Also called: Autonomy Engineer (Marine)
Writes the code that lets ocean drones and robot boats navigate and make decisions on their own.
These engineers write autonomy, navigation, and computer-vision software for uncrewed boats and underwater vehicles, then debug it with data from sea trials.
Based on BLS software developers median.
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 computer science or engineering.
Ways in: 4-year college, Self-taught. Training cost: $15k – $60k.
Majors to look at: Computer Science, Robotics, Electrical Engineering.
Growing much faster than average (about 15% over 10 years).
Medium risk for 10 years. AI coding tools write more routine code and cut junior work; autonomy expertise for real ocean robots stays valuable.
Classes: AP Computer Science, AP Calculus, AP Physics.
Official data: O*NET occupation 15-1252.
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