Captains, Mates, and Pilots of Water Vessels

What Captains, Mates, and Pilots of Water Vessels do

You steer a tugboat, ferry, or ship and decide its course, its speed, and how it comes safely into dock, under a U.S. Coast Guard license.

Captains, mates, and pilots are in charge of a vessel and its crew. You decide the course and speed, read charts and radar, watch the weather, tides, and currents, and keep the vessel clear of shallow water and other traffic. You also take charge when a vessel arrives at a port or ties up at a berth (the spot along a dock where a vessel parks), sometimes squeezing through narrow locks (water-filled chambers that raise or lower a boat between different water levels).

It is a licensed job: the U.S. Coast Guard issues the license you must hold. Most people enter with a postsecondary nondegree award, which is training that comes after high school but is shorter than a degree, plus less than five years of experience working on boats.

A day in the life

You board before your shift and check the vessel over: gauges for hydraulic fluid, air pressure, and oxygen, plus lights and radios. You talk with the crew about the run ahead, then you take over steering. Between maneuvers, the wheelhouse (the enclosed space where you steer the vessel) can be quiet, just you, the radar, and the depth finder. Then it is time to bring the vessel into port and everything gets busy. You use the ship-to-shore radio to line up a spot at the dock, give clear orders, and ease the vessel in without bumping the dock or other boats. Weather does what it wants, so you step out into rain, wind, and cold in safety gear. Long stretches of watching, short bursts of high-stakes handling.

How people get in

1. 1Finish high school and build comfort around boats, engines, and weather any way you can, including summer or dock work.
2. 2Look into training after high school that leads to a postsecondary nondegree award, or a college program such as Marine Science / Merchant Marine Officer.
3. 3Get hired into a starting job on a boat's crew and build up recorded hours of work at sea; many people learn under experienced captains and mates for a few years, since this role usually asks for less than 5 years of experience.
4. 4Meet the U.S. Coast Guard requirements and earn the license the job requires.
5. 5Move up to mate, then captain, and add extra approvals to your license that let you work on bigger vessels or in different waters.

Who tends to enjoy it

Official task list

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. (O*NET)

• 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.
• Operate ship-to-shore radios to exchange information needed for ship operations.
• Dock or undock vessels, sometimes maneuvering through narrow spaces, such as locks.
• Stand watches on vessels during specified periods while vessels are under way.

A typical day involves

How much Captains, Mates, and Pilots of Water Vessels make

The median pay for Captains, Mates, and Pilots of Water Vessels in the U.S. is $92,460 a year ($44.45 an hour). Most earn between $47,420 and $170,640. (Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025)

Pay depends a lot on where you live: the median is highest in Maryland ($138,950) and lowest in Puerto Rico ($47,410).

Where to study for this

College programs that commonly lead to this career, and how many US colleges offer each.

• Marine Science / Merchant Marine Officer 11 colleges

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