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Ship Engineers vs Stationary Engineers and Boiler Operators

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

A factual, source-backed comparison of Ship Engineers and Stationary Engineers and Boiler 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.”

Ship Engineers Stationary Engineers and Boiler Operators
Median pay · BLS OEWS
$101,320
$75,190
Employment · BLS OEWS
8,580
30,780
AI exposure (percentile) · task overlap, not automation
4th pct
28th pct

At a glance

Dimension Ship Engineers Stationary Engineers and Boiler Operators
Median pay $101,320 $75,190
Employment 8,580 30,780
Employment outlook (2024–34) · BLS projection About average (+1.6%) About average (+2.2%)
Annual openings · BLS projection 1,100 3,800
Typical education · O*NET Most occupations in this zone require training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree. 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 · 4th pct Low · 28th pct
Global GenAI gradient · ILO ISCO-08 · via crosswalk 42nd pct · 23% of tasks 32nd pct · 20% 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, Operations Monitoring, Operation and Control, Equipment Maintenance, Troubleshooting, Repairing, Active Listening, Monitoring, Written Comprehension, Control Precision, Near Vision, English Language, Engineering and Technology, Public Safety and Security, Complex Problem Solving, Active Learning, Judgment and Decision Making, Mathematics, Inductive Reasoning, Information Ordering, Computers and Electronics, Reading Comprehension, Quality Control Analysis, Category Flexibility, Selective Attention, Arm-Hand Steadiness, Manual Dexterity.

Specific to Ship Engineers

  • Speaking
  • Speech Clarity
  • Speech Recognition
  • Transportation
  • Systems Analysis
  • Written Expression
  • Flexibility of Closure
  • Visualization

Specific to Stationary Engineers and Boiler Operators

  • Chemistry
  • Perceptual Speed
  • Physics
  • Coordination
  • Finger Dexterity
  • Multilimb Coordination
  • Reaction Time
  • Auditory Attention

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: Data base user interface and query software , Spreadsheet software , Office suite software , Electronic mail software , Presentation software , Word processing software , Enterprise resource planning ERP software , Facilities management software .

Specific to Ship Engineers

Specific to Stationary Engineers and Boiler Operators

Full profiles

This page is a summary. See the complete source-backed profile for Ship Engineers or Stationary Engineers and Boiler 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.

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 Stationary Engineers and Boiler 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; 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-stationary-engineers-and-boiler-operators

APA

Singulariki. (2026). Ship Engineers vs Stationary Engineers and Boiler Operators. Singulariki: a source-backed encyclopedia of work. Retrieved June 7, 2026, from https://singulariki.com/compare/ship-engineers-vs-stationary-engineers-and-boiler-operators

BibTeX 
@misc{singulariki-ship-engineers-vs-stationary-engineers-and-boiler-operators,
  title  = {Ship Engineers vs Stationary Engineers and Boiler Operators},
  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-stationary-engineers-and-boiler-operators}
}

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