Merchant Marine & Commercial Shipping

The officers and crews who sail cargo ships, tankers, and towboats that move most of the world's goods.

Top pay: highest pay, longest training

• Ship Captain (Master): Has total command of a cargo ship, tanker, or container vessel and everyone aboard. Typical pay $165k.
• Chief Mate: Second-in-command of a ship who runs cargo operations and the deck crew. Typical pay $125k.
• Chief Engineer (Ship): The top engineer responsible for every engine, generator, pump, and system on a ship. Typical pay $165k.
• First Assistant Engineer: The chief engineer's right hand, who runs daily engine-room maintenance and repairs. Typical pay $125k.
• LNG Carrier Cargo Engineer: Runs the super-cold cargo systems on ships that carry liquefied natural gas at minus 260 degrees Fahrenheit. Typical pay $160k.
• Ice Navigator: A veteran mariner hired to guide ships safely through sea ice in the Arctic, Alaska, and Antarctica. Typical pay $140k.

Mid pay: solid pay, degree or apprenticeship

• Third Mate / Second Mate (Deck Officer): A licensed junior officer who stands navigation watches and handles safety gear. Typical pay $95k.
• Third Assistant Engineer: A licensed junior engineer who keeps a ship's machinery running on watch. Typical pay $95k.
• Towboat Captain / River Pilot: Steers towboats pushing huge strings of barges up and down rivers like the Mississippi. Typical pay $105k.
• Electro-Technical Officer: The ship's expert on electrical systems, electronics, and automation. Typical pay $90k.
• Civil Service Mariner (Military Sealift Command): A civilian federal employee who crews Navy supply, hospital, and support ships. Typical pay $75k.
• Boatswain (Bosun): The senior unlicensed sailor who leads the deck crew. Typical pay $72k.
• Qualified Member of the Engine Department (QMED): A skilled engine-room rating who operates and maintains ship machinery. Typical pay $65k.
• Tanker Pumpman: Operates and repairs the pumps and valves that load and unload oil and chemicals on tanker ships. Typical pay $85k.
• Supercargo: Sails aboard heavy-lift and project-cargo ships to supervise how huge, odd-shaped cargo is loaded, lashed and unloaded. Typical pay $95k.
• Riding Gang Technician: Joins a working ship for weeks to repair steel, pipes and machinery while it keeps sailing between ports. Typical pay $75k.

Starter: fastest way in

• Able Seaman: A skilled deckhand who steers, keeps lookout, and maintains a ship's deck. Typical pay $50k.
• Ordinary Seaman: The entry-level deck job on a ship, learning the ropes. Typical pay $43k.
• Oiler / Wiper: Entry-level engine-room worker who cleans, lubricates, and helps engineers. Typical pay $47k.
• Chief Cook / Chief Steward: Feeds the entire crew of a ship three meals a day, every day at sea. Typical pay $52k.
• Steward Assistant (Messman): Helps feed the crew on a merchant ship by prepping food, serving meals, and cleaning. Typical pay $50k.

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.