Sailors and Marine Oilers vs Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment Operators
Side-by-side · O*NET · BLS · AI-exposure research · Anthropic Economic Index
A factual, source-backed comparison of Sailors and Marine Oilers and Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment Operators 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.”
At a glance
| Dimension | Sailors and Marine Oilers | Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment Operators |
|---|---|---|
| Median pay | $49,610 | $58,710 |
| Employment | 31,360 | 469,270 |
| Employment outlook (2024–34) · BLS projection | About average (+2.3%) | About average (+3.6%) |
| Annual openings · BLS projection | 3,900 | 41,900 |
| Typical education · O*NET | Usually requires a high school diploma or GED, though some occupations may not. | Usually requires a high school diploma or GED, though some occupations may not. |
| AI exposure · published exposure studies | Low · 15th pct | Low · 30th pct |
| Global GenAI gradient · ILO ISCO-08 · via crosswalk | 15th pct · 14% of tasks | 11th pct · 13% 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: Far Vision, Operations Monitoring, Control Precision, Oral Comprehension, Problem Sensitivity, Perceptual Speed, Depth Perception, Operation and Control, Arm-Hand Steadiness, Multilimb Coordination, Auditory Attention, Manual Dexterity, Visual Color Discrimination, Monitoring, Selective Attention, Near Vision, Hearing Sensitivity, Public Safety and Security, Active Listening, Critical Thinking, Troubleshooting, Oral Expression, Deductive Reasoning, Inductive Reasoning, Information Ordering, Visualization, Reaction Time, Static Strength, Speech Recognition, Speech Clarity, Speaking.
Specific to Sailors and Marine Oilers
- Flexibility of Closure
- Repairing
- Extent Flexibility
- Gross Body Equilibrium
- Transportation
- Coordination
- Complex Problem Solving
- Quality Control Analysis
Specific to Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment Operators
- Mechanical
- Rate Control
- English Language
- Equipment Maintenance
- Response Orientation
- Time Management
- Time Sharing
- Finger Dexterity
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: Spreadsheet software , Office suite software , Electronic mail software , Operating system software , Facilities management software .
Specific to Sailors and Marine Oilers
Specific to Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment Operators
Full profiles
This page is a summary. See the complete source-backed profile for Sailors and Marine Oilers or Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment Operators — 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.
- Sailors and Marine Oilers vs Captains, Mates, and Pilots of Water Vessels
- Sailors and Marine Oilers vs Ship Engineers
- Sailors and Marine Oilers vs Riggers
- Sailors and Marine Oilers vs Motorboat Operators
- Sailors and Marine Oilers vs Dredge Operators
- Sailors and Marine Oilers vs Hoist and Winch Operators
- Sailors and Marine Oilers vs Railroad Brake, Signal, and Switch Operators and Locomotive Firers
- Sailors and Marine Oilers vs Tank Car, Truck, and Ship Loaders
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.
- O*NET 30.3 U.S. Department of Labor / National Center for O*NET Development
- BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
- BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
- Microsoft “Working with AI” working-with-ai Microsoft Research
- “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130 OpenAI / academic
- AI Occupational Exposure (AIOE) Felten, Raj & Seamans academic
- ILO / Gmyrek et al. GenAI exposure gradient 2025 International Labour Organization
- IBS O*NET-SOC ↔ ISCO-08 occupation crosswalk 2022 Institute for Structural Research (IBS)
- Frey & Osborne (2013) frey-osborne-automation academic
- Dingel & Neiman (2020) dingel-neiman-workathome academic
Data compiled June 2, 2026. Figures are estimates, not advice.
Cite this page
Singulariki. "Sailors and Marine Oilers vs Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment Operators." 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; 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/sailors-and-marine-oilers-vs-operating-engineers-and-other-construction-equipment-operators
Singulariki. (2026). Sailors and Marine Oilers vs Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment Operators. Singulariki: a source-backed encyclopedia of work. Retrieved June 7, 2026, from https://singulariki.com/compare/sailors-and-marine-oilers-vs-operating-engineers-and-other-construction-equipment-operators
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title = {Sailors and Marine Oilers vs Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment Operators},
author = {{Singulariki}},
year = {2026},
note = {O*NET 30.3; BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024; BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034; 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/sailors-and-marine-oilers-vs-operating-engineers-and-other-construction-equipment-operators}
} Citations name the underlying public dataset releases — they reflect what this page is built from, not just the URL.