Salary Range
  • New York State $61,500-$121,490 per year
  • Central New York
  • Finger Lakes $49,440-$67,920 per year
  • Hudson Valley $59,750-$119,180 per year
  • Long Island $55,940-$112,370 per year
  • Mohawk Valley $44,260-$68,310 per year
  • New York City $68,610-$127,770 per year
  • North Country $47,390-$85,130 per year
  • Southern Tier
  • Western New York $57,440-$104,720 per year
Example Job Titles
  • Boat Captain
  • Boat Operator
  • Captain
  • Ferry Boat Captain
  • First Mate
  • Ship Captain
  • Ship Pilot
  • Tugboat Captain
  • Tugboat Mate
  • Vessel Master
Jobs with Transferable Skills
  • First-Line Supervisors of Animal Husbandry and Animal Care Workers
  • First-Line Supervisors of Construction Trades and Extraction Workers
  • First-Line Supervisors of Mechanics, Installers, and Repairers
  • Forest and Conservation Technicians
  • Forest Fire Fighting and Prevention Supervisors
  • Forest Firefighters
  • Municipal Fire Fighting and Prevention Supervisors
  • Municipal Firefighters
  • Pilots, Ship
  • Ship Engineers
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Captains, Mates, and Pilots of Water Vessels

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Job Type:

Captains, Mates, and Pilots of Water Vessels

Typical Education:

Apprenticeship/Postsecondary Training

Skills:
  • Operation and Control
  • Monitoring
  • Speaking
  • Active Listening
  • Critical Thinking
  • Judgment and Decision Making
  • Operations Monitoring
Typical Tasks:
  1. Direct courses and speeds of ships, based on specialized knowledge of local winds, weather, water depths, tides, currents, and hazards.
  2. Prevent ships under navigational control from engaging in unsafe operations.
  3. Serve as a vessel's docking master upon arrival at a port or at a berth.
  4. Consult maps, charts, weather reports, or navigation equipment to determine and direct ship movements.
  5. Steer and operate vessels, using radios, depth finders, radars, lights, buoys, or lighthouses.
Training Opportunities
Day in the Life: Ship Captain