Transportation and Material Moving Occupations
BLS May 2025 wages Wide pay band SOC 53-5031

Ship Engineers

The published band from $57,870 to $165,490 is the distinctive signal for this role, not a twin of Captains, Mates, and Pilots of Water Vessels.

Full salary details → About this data

Same-major-group titles next to Ship Engineers: Captains, Mates, and Pilots of Water Vessels ($92K) , Rail Yard Engineers, Dinkey Operators, and Hostlers ($61K) , Wellhead Pumpers ($70K) , Railroad Brake, Signal, and Switch Operators and Locomotive Firers ($69K) . Hash-ordered per card so residual SOC siblings do not share an identical peer sentence.

What Ship Engineers publish as work

O*NET task statements for SOC 53-5031 - occupation-level descriptions, not every employer's posting. Sibling cards diverge here because the task set is entity-keyed.

  1. 1. Monitor engine, machinery, or equipment indicators when vessels are underway, and report abnormalities to appropriate shipboard staff
  2. 2. Monitor the availability, use, or condition of lifesaving equipment or pollution preventatives to ensure that international regulations a…
  3. 3. Monitor and test operations of engines or other equipment so that malfunctions and their causes can be identified
  4. 4. Start engines to propel ships, and regulate engines and power transmissions to control speeds of ships, according to directions from capt…
  5. 5. Perform or participate in emergency drills, as required
  6. 6. Perform general marine vessel maintenance or repair work, such as repairing leaks, finishing interiors, refueling, or maintaining decks
  7. 7. Maintain or repair engines, electric motors, pumps, winches, or other mechanical or electrical equipment, or assist other crew members wi…
  8. 8. Maintain complete records of engineering department activities, including machine operations
  9. 9. Operate or maintain off-loading liquid pumps or valves
  10. 10. Maintain electrical power, heating, ventilation, refrigeration, water, or sewerage systems
  11. 11. Install engine controls, propeller shafts, or propellers
  12. 12. Clean engine parts and keep engine rooms clean

Ship Engineers: O*NET ranks Critical Thinking first

Importance-ranked O*NET profile for SOC 53-5031 - lead skill Critical Thinking at 3.9 ; lead knowledge Mechanical. Sibling cards diverge here even when peer titles overlap.

Top skills

  1. 1. Critical Thinking 3.9
  2. 2. Operations Monitoring 3.9
  3. 3. Operation and Control 3.9
  4. 4. Equipment Maintenance 3.8
  5. 5. Troubleshooting 3.8
  6. 6. Repairing 3.8
  7. 7. Active Listening 3.6
  8. 8. Monitoring 3.6

Knowledge areas

  1. 1. Mechanical 4.5
  2. 2. English Language 3.5
  3. 3. Engineering and Technology 3.5
  4. 4. Public Safety and Security 3.5
  5. 5. Transportation 3.3
  6. 6. Mathematics 3.3
Published pay band (10th to 90th)
$57,870 to $165,490
median $109,530 · ~2.9× spread
$110K
National median
↑ +2%
Growth 2024-2034
1,100
Annual openings
8,400
Estimated US jobs
Captains, Mates, and Pilots of Water Vessels
Highest-pay peer · $92K

Typical Entry and Preparation Assignments

Entry education Postsecondary nondegree award
Related experience Less than 5 years

Top Paying States for Ship Engineers

1. Connecticut $119,010
2. Hawaii $131,640
3. New York $133,640
4. New Jersey $118,310
5. Massachusetts $122,720
6. Florida $130,480
7. Rhode Island $119,330
8. Indiana $122,190
9. Kentucky $120,550
10. Texas $127,810

Other Transportation and Material Moving Occupations titles

  1. 1. Wellhead Pumpers $69,960
  2. 2. Rail Yard Engineers, Dinkey Operators, and Hostlers $60,600
  3. 3. Railroad Brake, Signal, and Switch Operators and Locomotive Firers $68,840
  4. 4. First-Line Supervisors of Transportation and Material Moving Workers, Except Aircraft Cargo Handling Supervisors $62,890
  5. 5. Captains, Mates, and Pilots of Water Vessels $92,460
  6. 6. Crane and Tower Operators $68,080

The OEWS band for Ship Engineers runs from $57,870 (10th) to $165,490 (90th), about 2.9× wide, with median $109,530. That spread, not the midpoint alone, is the distinctive published fact.

Employment Projections expect +2% change between 2024 and 2034 (about as fast as average vs baseline 3.1%). About 1,100 annual openings are projected. BLS assigns Postsecondary nondegree award as typical education needed for entry and less than 5 years as the typical related-work-experience category. These are occupation-level assignments, not universal requirements. BLS does not publish a separate occupation-specific safety rate for this role; its broad SOC-group rate is excluded from this career card's grade.

Highest published state median in this ranking: Connecticut at $119,010. The table records differences without proving causes. Highest-pay peer shown here: Captains, Mates, and Pilots of Water Vessels at $92,460. Compare the same statistic in the relevant local wage area before treating the national median as a personal benchmark; OEWS excludes employer benefits.

