Marine Terminal Operations Manager

Also called: Terminal Superintendent, Vessel Operations Manager

Coordinates the cranes, trucks, crews, and schedules that keep a container terminal moving.

A day in the life

The terminal manager watches ship arrival schedules, assigns cranes and labor gangs, and fixes bottlenecks when trucks back up at the gate. Days are fast, loud, and full of phone calls.

Pay over a career

Starting
$65k
Typical
$100k
High
$160k

Training

Bachelor's degree (4-year), about 4 years after high school. Bachelor's in logistics, supply chain, or maritime business; many come from maritime academies.

Ways in: 4-year college, On-the-job training. Training cost: $15k – $60k.

Majors to look at: Supply Chain Management, Logistics, Maritime Business, Marine Transportation.

Outlook

Growing faster than average (about 6% over 10 years).

Will it last? Our AI estimate

Medium risk for 10 years. Optimization software now builds berth and crane plans; managers handle exceptions, labor and fixes on the ground.

Start now, in high school

Classes: Statistics, AP Economics, Business CTE class.

Official data: O*NET occupation 11-3071.

More Ports, Harbors & Ship Pilots careers

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.