Captains, Mates, and Pilots of Water Vessels

Pay and outlook

Median annual wage, May 2025

$92,460

Half earn more, half earn less

Middle half earn

$63,880 – $127,180

25th to 75th percentile

People employed, May 2025

36,850

Wage and salary jobs (OEWS)

Projected change, 2025–35

+4%

At or above the all-jobs rate (3.5% to under 7%)

Openings a year (projected)

3,800

New jobs plus replacing people who leave

Typical education to enter

Postsecondary nondegree award

BLS

• All figures are for the United States as a whole. Pay varies a lot by state and city.
• Wages are for everyone working in the occupation in May 2025, at every career stage. They are not starting salaries or figures for new graduates.
• Growth and openings are BLS projections for 2025–35. They are estimates, not promises. Openings include jobs that open up when people retire or change occupation, not just new jobs.

What the work involves

Command or supervise operations of ships and water vessels, such as tugboats and ferryboats. Required to hold license issued by U.S. Coast Guard.

Main tasks

• Direct courses and speeds of ships, based on specialized knowledge of local winds, weather, water depths, tides, currents, and hazards.
• Prevent ships under navigational control from engaging in unsafe operations.
• Serve as a vessel's docking master upon arrival at a port or at a berth.
• Consult maps, charts, weather reports, or navigation equipment to determine and direct ship movements.
• Steer and operate vessels, using radios, depth finders, radars, lights, buoys, or lighthouses.
• Operate ship-to-shore radios to exchange information needed for ship operations.
• Dock or undock vessels, sometimes maneuvering through narrow spaces, such as locks.
• Stand watches on vessels during specified periods while vessels are under way.

Description and tasks from the O*NET® 31.0 Database.

Getting in

Typical education to enter (BLS)

Postsecondary nondegree award

Work experience in a related job: less than 5 years

O*NET Job Zone 3

Medium preparation

Most occupations in this zone require training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree.

Fields of study that lead here

From the federal CIP–SOC crosswalk, which links 2 programmes to this occupation. A link means the programme prepares people for this kind of work. It doesn't mean the programme is required, or that it's the only route.

Related careers

Related occupations from the O*NET database, in its order.

• Motorboat Operators

  $47,520 median · +4.9% projected

• Ship Engineers

  $109,530 median · +2.7% projected

• Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineers

  $232,140 median · +8.3% projected

• Commercial Pilots

  $123,220 median · +5.2% projected

• Locomotive Engineers

  $81,410 median · +0.5% projected

• Dredge Operators

  $49,640 median · +0.7% projected