Ocean & Maritime careers

The ocean moves 90% of the world's goods, hides most of Earth's unexplored territory, and feeds billions of people. Maritime careers range from steering 1,000-foot ships and guiding them into harbors to diving to the seafloor, designing ships, protecting coral reefs, and running yachts. Many of the best-paid jobs here need no 4-year degree, and the maritime academies turn out officers earning six figures in their twenties.

16 fields, 411 careers

• Merchant Marine & Commercial Shipping (21): The officers and crews who sail cargo ships, tankers, and towboats that move most of the world's goods.
• Ports, Harbors & Ship Pilots (33): The people who guide ships into port, run terminals, and move millions of containers between sea and land.
• Inland Waterways & Great Lakes (18): America's rivers and Great Lakes are busy highways for barges, towboats, and huge lake freighters. These crews move grain, coal, steel,…
• Naval Architecture & Marine Engineering (22): The engineers and designers who figure out how ships, submarines, and ocean structures float, move, and survive.
• Ocean Science & Deep-Sea Exploration (24): The scientists, technicians, and explorers who study how the ocean works and map the least-explored places on Earth.
• Commercial & Scientific Diving (27): Jobs that put people underwater: building, inspecting, rescuing, filming, and doing science beneath the surface.
• Underwater Robotics & Ocean Tech (21): The engineers and techs building and flying robot subs, ocean drones, sonar, and the sensors that watch the sea.
• Offshore Energy (Oil, Gas & Offshore Wind) (30): The people who drill, build, and maintain energy platforms and wind farms far out at sea.
• Shipbuilding & Marine Trades (26): The skilled builders and mechanics who construct, repair, and maintain ships and boats.
• Fishing & Seafood Industry (31): Catching, farming, studying, and selling the fish and shellfish that feed the world.
• Marine Conservation & Coastal Management (28): Protecting reefs, whales, wetlands, and coastlines, and helping coastal communities adapt to a changing sea.
• Aquariums & Marine Animals (24): Caring for, training, healing, and studying sea creatures in aquariums, rescue centers, and the wild.
• Yachting, Boating & Marine Recreation (30): Working on luxury yachts, teaching people to sail and surf, and running the boats and marinas of ocean fun.
• Cruise Lines & Passenger Ships (25): Running floating resorts and ferries, from captains and doctors to entertainers and expedition guides.
• Coast Guard, Navy & Maritime Security (22): Uniformed and security careers that rescue people at sea, defend the coasts, and operate warships and submarines.
• Maritime Law, Insurance & Business (29): The lawyers, brokers, insurers, and analysts who make the business of shipping work.

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.