Annual Salary
£25,000 to £37,000
Average UK salary in 2024 was £37,430
(source Office for National Statistics)
Swap to Armed forces or Emergency or go back to all job sectors
Swap to Armed forces or Emergency or go back to all job sectors
Coastguards co-ordinate search and rescue operations, monitor shipping and organise pollution clean ups around the UK coastline.
Average UK salary in 2024 was £37,430
(source Office for National Statistics)
You could work: evenings / weekends / bank holidays; at short notice
There will be
5.7% more Coastguard jobs in 2029.
As a coastguard, your duties will depend on whether you work in an operations centre or in the rescue service.
You could:
You may need to wear a uniform.
You could work in an office or at sea.
Your working environment may be outdoors in all weathers.
You can get into this job through:
You may be able to work your way into this role by starting as a coastguard watch assistant and applying for promotion when you've got more experience.
To apply, you'll need literacy, numeracy and IT skills.
Voluntering is a good way to get experience of working in the coastguard service. You could volunteer to become a coastguard rescue officer.
You'll need to be:
As you get more experience, you could apply for a paid position when vacancies are advertised.
You can apply for jobs with HM Coastguard if you have relevant skills and knowledge. Jobs include call centre operations and maritime watch services.
You'll need a good standard of literacy and numeracy, and good eyesight and hearing.
You'll need to:
For some jobs, it may be helpful to have experience working at sea. This might be from:the Royal Navy, the Royal Air Force or the Merchant Navy; sailing or working at sea; teaching watersport activities; volunteering as a coastguard rescue officer
You can find out more about becoming a coastguard from:HM Coastguard; Civil Service Careers
With experience, you could become a senior coastal rescue officer, or control centre operations manager.
You might specialise in a particular area of work, such as:vessel traffic management; anti-pollution and salvage; maritime security
You could also work in other parts of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency.
You'll need: