Designs ships, submarines, yachts, and offshore platforms instead of buildings.
You might be modeling the hull of a new ferry to cut fuel use, then testing a scale model in a long water tank. Some days you are in a shipyard checking welds and stability on a Navy vessel under construction.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
Bachelor's degree (4-year), about 4 years after high school. Bachelor's in naval architecture and marine engineering (offered at only a handful of US schools).
Ways in: 4-year college, Military. Training cost: $15k – $60k.
Majors to look at: Naval Architecture, Marine Engineering, Ocean Engineering.
Growing faster than average (about 6% over 10 years). Marine engineers and naval architects, BLS 2024-34 projection.
Low risk for 10 years. Hull optimization and AI simulation speed design; stability sign-off, sea trials and shipyard problem-solving stay human.
Classes: AP Physics, AP Calculus, Drafting CTE class.
Official data: O*NET occupation 17-2121.
Career Universe is an early version. Pay, training and AI-risk figures are estimates to start your own research, not verified facts. The research was written with AI research assistants, checked by validation scripts and spot-checked by hand. Check anything important with schools, employers and official sources. How the numbers work.