Also called: Marine Salvage Master, Salvage Superintendent
Leads emergency operations to rescue grounded, sinking, or burning ships and their cargo.
A salvage master flies to a stranded cargo ship, assesses the damage, plans how to patch holes and pump water out, directs divers and tugs, and negotiates with owners and insurers.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
Bachelor's degree (4-year), about 8 years after high school. Years of marine salvage, engineering, or captain experience.
Ways in: On-the-job training, 4-year college. Training cost: $15k – $60k.
Majors to look at: Naval Architecture, Marine Engineering.
Growing about average. A tiny, elite field.
Low risk for 10 years. Every grounded or burning ship is different; leading the rescue under pressure stays high-stakes human judgment.
Classes: Physics, AP Calculus, Earth science.
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.