---
title: "Sailor and Marine Oiler"
description: "Stand watch to look for obstructions in path of vessel, measure water depth, turn wheel on bridge, or use emergency equipment as directed by captain…"
canonical: "https://nuecareer.com/careers/sailor-and-marine-oiler"
last-updated: "2026-10-09T10:57:55.138Z"
---

# Sailor and Marine Oiler

**Category:** Transportation and Material Moving · **SOC code:** 53-5011 · **O\*NET-SOC code:** 53-5011.00

Stand watch to look for obstructions in path of vessel, measure water depth, turn wheel on bridge, or use emergency equipment as directed by captain, mate, or pilot. Break out, rig, overhaul, and store cargo-handling gear, stationary rigging, and running gear. Perform a variety of maintenance tasks to preserve the painted surface of the ship and to maintain line and ship equipment. Must hold government-issued certification and tankerman certification when working aboard liquid-carrying vessels. Includes able seamen and ordinary seamen.

Also advertised as: AB Seaman (Able Bodied Seaman); AB Watchman (Able Bodied Watchman); Able Seaman; Deck Hand; Deckhand; Deckhand Engineer; Oiler; Pilot Boat Deckhand.

## At a glance

- **Median annual wage:** $51,520 (BLS OEWS, May 2025)
- **Median hourly wage:** $24.77/hr
- **Wage range (10th–90th percentile):** $34,560 to $83,620, with the middle half between $41,430 and $67,590
- **Total US employment:** 31,670
- **Typical entry education:** No formal credential
- **Preparation required:** Little or no preparation — O\*NET rates this "Job Zone 1-2: Very Little to Some Preparation Needed"
- **Projected growth:** +3.2% over 2025–2035 (BLS EP, 2025–2035)
- **Annual job openings:** 3,600 openings a year
- **AI-resilience score:** 63/100 — a NueCareer heuristic over O\*NET work activities and context, not a BLS or O\*NET figure

## Pay

National wage distribution, BLS OEWS, May 2025, across 31,670 US jobs.

| Percentile | Annual wage |
| --- | --- |
| 10th | $34,560 |
| 25th | $41,430 |
| 50th (median) | $51,520 |
| 75th | $67,590 |
| 90th | $83,620 |
| Mean (average) | $56,830 |

### Pay by state

The 15 highest-paying states, by median annual wage. The cost-of-living-adjusted column divides the state median by that state's BEA Regional Price Parity, so the columns answer different questions: the first is what the job pays there, the second is what that pay buys there.

| State | Median annual wage | Cost-of-living adjusted | Employment |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| HI | $76,140 | $69,249 | 340 |
| NJ | $71,880 | $66,063 | 520 |
| OR | $70,410 | $68,120 | 210 |
| WA | $66,700 | $62,329 | 1,590 |
| AK | $63,130 | $61,675 | 480 |
| TN | $60,580 | $65,941 | 870 |
| DE | $60,040 | $60,155 | 80 |
| FL | $57,930 | $56,018 | 2,710 |
| MN | $56,680 | $57,473 | 90 |
| IN | $56,570 | $60,614 | 570 |
| TX | $55,610 | $57,296 | 4,270 |
| CA | $55,180 | $49,837 | 1,680 |
| NY | $54,210 | $50,231 | 1,570 |
| OH | $53,520 | $57,689 | 140 |
| MO | $51,940 | $57,192 | 220 |

21 more states with published wage data are omitted here. The full table for all 36 states is at https://nuecareer.com/careers/sailor-and-marine-oiler/salary-by-state, or as JSON at https://nuecareer.com/api/v1/careers/sailor-and-marine-oiler.

## Outlook

BLS projects employment to move from 33,000 in the 2025–2035 base year to 34,100 by the end of the cycle — a gain of 1,100 jobs, or +3.2%. About as fast as average: 3.2% against 3.5% projected for all occupations over the same cycle. About 3,600 openings a year are expected on average, counting openings from growth as well as from workers leaving the occupation permanently. Source: BLS EP, 2025–2035.

## How to get in

- **Typical entry education:** No formal educational credential (BLS Employment Projections).
- **Preparation level:** Little or no preparation — O\*NET's preparation band for this occupation is "Job Zone 1-2: Very Little to Some Preparation Needed".
- **Related work experience typically required:** None.
- **Typical on-the-job training:** Moderate-term on-the-job training.