Ship Engineers pay-rank #4 in Transportation and Material Moving Occupations

Among 50 detailed Transportation and Material Moving Occupations with a published OEWS median, Ship Engineers is pay-rank #4, the upper third of that major group. The order is ROW_NUMBER on national median (title as tiebreak), not a worker-level percentile.

Other upper-third titles · closest medians

Full Salary Details Compare this role

Data from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025. Projections from BLS Employment Projections program, 2024-2034.

SOC 53-5031 · national median $109,530 · upper third of Transportation and Material Moving Occupations (#4/50). Open the full OEWS map or a named state before treating the card median as a local ask.

Ship Engineers salary map

State, metro, and percentile for SOC 53-5031

Connecticut · top state for Ship Engineers

$119K published median

Hawaii · #2 state pay

$132K · behind Connecticut

Captains, Mates, and Pilots of Water Vessels

Highest-pay peer vs Ship Engineers · $92K

Rail Yard Engineers, Dinkey Operators, and Hostlers

Lower-pay peer beside Ship Engineers · $61K

Compare Ship Engineers

Head-to-head OEWS medians with another SOC
Compare Ship Engineers with another occupation →

Pay-band next reads

Entry-Level vs Experienced Pay

What percentile bands reveal

Using Salary Data for Negotiation

Leverage BLS percentiles

Frequently Asked Questions

Which Transportation and Material Moving Occupations titles sit near Ship Engineers at the top of the pay table? ▼
Ship Engineers is pay-rank #4 of 50 detailed Transportation and Material Moving Occupations with an OEWS median, upper third. Nearest upper-third titles: Commercial Pilots ($123K), Captains, Mates, and Pilots of Water Vessels ($92K), Transportation Inspectors ($92K), Subway and Streetcar Operators ($86K). Rank is ROW_NUMBER on national median.
What do ship engineers do day to day? ▼
O*NET lists published task statements for Ship Engineers. Leading ones include: Monitor engine, machinery, or equipment indicators when vessels are underway, and report abnormalities to appropriate shipboard staff; Monitor the availability, use, or condition of lifesaving equipment or pollution preventatives to ensure that international regulations a…; Monitor and test operations of engines or other equipment so that malfunctions and their causes can be identified; Start engines to propel ships, and regulate engines and power transmissions to control speeds of ships, according to directions from capt…. These are occupation-level task descriptions, not every employer's job description.
Which O*NET skills rank highest for ship engineers? ▼
For SOC 53-5031, O*NET importance scores lead with Critical Thinking (3.9), Operations Monitoring (3.9), Operation and Control (3.9), Equipment Maintenance (3.8). Knowledge areas emphasize Mechanical, English Language, Engineering and Technology. These are occupation-level profiles, not a hiring checklist for every employer.
How wide is the published pay band for Ship Engineers? ▼
OEWS places the 10th percentile at $57,870 and the 90th at $165,490 for Ship Engineers (2.9× spread). The national median is $109,530. OEWS does not isolate experience, employer, or geography as the cause of that spread.
What employment change does BLS publish for Ship Engineers? ▼
The 2024-2034 projection for Ship Engineers is +2%. Projected annual openings: about 1,100. Relative to the current all-occupations baseline of 3.1%: about as fast as average.
What typical entry education does BLS assign to Ship Engineers? ▼
BLS assigns Postsecondary nondegree award as the typical-education-needed-for-entry category for Ship Engineers. Related-work-experience category: less than 5 years. These are occupation-level labels, not every employer's hiring rule.
Which three states show the highest OEWS medians for Ship Engineers? ▼
Connecticut ($119,010), Hawaii ($131,640), New York ($133,640) lead this ranking. The table does not identify why those state estimates differ.

Source data and WageDex calculations are identified in context on this page. Wage and state figures use BLS OEWS May 2025; growth and education use BLS Employment Projections for 2024-2034; safety fields cite BLS CFOI/SOII; task statements cite O*NET where shown. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.

Disclaimer: Wage and outlook figures on this page are provided for informational purposes only and do not constitute career, financial, or salary-negotiation advice. Actual pay varies by employer, experience, and local conditions; consult a career counselor or the hiring employer for guidance specific to your situation.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OES Occupational wage estimates by area and industry · 2025

Federal sources on this Ship Engineers card
  • BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS / OES) - national median and percentiles for SOC 53-5031. bls.gov/oes
  • O*NET OnLine - task and skill statements for Ship Engineers. onetcenter.org
  • BLS Employment Projections - 2024-2034 change and openings for this occupation. bls.gov/emp
  • U.S. Census Bureau ACS - demographic and labor-force context for state and metro geography. census.gov/programs-surveys/acs
  • IRS Statistics of Income (SOI) - payroll-tax aggregate context for wage comparisons. irs.gov/statistics