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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.
Also Known As:
Boat Captain
Captain
Ferry Boat Captain
First Mate
Harbor Pilot
Mate
River Pilot
Ship Pilot
Tugboat Captain
Vessel Master
Wages
Annual wages for Captains, Mates, and Pilots of Water Vessels in United States
Job Outlook
Below Average
New job opportunities are less likely in the future
United States
2034 Projected Employment
40,900
1% Change From 2024
Explore Captains, Mates and Pilots of Water Vessels video
Tasks you might complete in a day.
- Prevent ships under navigational control from engaging in unsafe operations.
- Operate ship-to-shore radios to exchange information needed for ship operations.
- Observe loading or unloading of cargo or equipment to ensure that handling and storage are performed according to specifications.
- 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.
- Supervise crews in cleaning or maintaining decks, superstructures, or bridges.
- Tow and maneuver barges or signal tugboats to tow barges to destinations.
- Inspect vessels to ensure efficient and safe operation of vessels and equipment and conformance to regulations.
- Provide assistance in maritime rescue operations.
- Stand watches on vessels during specified periods while vessels are under way.
- Measure depths of water, using depth-measuring equipment.
- Serve as a vessel's docking master upon arrival at a port or at a berth.
- Dock or undock vessels, sometimes maneuvering through narrow spaces, such as locks.
- Consult maps, charts, weather reports, or navigation equipment to determine and direct ship movements.
- Read gauges to verify sufficient levels of hydraulic fluid, air pressure, or oxygen.
- 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.
- Signal passing vessels, using whistles, flashing lights, flags, or radios.
- Report to appropriate authorities any violations of federal or state pilotage laws.
- Advise ships' masters on harbor rules and customs procedures.
- Calculate sightings of land, using electronic sounding devices and following contour lines on charts.
- 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 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.
- 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.
- Steer and operate vessels, using radios, depth finders, radars, lights, buoys, or lighthouses.
- Interview and hire crew members.
- Direct courses and speeds of ships, based on specialized knowledge of local winds, weather, water depths, tides, currents, and hazards.
- Maintain boats or equipment on board, such as engines, winches, navigational systems, fire extinguishers, or life preservers.
- Signal crew members or deckhands to rig tow lines, open or close gates or ramps, or pull guard chains across entries.
Subject areas you may need to master.
- Transportation - Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
- 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.
- 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.
- Mechanical - Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
- 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.
- Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
- Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
- 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.
- Production and Processing - Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Fine Arts - Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
- 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.
- 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.
- Economics and Accounting - Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
- Sociology and Anthropology - Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Design - Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
- History and Archeology - Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
Strengths you may need in this role.
- 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.
- Speaking - Talking to others.
- Time Management - Managing your time and the time of other people.
- Quality Control Analysis - Testing how well a product or service works.
- Management of Personnel Resources - Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
- Installation - Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
- 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.
- Operations Monitoring - Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
- Equipment Maintenance - Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
- Complex Problem Solving - Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
- Mathematics - Using math to solve problems.
- Instructing - Teaching people how to do something.
- Management of Financial Resources - Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
- Repairing - Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
- Management of Material Resources - Managing equipment and materials.
- Systems Evaluation - Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
- Active Listening - Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
- Equipment Selection - Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
- Writing - Writing things for co-workers or customers.
- Social Perceptiveness - Understanding people's reactions.
- Critical Thinking - Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
- Science - Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
- Service Orientation - Looking for ways to help people.
- Reading Comprehension - Reading work-related information.
- Programming - Writing computer programs.
- Systems Analysis - Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
- 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.
- Negotiation - Bringing people together to solve differences.
- Troubleshooting - Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
- Persuasion - Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
- Deductive Reasoning - Using rules to solve problems.
- Trunk Strength - Using your lower back and stomach.
- Category Flexibility - Grouping things in different ways.
- Mathematical Reasoning - Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
- Memorization - Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
- Spatial Orientation - Knowing where things are around you.
- Wrist-Finger Speed - Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
- Static Strength - Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
- Speech Clarity - Speaking clearly.
- Written Expression - Communicating by writing.
- Control Precision - Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
- Extent Flexibility - Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
- Manual Dexterity - Holding or moving items with your hands.
- Reaction Time - Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
- Sound Localization - Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
- Speech Recognition - Recognizing spoken words.
- Speed of Limb Movement - Quickly moving your arms and legs.
- Inductive Reasoning - Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
- Auditory Attention - Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
- Problem Sensitivity - Noticing when problems happen.
- Explosive Strength - Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
- Originality - Creating new and original ideas.
- Arm-Hand Steadiness - Keeping your arm or hand steady.
- Stamina - Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
- Speed of Closure - Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
- Flexibility of Closure - Seeing hidden patterns.
- Visualization - Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
- Finger Dexterity - Putting together small parts with your fingers.
- Multilimb Coordination - Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
- Peripheral Vision - Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
- Depth Perception - Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
- Far Vision - Seeing details that are far away.
- Rate Control - Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
- Dynamic Strength - Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
- Information Ordering - Ordering or arranging things.
- Number Facility - Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
- Perceptual Speed - Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
- Selective Attention - Paying attention to something without being distracted.
- Dynamic Flexibility - Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
- Visual Color Discrimination - Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
- Hearing Sensitivity - Telling the difference between sounds.
- Oral Comprehension - Listening and understanding what people say.
- Fluency of Ideas - Coming up with lots of ideas.
- Written Comprehension - Reading and understanding what is written.
- Oral Expression - Communicating by speaking.
- Time Sharing - Doing two or more things at the same time.
- Response Orientation - Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
- Gross Body Coordination - Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
- Gross Body Equilibrium - Keeping your balance or staying upright.
- Night Vision - Seeing at night or under low light.
- Glare Sensitivity - Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
- Near Vision - Seeing details up close.
Average Education Attained
Highest level of education earned by people in this career.
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Content sourced from United States Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration ("DOLETA") and the Minnesota Department of Employment & Economic Development ("DEED")