Skilled Trades
Captains, Mates, and Pilots of Water Vessels
Command or supervise operations of ships and water vessels, such as tugboats and ferryboats. Required to hold license issued by U.S. Coast Guard.
Median salary (BLS)
$92,460
10th–90th percentile (BLS)
$47k – $171k
Job outlook
+1% (about average)
AI exposure
Early-career check: graduates of the matching programs below typically earn $70,000 ten years after starting college — an early-career figure, vs. the all-experience BLS median above. Source: U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard.
Plan a path to Captains, Mates, and Pilots of Water Vessels
Education
Typical entry: No degree (trade/license)
Plan my path to this →Typical progression
Junior Captains, Mates, and Pilots of Water Vessels
Entry / Junior
$47,420
~2 yrs to advance
Captains, Mates, and Pilots of Water Vessels
Established
$92,460
~3 yrs to advance
Senior Captains, Mates, and Pilots of Water Vessels
Senior
$131,550
Key skills
A typical day
- •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.
Fields of study
Any field
Top colleges for Skilled Trades
Explore all- Purdue University50% admit · $78,000 grad pay
- Ohio State University53% admit · $68,000 grad pay
- Pennsylvania State University55% admit · $70,000 grad pay
Reputation-based selection; stats shown are outcome data per school.