Salary
Average Salary: $65,000
Expected Lifetime Earnings: $2,713,620
There is seriously good money in being an air marshal, if you can get the job and hang on to it through round after round of cutbacks. The low end of the total pay scale is $40,000 per year; the high end is $132,000 (source).
Federal air marshals are on a special TSA military grading scale. For someone with a four-year college degree, relevant experience, or a combo of both, the entry-level salary is just under $40,000 a year. The most you'll make with this level of experience is just under $61,000 a year.
If you get an advanced college degree like a master's or a PhD and can prove you have a special advanced knack for analyzing problems, data collecting, and communication, you'll jump to the next pay band, earning between $48,000 and $74,000 a year (source).
That's pretty good money, but the next pay band is even better. After some on-the-job experience and a proven track record, you could find yourself making $71,000 to $110,000...though that doesn't count extras like locality pay, cost of living expenses, and more (source).
The real money, however, is in the supervisory positions. Be the person in charge of telling all the other air marshals what to do and you'll make between $85,000 and $132,000 a year. You also won't have to stay alert on ten-hour flights, plus you'll have all the leg room you want at your cushy desk. Now that's more like it (source).