but it’s also a financially rewarding form of work. The UK Army have pay scales that determine what you’ll earn. We’ll break those down for you.

Job roles

There are over 200 different roles within the British Army so there’s lot of variety if you choose a career in the armed forces. The pay is determined by a pay scale that begins with £14,492 for a new entrant. After that each position earned, such as Corporal and Sergeant, begins a new pay scale within that rank. For example a level one Corporal will earn £28,270 while Sergeant at the same level can expect to earn £33,561.

List of ranks with lower spine payments

• Warrant Officer 1
• Level 7 £45,204
• Level 6 £43,962
• Level 5 £42,762
• Level 4 £41,994
• Level 3 £41,130
• Level 2 £40,316
• Level 1 £39,548
• Warrant Officer 2
• Level 9 £40,601
• Level 8 £39,703
• Level 7 £39,195
• Staff Sergeant
• Level 6 £38,604
• Level 5 £36,934
• Level 4 £36,439
• Level 3 £35,604
• Level 2 £34,484
• Level 1 £34,039
• Sergeant
• Level 7 £34,950
• Level 6 £34,685
• Level 5 £33,527
• Level 4 £32,675
• Level 3 £32,348
• Level 2 £31,555
• Level 1 £30,750
• Corporal
• Level 7 £30,573
• Level 6 £30,351
• Level 5 £30,112
• Level 4 £29,877
• Level 3 £29,650
• Level 2 £28,270
• Level 1 £27,053
• Lance Corporal
• Level 9 £24,825
• Level 8 £23,957
• Level 7 £22,908
• Level 6 £21,968
• Level 5 £21,599
• Private
• Level 4 £20,521
• Level 3 £18,910
• Level 2 £18,427
• Level 1 £17,945
• New Entrant Rate
• £14,492

Final word

You can earn more from each of these ranks and each of these levels if you’re carrying out a job for the army that pays the “higher spine” amount. The difference is pay is typically £2,000 to £3,000 more for a higher spine job.