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Motorboat Operators vs Captains, Mates, and Pilots of Water Vessels

Side-by-side · O*NET · BLS · AI-exposure research · Anthropic Economic Index

A factual, source-backed comparison of Motorboat Operators and Captains, Mates, and Pilots of Water Vessels on the dimensions both occupations carry. Every figure is a position within an independent published dataset — not a verdict on which job is better, safer, or more “future-proof.”

Motorboat Operators Captains, Mates, and Pilots of Water Vessels
Median pay · BLS OEWS
$51,880
$85,540
Employment · BLS OEWS
2,380
35,390
AI exposure (percentile) · task overlap, not automation
1st pct
42nd pct

At a glance

Dimension Motorboat Operators Captains, Mates, and Pilots of Water Vessels
Median pay $51,880 $85,540
Employment 2,380 35,390
Employment outlook (2024–34) · BLS projection About average (+1.4%) About average (+0.5%)
Annual openings · BLS projection 300 4,300
Typical education · O*NET Usually requires a high school diploma or GED, though some occupations may not. Most occupations in this zone require training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree.
AI exposure · published exposure studies Low · 1st pct Moderate · 42nd pct
Global GenAI gradient · ILO ISCO-08 · via crosswalk 15th pct · 14% of tasks 55th pct · 29% of tasks
Observed AI use · Anthropic Economic Index — —
Mostly remote-capable · Dingel–Neiman No No

Pay and employment are BLS OEWS estimates; outlook and openings are BLS 2024–2034 projections; AI exposure and observed-use figures come from separate research and reflect exposure and usage, not predictions that either job will disappear. Compare like with like.

Skills

Shared: English Language, Control Precision, Operation and Control, Spatial Orientation, Public Safety and Security, Transportation, Operations Monitoring, Far Vision, Problem Sensitivity, Perceptual Speed, Arm-Hand Steadiness, Manual Dexterity, Oral Expression, Speech Clarity, Mechanical, Speaking, Monitoring, Deductive Reasoning, Selective Attention, Judgment and Decision Making, Time Sharing, Near Vision, Depth Perception, Active Listening, Critical Thinking, Oral Comprehension, Flexibility of Closure, Speech Recognition, Coordination.

Specific to Motorboat Operators

  • Customer and Personal Service
  • Education and Training
  • Multilimb Coordination
  • Auditory Attention
  • Equipment Maintenance
  • Response Orientation
  • Reaction Time
  • Finger Dexterity

Specific to Captains, Mates, and Pilots of Water Vessels

  • Written Comprehension
  • Inductive Reasoning
  • Information Ordering
  • Written Expression
  • Law and Government
  • Geography
  • Reading Comprehension
  • Complex Problem Solving

Knowledge, skills & abilities O*NET rates as important for each occupation. “Shared” are common to both; the columns list what is distinctive to each (top by the order O*NET surfaces).

Tools & technology

Shared: Analytical or scientific software .

Specific to Motorboat Operators

Specific to Captains, Mates, and Pilots of Water Vessels

Full profiles

This page is a summary. See the complete source-backed profile for Motorboat Operators or Captains, Mates, and Pilots of Water Vessels — tasks, the full skill graph, tools, work context, preparation, wages by percentile, industries, AI exposure and the AI work map.

More comparisons

Related occupations you can place side by side on the same sourced scale.

Sources for this page

Every figure above traces to a named public dataset and the exact release below — not hand-written opinion. See the full methodology for what each measure does and does not mean.

Data compiled June 2, 2026. Figures are estimates, not advice.

Cite this page
Plain

Singulariki. "Motorboat Operators vs Captains, Mates, and Pilots of Water Vessels." Singulariki: a source-backed encyclopedia of work. Built from O*NET 30.3; BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024; BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034; Anthropic Economic Index v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27); Microsoft “Working with AI” working-with-ai; “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130; AI Occupational Exposure (AIOE) Felten, Raj & Seamans; ILO / Gmyrek et al. GenAI exposure gradient 2025; IBS O*NET-SOC ↔ ISCO-08 occupation crosswalk 2022; Frey & Osborne (2013) frey-osborne-automation; Dingel & Neiman (2020) dingel-neiman-workathome. Accessed June 7, 2026. https://singulariki.com/compare/motorboat-operators-vs-captains-mates-and-pilots-of-water-vessels

APA

Singulariki. (2026). Motorboat Operators vs Captains, Mates, and Pilots of Water Vessels. Singulariki: a source-backed encyclopedia of work. Retrieved June 7, 2026, from https://singulariki.com/compare/motorboat-operators-vs-captains-mates-and-pilots-of-water-vessels

BibTeX 
@misc{singulariki-motorboat-operators-vs-captains-mates-and-pilots-of-water-vessels,
  title  = {Motorboat Operators vs Captains, Mates, and Pilots of Water Vessels},
  author = {{Singulariki}},
  year   = {2026},
  note   = {O*NET 30.3; BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024; BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034; Anthropic Economic Index v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27); Microsoft “Working with AI” working-with-ai; “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130; AI Occupational Exposure (AIOE) Felten, Raj & Seamans; ILO / Gmyrek et al. GenAI exposure gradient 2025; IBS O*NET-SOC ↔ ISCO-08 occupation crosswalk 2022; Frey & Osborne (2013) frey-osborne-automation; Dingel & Neiman (2020) dingel-neiman-workathome. Accessed June 7, 2026},
  url    = {https://singulariki.com/compare/motorboat-operators-vs-captains-mates-and-pilots-of-water-vessels}
}

Citations name the underlying public dataset releases — they reflect what this page is built from, not just the URL.