Petroleum Engineer (Offshore): Plans how to drill and produce oil and gas from deep under the seafloor. Typical pay $141k.
Subsea Engineer: Designs the wellheads, pipelines, and equipment that sit on the seafloor thousands of feet down. Typical pay $140k.
Offshore Wind Project Manager: Leads the building of huge offshore wind farms with turbines taller than skyscrapers. Typical pay $140k.
Offshore Helicopter Pilot: Flies workers and supplies to oil platforms and ships far out at sea. Typical pay $120k.
Marine Warranty Surveyor: Approves risky offshore operations, like lifting a wind turbine or towing an oil platform, on behalf of insurers. Typical pay $140k.
Offshore Supply Vessel Captain: Commands a 200–300 foot supply boat carrying fuel, mud, pipe and food to offshore rigs and platforms. Typical pay $120k.
Dynamic Positioning Operator: Uses computer-controlled thrusters to hold a ship perfectly still over a spot in the open sea. Typical pay $105k.
Offshore Driller: Runs the drilling equipment on an offshore oil and gas rig from the driller's cabin, controlling the drill and watching well pressure for signs of danger. Typical pay $72k.
Ballast Control Operator: Keeps a floating oil rig level by pumping water in and out of its giant tanks. Typical pay $85k.
Offshore Crane Operator: Lifts supplies between pitching supply boats and oil platforms. Typical pay $82k.
Offshore Medic: The only medical person on an offshore rig or vessel, hours from a hospital. Typical pay $78k.
Drilling Fluids (Mud) Engineer: Mixes and tests the special 'mud' that keeps an oil well from blowing out. Typical pay $100k.
Rope Access Technician: Rappels down platforms, ship hulls, and wind turbines to inspect and repair them. Typical pay $68k.
Protected Species Observer: Watches for whales and dolphins during offshore construction and can stop work to protect them. Typical pay $60k.
Crew Transfer Vessel Captain: Drives the fast catamarans that carry technicians out to offshore wind turbines every day. Typical pay $90k.
Helicopter Landing Officer: Runs the helideck on an offshore platform or ship, guiding helicopters in and out safely. Typical pay $62k.
Offshore Production Operator: Runs the equipment that separates and pumps oil and gas on an offshore platform. Typical pay $97k.
Wireline Operator: Lowers tools on cables into oil and gas wells to measure, repair, or open them. Typical pay $58k.
Offshore Electrician: Maintains electrical systems on oil platforms, wind farm substations, and offshore vessels. Typical pay $85k.
Offshore Wind Marine Coordinator: Tracks every boat and person working at an offshore wind farm to keep everyone safe. Typical pay $75k.
Passive Acoustic Monitoring Operator: Listens through underwater microphones for whales and dolphins so offshore construction can pause before harming them. Typical pay $70k.
Liftboat Captain: Drives a Gulf of Mexico liftboat to an oil platform, lowers its three giant legs to the seafloor and jacks it up out of the water. Typical pay $95k.
Artificial Reef Program Biologist: Turns retired oil platforms, old ships and concrete into fish habitat on the seafloor, then studies the life that moves in. Typical pay $68k.
Starter: fastest way in
Roustabout: Entry-level offshore worker who does the heavy general labor on a rig. Typical pay $47k.
Roughneck / Floorhand: Works on the drilling floor connecting and handling heavy drill pipe. Typical pay $52k.
Offshore Galley Steward: Cooks and cleans for the crew living aboard an offshore platform. Typical pay $45k.
Offshore Blaster / Painter: Fights constant rust on offshore structures by sandblasting and painting steel. 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.