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Ship Engineers vs Aircraft Structure, Surfaces, Rigging, and Systems Assemblers

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

A factual, source-backed comparison of Ship Engineers and Aircraft Structure, Surfaces, Rigging, and Systems Assemblers 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.”

Ship Engineers Aircraft Structure, Surfaces, Rigging, and Systems Assemblers
Median pay · BLS OEWS
$101,320
$61,680
Employment · BLS OEWS
8,580
32,890
AI exposure (percentile) · task overlap, not automation
4th pct
12th pct

At a glance

Dimension Ship Engineers Aircraft Structure, Surfaces, Rigging, and Systems Assemblers
Median pay $101,320 $61,680
Employment 8,580 32,890
Employment outlook (2024–34) · BLS projection About average (+1.6%) Declining (-14.5%)
Annual openings · BLS projection 1,100 2,800
Typical education · O*NET Most occupations in this zone require training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree. Usually requires a high school diploma or GED, though some occupations may not.
AI exposure · published exposure studies Low · 4th pct Low · 12th pct
Global GenAI gradient · ILO ISCO-08 · via crosswalk 42nd pct · 23% of tasks 49th pct · 27% 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: Mechanical, Oral Comprehension, Oral Expression, Problem Sensitivity, Deductive Reasoning, Critical Thinking, Equipment Maintenance, Active Listening, Monitoring, Written Comprehension, Control Precision, Near Vision, English Language, Engineering and Technology, Speaking, Speech Clarity, Public Safety and Security, Complex Problem Solving, Speech Recognition, Judgment and Decision Making, Mathematics, Inductive Reasoning, Information Ordering, Computers and Electronics, Reading Comprehension, Quality Control Analysis, Category Flexibility, Visualization, Selective Attention, Arm-Hand Steadiness, Manual Dexterity.

Specific to Ship Engineers

  • Operations Monitoring
  • Operation and Control
  • Troubleshooting
  • Repairing
  • Transportation
  • Active Learning
  • Systems Analysis
  • Written Expression

Specific to Aircraft Structure, Surfaces, Rigging, and Systems Assemblers

  • Finger Dexterity
  • Education and Training
  • Production and Processing
  • Design
  • Extent Flexibility
  • Time Management
  • Perceptual Speed
  • Multilimb Coordination

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 , Word processing software , Enterprise resource planning ERP software , Industrial control software .

Full profiles

This page is a summary. See the complete source-backed profile for Ship Engineers or Aircraft Structure, Surfaces, Rigging, and Systems Assemblers — 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. "Ship Engineers vs Aircraft Structure, Surfaces, Rigging, and Systems Assemblers." 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/ship-engineers-vs-aircraft-structure-surfaces-rigging-and-systems-assemblers

APA

Singulariki. (2026). Ship Engineers vs Aircraft Structure, Surfaces, Rigging, and Systems Assemblers. Singulariki: a source-backed encyclopedia of work. Retrieved June 7, 2026, from https://singulariki.com/compare/ship-engineers-vs-aircraft-structure-surfaces-rigging-and-systems-assemblers

BibTeX
@misc{singulariki-ship-engineers-vs-aircraft-structure-surfaces-rigging-and-systems-assemblers,
  title  = {Ship Engineers vs Aircraft Structure, Surfaces, Rigging, and Systems Assemblers},
  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/ship-engineers-vs-aircraft-structure-surfaces-rigging-and-systems-assemblers}
}

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