Ship Engineers
Supervise and coordinate activities of crew engaged in operating and maintaining engines, boilers, deck machinery, and electrical, sanitary, and refrigeration equipment aboard ship.
- Median pay
- $109,530
- Doing it now
- 8,800
- By 2035
- Up 2.7%
- Usually needs
- Postsecondary nondegree award
a year
across the country
900 openings a year
to get in
What the work involves
- Monitor the availability, use, or condition of lifesaving equipment or pollution preventatives to ensure that international regulations are followed.
- Monitor engine, machinery, or equipment indicators when vessels are underway, and report abnormalities to appropriate shipboard staff.
- Maintain electrical power, heating, ventilation, refrigeration, water, or sewerage systems.
- Record orders for changes in ship speed or direction, and note gauge readings or test data, such as revolutions per minute or voltage output, in engineering logs or bellbooks.
- Perform or participate in emergency drills, as required.
- Maintain complete records of engineering department activities, including machine operations.
- Start engines to propel ships, and regulate engines and power transmissions to control speeds of ships, according to directions from captains or bridge computers.
What to study
The fields of study the Department of Education links to this occupation, most widely taught first.
- Marine TransportationSee 7 colleges that teach it
Who it suits
O*NET scores every occupation on six interest dimensions. This one leans hardest on these three.
Hands-on and practical
Organised and precise
Leading and persuading
Careers like this one
Where this comes from: the description and the task list are O*NET, which the Department of Labor maintains. Pay, workforce size, outlook and the education normally needed are the Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections programme, 2025 wages and 2025 to 2035 projections. Half of them earn more than $109,530 a year, which means half earn less, and what you would earn depends on where you work and how long you have been doing it. The fields of study come from the National Center for Education Statistics crosswalk.