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Captains, Mates, and Pilots of Water Vessels

It's a bright outlook for

This career will grow rapidly in the next few years.

Learn more about what they do.

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

Related: Airline Pilots, Copilots, & Flight Engineers Commercial Pilots Motorboat Operators Sailors & Marine Oilers Ship Engineers

Industries: Transportation & Storage

Summary
Details

Consult maps, charts, weather reports, or navigation equipment to determine and direct ship movements.
Serve as a vessel's docking master upon arrival at a port or at a berth.
Maintain records of daily activities, personnel reports, ship positions and movements, ports of call, weather and sea conditions, pollution control efforts, or cargo or passenger status.
Purchase supplies or equipment.
Tow and maneuver barges or signal tugboats to tow barges to destinations.
Assign watches or living quarters to crew members.
Read gauges to verify sufficient levels of hydraulic fluid, air pressure, or oxygen.
Dock or undock vessels, sometimes maneuvering through narrow spaces, such as locks.
Prevent ships under navigational control from engaging in unsafe operations.
Provide assistance in maritime rescue operations.
Operate ship-to-shore radios to exchange information needed for ship operations.
Inspect vessels to ensure efficient and safe operation of vessels and equipment and conformance to regulations.
Measure depths of water, using depth-measuring equipment.
Observe loading or unloading of cargo or equipment to ensure that handling and storage are performed according to specifications.
Supervise crews in cleaning or maintaining decks, superstructures, or bridges.
Tow and maneuver barges or signal tugboats to tow barges to destinations.
Stand watches on vessels during specified periods while vessels are under way.
Learn to operate new technology systems and procedures through instruction, simulators, or models.
Direct or coordinate crew members or workers performing activities such as loading or unloading cargo, steering vessels, operating engines, or operating, maintaining, or repairing ship equipment.
Direct courses and speeds of ships, based on specialized knowledge of local winds, weather, water depths, tides, currents, and hazards.
Report to appropriate authorities any violations of federal or state pilotage laws.
Signal crew members or deckhands to rig tow lines, open or close gates or ramps, or pull guard chains across entries.
Maintain boats or equipment on board, such as engines, winches, navigational systems, fire extinguishers, or life preservers.
Advise ships' masters on harbor rules and customs procedures.
Arrange for ships to be fueled, restocked with supplies, or repaired.
Perform various marine duties, such as checking for oil spills or other pollutants around ports or harbors or patrolling beaches.
Interview and hire crew members.
Direct or coordinate crew members or workers performing activities such as loading or unloading cargo, steering vessels, operating engines, or operating, maintaining, or repairing ship equipment.
Signal passing vessels, using whistles, flashing lights, flags, or radios.
Calculate sightings of land, using electronic sounding devices and following contour lines on charts.
Steer and operate vessels, using radios, depth finders, radars, lights, buoys, or lighthouses.
Direct or coordinate crew members or workers performing activities such as loading or unloading cargo, steering vessels, operating engines, or operating, maintaining, or repairing ship equipment.

Operations Monitoring
- Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
Systems Evaluation
- Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
Equipment Selection
- Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
Critical Thinking
- Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
Instructing
- Teaching people how to do something.
Social Perceptiveness
- Understanding people's reactions.
Service Orientation
- Looking for ways to help people.
Mathematics
- Using math to solve problems.
Writing
- Writing things for co-workers or customers.
Complex Problem Solving
- Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
Science
- Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
Equipment Maintenance
- Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
Management of Financial Resources
- Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
Management of Material Resources
- Managing equipment and materials.
Active Listening
- Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
Repairing
- Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
Quality Control Analysis
- Testing how well a product or service works.
Judgment and Decision Making
- Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
Operation and Control
- Using equipment or systems.
Time Management
- Managing your time and the time of other people.
Installation
- Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
Speaking
- Talking to others.
Management of Personnel Resources
- Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
Monitoring
- Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
Technology Design
- Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
Systems Analysis
- Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
Troubleshooting
- Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
Reading Comprehension
- Reading work-related information.
Programming
- Writing computer programs.
Persuasion
- Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
Negotiation
- Bringing people together to solve differences.
Operations Analysis
- Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
Active Learning
- Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
Learning Strategies
- Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
Coordination
- Changing what is done based on other people's actions.

