Captains, Mates, and Pilots of Water Vessels

What Captains, Mates, and Pilots of Water Vessels 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.

Career Outlook

National employment outlook, 2024–2034.

Related work experience

Less than 5 years

On-the-job training

None

Self-employed

7.1%

Source: BLS Employment Projections — 2024-2034.

Key Knowledge Areas

Subject-matter areas this occupation draws on most, per O*NET.

• Transportationimportance 4.1/5
• Public Safety and Securityimportance 3.8/5
• Mechanicalimportance 3.4/5
• Law and Governmentimportance 3.4/5
• English Languageimportance 3.3/5
• Geographyimportance 3.3/5
• Administration and Managementimportance 3.2/5
• Customer and Personal Serviceimportance 3.2/5

Work Environment

What the day-to-day work setting is like, per O*NET.

• Face-to-Face Discussions with Individuals and Within Teams4.8/5
• Frequency of Decision Making4.6/5
• Impact of Decisions on Co-workers or Company Results4.6/5
• Contact With Others4.6/5
• Freedom to Make Decisions4.5/5
• Health and Safety of Other Workers4.5/5

Related Careers

• Sailors and Marine Oilers
• Motorboat Operators
• Ship Engineers
• Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineers
• Commercial Pilots
• Transportation Inspectors
• Bridge and Lock Tenders
• Aircraft Cargo Handling Supervisors

Careers With Similar Skills

Occupations whose Transferable Skills profile most closely matches this one — a mathematical comparison, not observed data about people actually moving between these careers.

• Tank Car, Truck, and Ship Loaders94% skill match
• Pesticide Handlers, Sprayers, and Applicators, Vegetation94% skill match
• Farmworkers, Farm, Ranch, and Aquacultural Animals92% skill match
• Fence Erectors92% skill match
• Motorboat Operators92% skill match
• Office Machine Operators, Except Computer92% skill match
• Dredge Operators91% skill match
• Tree Trimmers and Pruners91% skill match

Transferable Skills

Cross-functional skills this occupation draws on most, per O*NET — the kind that carry over to other careers.

• Operation and Controlimportance 3.6/5
• Operations Monitoringimportance 3.4/5
• Judgment and Decision Makingimportance 3.4/5
• Coordinationimportance 3.3/5
• Complex Problem Solvingimportance 3.3/5
• Management of Personnel Resourcesimportance 3.3/5
• Social Perceptivenessimportance 3.1/5
• Instructingimportance 3.1/5

Software & Technologies

Tools and software used in this occupation, per O*NET.

Work Style

Personal work characteristics that matter most for this occupation, per O*NET.

• Leadership Orientation
• Dependability
• Cautiousness
• Attention to Detail
• Stress Tolerance
• Self-Control
• Integrity

Career Interests

This occupation’s RIASEC interest profile, per O*NET — how strongly it fits each of the six Holland interest types.

• RealisticHigh
• ConventionalMedium
• EnterprisingMedium
• InvestigativeLow
• SocialLow
• ArtisticLow

Where This Career Is Most Concentrated

Metro areas where captains, mates, and pilots of water vessels make up the largest share of local employment, relative to the national average (BLS location quotient).

1. 1Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux, LA103.03× national avg
2. 2Paducah, KY-IL58.50× national avg
3. 3Slidell-Mandeville-Covington, LA25.08× national avg
4. 4New Orleans-Metairie, LA18.40× national avg
5. 5Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC11.34× national avg

Possible Career Moves

A computed starting point, not observed job-change data — see the full list for why each one might fit.

• Motorboat OperatorsLateral Move
• Sailors and Marine OilersLateral Move
• Dredge OperatorsLateral Move
• Tank Car, Truck, and Ship LoadersLateral Move

See the full career path from Captains, Mates, and Pilots of Water Vessels →

Related Education Programs

Schools that offer related fields of study, based on the NCES CIP-SOC crosswalk — not a guarantee that graduates enter this specific career.