---
title: "Jobs on the Ocean"
description: "Careers at sea and on the water: ship officers and engineers, harbor pilots, commercial divers, fishing and marine science roles. Careers centred on this…"
canonical: "https://nuecareer.com/careers/jobs-on-the-ocean"
last-updated: "2026-10-09T10:57:55.138Z"
---

# Jobs on the Ocean

Careers at sea and on the water: ship officers and engineers, harbor pilots, commercial divers, fishing and marine science roles. Careers centred on this field come first, then the ones that touch it, each group ranked by national median pay from BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics. Specialty careers, which BLS reports inside a broader occupation, show that occupation’s figures and are labelled on their pages.

42 occupations, in the ranked order the career bank computed. Wages are BLS OEWS, May 2025. Growth figures are BLS Employment Projections and education is the BLS "typical education needed for entry".

| # | Occupation | Median annual wage | Projected growth | Typical education |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | [Marine Engineer and Naval Architect](https://nuecareer.com/careers/marine-engineer-and-naval-architect) | $112,230 | +6.7% | Bachelor's |
| 2 | [Ocean Engineer](https://nuecareer.com/careers/ocean-engineer) | $112,230 | +6.7% | Bachelor's |
| 3 | [Ship Engineer](https://nuecareer.com/careers/ship-engineer) | $109,530 | +2.7% | Certificate |
| 4 | [Marine Geologist](https://nuecareer.com/careers/marine-geologist) | $101,920 | +5.1% | Bachelor's |
| 5 | [Oceanographer](https://nuecareer.com/careers/oceanographer) | $101,920 | +5.1% | Bachelor's |
| 6 | [Coastal Engineer](https://nuecareer.com/careers/coastal-engineer) | $100,840 | +6.4% | Bachelor's |
| 7 | [Captain, Mate, and Pilot of Water Vessels](https://nuecareer.com/careers/captain-mate-and-pilot-of-water-vessels) | $92,460 | +4.0% | Certificate |
| 8 | [Civil Service Mariner Officer](https://nuecareer.com/careers/civil-service-mariner-officer) | $92,460 | +4.0% | Certificate |
| 9 | [Dynamic Positioning Operator](https://nuecareer.com/careers/dynamic-positioning-operator) | $92,460 | +4.0% | Certificate |
| 10 | [Great Lakes Pilot](https://nuecareer.com/careers/great-lakes-pilot) | $92,460 | +4.0% | Certificate |
| 11 | [Maritime Pilot](https://nuecareer.com/careers/maritime-pilot) | $92,460 | +4.0% | Certificate |
| 12 | [Yacht Captain](https://nuecareer.com/careers/yacht-captain) | $92,460 | +4.0% | Certificate |
| 13 | [Offshore Installation Manager](https://nuecareer.com/careers/offshore-installation-manager) | $79,920 | +5.0% | High school |
| 14 | [Hydrographic Surveyor](https://nuecareer.com/careers/hydrographic-surveyor) | $75,440 | +5.8% | Bachelor's |
| 15 | [ROV Pilot Technician](https://nuecareer.com/careers/rov-pilot-technician) | $73,900 | +2.6% | Associate's |
| 16 | [Commercial Diver](https://nuecareer.com/careers/commercial-diver) | $72,990 | +4.8% | Certificate |
| 17 | [Saturation Diver](https://nuecareer.com/careers/saturation-diver) | $72,990 | +4.8% | Certificate |
| 18 | [Underwater Welder](https://nuecareer.com/careers/underwater-welder) | $72,990 | +4.8% | Certificate |
| 19 | [Longshore Foreman](https://nuecareer.com/careers/longshore-foreman) | $68,080 | +3.8% | High school |
| 20 | [Offshore Crane Operator](https://nuecareer.com/careers/offshore-crane-operator) | $68,080 | +3.8% | High school |
| 21 | [Registered Longshore Worker](https://nuecareer.com/careers/registered-longshore-worker) | $68,080 | +3.8% | High school |
| 22 | [Scientific Diver](https://nuecareer.com/careers/scientific-diver) | $57,510 | +7.4% | Bachelor's |
| 23 | [Marine Clerk](https://nuecareer.com/careers/marine-clerk) | $52,260 | +6.2% | High school |
| 24 | [Sailor and Marine Oiler](https://nuecareer.com/careers/sailor-and-marine-oiler) | $51,520 | +3.2% | No formal credential |
| 25 | [Superyacht Deckhand](https://nuecareer.com/careers/superyacht-deckhand) | $51,520 | +3.2% | No formal credential |
| 26 | [Motorboat Operator](https://nuecareer.com/careers/motorboat-operator) | $47,520 | +4.9% | Certificate |
| 27 | [Scuba Diving Instructor](https://nuecareer.com/careers/scuba-diving-instructor) | $36,560 | +4.3% | High school |
| 28 | [Surf Instructor](https://nuecareer.com/careers/surf-instructor) | $36,560 | +4.3% | High school |
| 29 | [Toolpusher](https://nuecareer.com/careers/toolpusher) | $79,920 | +5.0% | High school |
| 30 | [Coral Reef Ecologist](https://nuecareer.com/careers/coral-reef-ecologist) | $76,780 | +3.6% | Bachelor's |
| 31 | [Maritime Archaeologist](https://nuecareer.com/careers/maritime-archaeologist) | $70,770 | +6.0% | Master's |
| 32 | [Cruise Ship Hotel Director](https://nuecareer.com/careers/cruise-ship-hotel-director) | $69,250 | +3.8% | High school |
| 33 | [Offshore Wind Technician](https://nuecareer.com/careers/offshore-wind-technician) | $64,120 | +29.5% | Certificate |
| 34 | [Offshore Medic](https://nuecareer.com/careers/offshore-medic) | $60,600 | +5.7% | Certificate |
| 35 | [Fisheries Observer](https://nuecareer.com/careers/fisheries-observer) | $57,510 | +7.4% | Bachelor's |
| 36 | [Protected Species Observer](https://nuecareer.com/careers/protected-species-observer) | $57,510 | +7.4% | Bachelor's |
| 37 | [Hyperbaric Technologist](https://nuecareer.com/careers/hyperbaric-technologist) | $50,290 | +5.9% | Certificate |
| 38 | [Cruise Director](https://nuecareer.com/careers/cruise-director) | $48,560 | +5.3% | High school |
| 39 | [Yacht Chef](https://nuecareer.com/careers/yacht-chef) | $47,940 | +5.1% | Certificate |
| 40 | [Marine Mammal Trainer](https://nuecareer.com/careers/marine-mammal-trainer) | $39,990 | +4.2% | Bachelor's |
| 41 | [Yacht Steward](https://nuecareer.com/careers/yacht-steward) | $38,950 | +2.6% | High school |
| 42 | [Lifeguard, Ski Patrol, and Other Recreational Protective Service Worker](https://nuecareer.com/careers/lifeguard-ski-patrol-and-other-recreational-protective-service-worker) | $33,580 | +5.5% | No formal credential |

Full record for any row, including wage percentiles and state-level pay: https://nuecareer.com/careers/{slug} or https://nuecareer.com/api/v1/careers/{slug}.

---

This bank includes information from the O\*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). O\*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. NueCareer has transformed the data by joining it to BLS wage and projection data and deriving facet, personality-fit and AI-resilience scores. BLS and BEA data are public domain (17 U.S.C. §105).

O\*NET content is used under [CC BY 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). How these figures are sourced and derived: https://nuecareer.com/careers/methodology

JSON representation of this page: https://nuecareer.com/api/v1/collections/jobs-on-the-ocean