Marine Engineers and Naval Architects

Pay and outlook

Median annual wage, May 2025

$112,230

Half earn more, half earn less

Middle half earn

$99,250 – $137,690

25th to 75th percentile

People employed, May 2025

8,250

Wage and salary jobs (OEWS)

Projected change, 2025–35

+6.7%

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

Openings a year (projected)

500

New jobs plus replacing people who leave

Typical education to enter

Bachelor's degree

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

Design, develop, and evaluate the operation of marine vessels, ship machinery, and related equipment, such as power supply and propulsion systems.

Main tasks

• Perform monitoring activities to ensure that ships comply with international regulations and standards for life-saving equipment and pollution preventatives.
• Design complete hull and superstructure according to specifications and test data, in conformity with standards of safety, efficiency, and economy.
• Conduct analyses of ships, such as stability, structural, weight, and vibration analyses.
• Study design proposals and specifications to establish basic characteristics of craft, such as size, weight, speed, propulsion, displacement, and draft.
• Maintain contact with, and formulate reports for, contractors and clients to ensure completion of work at minimum cost.
• Coordinate activities with regulatory bodies to ensure repairs and alterations are at minimum cost and consistent with safety.
• Check, test, and maintain automatic controls and alarm systems.
• Prepare technical reports for use by engineering, management, or sales personnel.

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

Getting in

Typical education to enter (BLS)

Bachelor's degree

O*NET Job Zone 4

Considerable preparation

Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.

Fields of study that lead here

From the federal CIP–SOC crosswalk, which links 1 programme 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.

• Ship Engineers

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• Aerospace Engineering and Operations Technologists and Technicians

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• Aerospace Engineers

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• Mechanical Engineering Technologists and Technicians

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• Mechanical Engineers

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• Industrial Engineers

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