## What the work involves

- Sweep, mop, and wash down decks to remove oil, dirt, and debris, using brooms, mops, brushes, and hoses.
- Provide engineers with assistance in repairing or adjusting machinery.
- Handle lines to moor vessels to wharfs, to tie up vessels to other vessels, or to rig towing lines.
- Splice and repair ropes, wire cables, or cordage, using marlinespikes, wire cutters, twine, and hand tools.
- Maintain government-issued certifications, as required.
- Chip and clean rust spots on decks, superstructures, or sides of ships, using wire brushes and hand or air chipping machines.
- Paint or varnish decks, superstructures, lifeboats, or sides of ships.
- Stand watch in ships' bows or bridge wings to look for obstructions in a ship's path or to locate navigational aids, such as buoys or lighthouses.

## Skills and knowledge

### Essential skills

- Monitoring — importance 3.5 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Reading Comprehension — importance 3.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Active Listening — importance 3.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Speaking — importance 3.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Critical Thinking — importance 3.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Active Learning — importance 3.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Writing — importance 2.5 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Learning Strategies — importance 2.4 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale

### Transferable skills

These are the skills that carry into other occupations, and they drive the related-occupation and career-change rankings on this site.

- Operations Monitoring — importance 3.8 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Operation and Control — importance 3.6 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Equipment Maintenance — importance 3.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Troubleshooting — importance 3.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Repairing — importance 3.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Coordination — importance 3.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Quality Control Analysis — importance 3.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Judgment and Decision Making — importance 3.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale

### Knowledge areas

- Transportation — importance 3.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- English Language — importance 3.2 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Public Safety and Security — importance 3.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Geography — importance 3.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Mechanical — importance 3.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Education and Training — importance 2.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale

### Abilities

- Far Vision — importance 4.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Problem Sensitivity — importance 4.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Oral Comprehension — importance 3.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Control Precision — importance 3.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Perceptual Speed — importance 3.8 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Manual Dexterity — importance 3.8 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale

## Who it suits

O\*NET rates every occupation on the six Holland (RIASEC) interest areas, on a 1–7 scale. This occupation's strongest areas are Realistic (R), Conventional (C).

| Interest area | Score (1–7) |
| --- | --- |
| R — Realistic | 6.97 |
| C — Conventional | 3.96 |
| I — Investigative | 2.62 |
| E — Enterprising | 2.41 |
| S — Social | 1.24 |
| A — Artistic | 1.00 |

### Personality fit

These scores are **derived by NueCareer**, not published by any government agency: they are cosine similarities between a personality type's trait profile and this occupation's O\*NET interest and work-style ratings, expressed 0–100. Treat them as a starting point for exploration, not as evidence that a type belongs in a job.

| Type | Fit score (0–100) |
| --- | --- |
| ISTJ | 89.5 |
| ISTP | 76.9 |
| ESTJ | 76.1 |
| ISFJ | 71.3 |
| INTJ | 66.0 |

Best-fitting types: ISTJ.

## Related occupations

O\*NET's primary related occupations, in its own ranked order.

- [Captain, Mate, and Pilot of Water Vessels](https://nuecareer.com/careers/captain-mate-and-pilot-of-water-vessels) — median $92,460
- [Ship Engineer](https://nuecareer.com/careers/ship-engineer) — median $109,530
- [Rigger](https://nuecareer.com/careers/rigger) — median $62,640
- [Motorboat Operator](https://nuecareer.com/careers/motorboat-operator) — median $47,520
- [Dredge Operator](https://nuecareer.com/careers/dredge-operator) — median $49,640
- [Hoist and Winch Operator](https://nuecareer.com/careers/hoist-and-winch-operator) — median $56,450
- [Railroad Brake, Signal, and Switch Operator and Locomotive Firer](https://nuecareer.com/careers/railroad-brake-signal-and-switch-operator-and-locomotive-firer) — median $68,840
- [Tank Car, Truck, and Ship Loader](https://nuecareer.com/careers/tank-car-truck-and-ship-loader) — median $58,870
- [Operating Engineer and Other Construction Equipment Operator](https://nuecareer.com/careers/operating-engineer-and-other-construction-equipment-operator) — median $59,850
- [Crane and Tower Operator](https://nuecareer.com/careers/crane-and-tower-operator) — median $68,080

## Sources

- **O\*NET** — O\*NET 31.0 Database, August 2026. https://www.onetcenter.org/database.html
- **BLS OEWS** — BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025. https://www.bls.gov/oes/
- **BLS EP** — BLS Employment Projections, Table 1.2, 2025–2035. https://www.bls.gov/emp/
- **BLS OOH** — BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2025–2035 edition. https://www.bls.gov/ooh/
- **BEA RPP** — BEA Regional Price Parities by State, 2024. https://www.bea.gov/data/prices-inflation/regional-price-parities-state-and-metro-area

---

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/careers/sailor-and-marine-oiler