Transportation and Material Moving · Holland code RCI
Sailors and Marine Oilers
Stand watch to look for obstructions in path of vessel, measure water depth, turn wheel on bridge, or use emergency equipment as directed by captain, mate, or pilot. Break out, rig, overhaul, and store cargo-handling gear, stationary rigging, and running gear. Perform a variety of maintenance tasks to preserve the painted surface of the ship and to maintain line and ship equipment. Must hold government-issued certification and tankerman certification when working aboard liquid-carrying vessels. Includes able seamen and ordinary seamen.
Also called: AB Seaman (Able Bodied Seaman), Able Seaman, Deckhand, Deckhand Engineer, AB Watchman (Able Bodied Watchman), Deck Hand, Oiler, Pilot Boat Deckhand.
O*NET 53-5011.00
At a glance
- US median annual pay
- $51,520
- Middle half earn $41,430 to $67,590. BLS OEWS, May 2025.
- Preparation needed
- Job Zone 2 of 5
- Some preparation. Zone 1 is little or none; zone 5 is graduate-level.
What the work involves
The tasks workers in this occupation rate as most important, from the O*NET survey.
- Maintain government-issued certifications, as required.
- Handle lines to moor vessels to wharfs, to tie up vessels to other vessels, or to rig towing lines.
- Lower and man lifeboats when emergencies occur.
- Stand watch in ships' bows or bridge wings to look for obstructions in a ship's path or to locate navigational aids, such as buoys or lighthouses.
- Steer ships under the direction of commanders or navigating officers or direct helmsmen to steer, following designated courses.
- Tie barges together into tow units for tugboats to handle, inspecting barges periodically during voyages and disconnecting them when destinations are reached.
- Overhaul lifeboats or lifeboat gear and lower or raise lifeboats with winches or falls.
- Examine machinery to verify specified pressures or lubricant flows.
Skills and knowledge it leans on
Skills
- Monitoring3.5 / 5
- Reading Comprehension3.0 / 5
- Active Listening3.0 / 5
- Speaking3.0 / 5
- Critical Thinking3.0 / 5
- Active Learning3.0 / 5
Knowledge areas
- Transportation3.9 / 5
- English Language3.2 / 5
- Public Safety and Security3.1 / 5
- Geography3.0 / 5
- Mechanical3.0 / 5
- Education and Training2.9 / 5
Importance ratings on O*NET’s 1 to 5 scale. Higher means the occupation depends on it more.
Who tends to enjoy it
How strongly this occupation draws on each of the six Holland interest types, which is the same profile the career interests test compares you against.
- Realistic100
- Investigative27
- Artistic0
- Social4
- Enterprising24
- Conventional49
The same work abroad
Other countries classify jobs differently, so these are the closest matches through the international ISCO-08 standard, not exact equivalents.
European occupation titles (ESCO)
- deck officer · DE Erster Nautischer Schiffsoffizier/Erste Nautische Schiffsoffizierin · FR officier de pont/officière de pont
- helmsman · DE Steuermann Binnenschifffahrt/Steuerfrau Binnenschifffahrt · FR timonier/timonière
- shipwright · DE Bootsbauer/Bootsbauerin · FR charpentier de marine/charpentière de marine
- boat rigger · DE Takler/Taklerin · FR accastilleur/accastilleuse
- marine mechanic · DE Schiffsmechaniker/Schiffsmechanikerin · FR mécanicien de marine/mécanicienne de marine
- boatswain · DE Bootsmann/Bootsfrau · FR maître d’équipage à la pêche/maîtresse d’équipage à la pêche
Closest UK occupation groups (SOC 2020)
- Steel erectors (5311)8,200 employed
- Rail and rolling stock builders and repairers (5236)16,800 employed
- Marine and waterways transport operatives (8232)6,700 employed
Employment is the UK Annual Population Survey for April 2025 to March 2026, all workers in the group, which can be broader than this one occupation.
Pay across Europe, for the whole group
Median annual earnings of all employees in “Plant and machine operators and assemblers”. This is the broad ISCO group this occupation falls in, not the occupation itself, so treat it as context for the wage level, not as a salary for this job.
| Country | Median pay |
|---|---|
| Belgium | €39,630 |
| Netherlands | €37,567 |
| Austria | €37,304 |
| Sweden | €36,005 |
| Germany | €34,433 |
| Ireland | €32,617 |
| France | €28,550 |
| Italy | €28,330 |
| Spain | €24,409 |
| Portugal | €11,309 |
| Poland | €10,259 |
Eurostat Structure of Earnings Survey, businesses with ten or more employees outside public administration, in euro and not adjusted for the cost of living. Reference years differ between sources: the US, Japan and Europe figures on this page come from different survey years, so compare them as rough levels, not to the euro or yen.
Exposure to AI
This occupation sits in the lower third of the 774 occupations scored, with an exposure score of -1.15. The scores are standardized across those occupations, so 0 is the average and a score of 1 is about one standard deviation above it.
Our note on reading it: the dataset links AI applications to the abilities that occupations require, so the score reflects overlap between the two. It is a comparison between occupations, not a forecast about jobs. It does not say whether exposure means tasks are replaced or workers get more done with the tools, and it says little about one employer or one role.
Source: Felten, E., Raj, M., & Seamans, R. (2021). Occupational, industry, and geographic exposure to artificial intelligence: A novel dataset and its potential uses. Strategic Management Journal, 42(12), 2195-2217. Matched to this page by 6-digit SOC code (53-5011).
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