Speed of Closure
- Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
Speed of Limb Movement
- Quickly moving your arms and legs.
Depth Perception
- Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
Arm-Hand Steadiness
- Keeping your arm or hand steady.
Originality
- Creating new and original ideas.
Flexibility of Closure
- Seeing hidden patterns.
Finger Dexterity
- Putting together small parts with your fingers.
Problem Sensitivity
- Noticing when problems happen.
Stamina
- Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
Inductive Reasoning
- Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
Explosive Strength
- Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
Multilimb Coordination
- Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
Visualization
- Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
Far Vision
- Seeing details that are far away.
Peripheral Vision
- Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
Auditory Attention
- Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
Written Expression
- Communicating by writing.
Memorization
- Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
Wrist-Finger Speed
- Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
Manual Dexterity
- Holding or moving items with your hands.
Mathematical Reasoning
- Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
Control Precision
- Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
Speech Recognition
- Recognizing spoken words.
Sound Localization
- Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
Deductive Reasoning
- Using rules to solve problems.
Static Strength
- Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
Reaction Time
- Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
Extent Flexibility
- Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
Spatial Orientation
- Knowing where things are around you.
Category Flexibility
- Grouping things in different ways.
Trunk Strength
- Using your lower back and stomach.
Speech Clarity
- Speaking clearly.
Dynamic Flexibility
- Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
Oral Comprehension
- Listening and understanding what people say.
Fluency of Ideas
- Coming up with lots of ideas.
Gross Body Coordination
- Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
Written Comprehension
- Reading and understanding what is written.
Selective Attention
- Paying attention to something without being distracted.
Rate Control
- Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
Oral Expression
- Communicating by speaking.
Number Facility
- Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
Time Sharing
- Doing two or more things at the same time.
Perceptual Speed
- Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
Dynamic Strength
- Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
Night Vision
- Seeing at night or under low light.
Gross Body Equilibrium
- Keeping your balance or staying upright.
Near Vision
- Seeing details up close.
Visual Color Discrimination
- Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
Glare Sensitivity
- Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
Hearing Sensitivity
- Telling the difference between sounds.
Response Orientation
- Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
Information Ordering
- Ordering or arranging things.

Administration and Management
- Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
Therapy and Counseling
- Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
History and Archeology
- Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
Philosophy and Theology
- Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
Customer and Personal Service
- Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
Chemistry
- Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
Telecommunications
- Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
Food Production
- Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
Design
- Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
Building and Construction
- Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
Sales and Marketing
- Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
Mathematics
- Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
Foreign Language
- Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
Law and Government
- Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
Personnel and Human Resources
- Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
Production and Processing
- Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
Psychology
- Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
Computers and Electronics
- Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
Mechanical
- Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
English Language
- Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, and rules of composition and grammar.
Transportation
- Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
Physics
- Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.
Geography
- Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
Biology
- Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
Communications and Media
- Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
Administrative
- Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
Education and Training
- Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
Medicine and Dentistry
- Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
Fine Arts
- Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
Economics and Accounting
- Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
Engineering and Technology
- Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
Sociology and Anthropology
- Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
Public Safety and Security
- Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.

Education

Postsecondary certificate

Work Experience

Less than 5 years work experience

Training

No on-the-job training

Education and Training Opportunities

Washington Annual Salary

104560/yr

Washington Hourly Wage

50.27/hr

Currently Employed

1,720

Yearly Projected Openings

210

Realistic: People interested in this work like activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They do well at jobs that need:

Self-Confidence
Leadership Orientation
Perseverance
Stress Tolerance
Self-Control
Cautiousness

Aircraft guidance systems
Alarm systems
Anchor chocks
Anchor lines
Anchor rollers
Anemometers
Bench vises
Binoculars
Blocks or pulleys
Bolt cutters
Bridge cranes
Cargo or container ships
Centrifugal pumps
Claw hammer
Compasses
Cruise ships
Depth gauges
Desktop computers
Direction finding compasses
Fall protection lanyard
Fire extinguishers
Fire pump sets
Fire retardant apparel
Fire suppression system
Flares
Gas generators
Gear pumps
Gyroscopic instruments
Hoists
Insulated clothing for cold environments
Insulated or flotation suits
Ladders
Life rings
Life vests or preservers
Lifeboats or liferafts
Lifts
Light enhancing cameras or vision devices
Loading equipment
Locking pliers
Manlift or personnel lift
Marine craft communications systems
Marine signaling systems
Mobile medical services cinch rescue loops
Mobile medical services first aid kits
Notebook computers
Open end wrenches
Passenger or automobile ferries
Personal computers
Pipe wrenches
Plotter printers
Punches or nail sets or drifts
Radarbased surveillance systems
Radio navigation instruments
Rescue ships or boats
Respirators
Rope float lines
Rotary pumps
Safety glasses
Safety harnesses or belts
Safety helmets
Screw Pumps
Sextants
Sharpening stones or tools or kits
Slings
Sonars
Spanner wrenches
Straight edges
Tankers
Telegraph sounders
Triangles
Tug boats
Two way radios
Vehicle navigation systems
Vehicular global positioning system GPS
Winches

Analytical or scientific software
Calendar and scheduling software
Computer aided design CAD software
Data base user interface and query software
Electronic mail software
Facilities management software
Materials requirements planning logistics and supply chain software
Office suite software
Operating system software
Presentation software
Route navigation software
Spreadsheet software
Word processing software

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Captains, Mates, and Pilots of Water Vessels

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