Skills it runs on
The capabilities O*NET rates most important for this occupation — the human ground the work is built on.
See all skills →Captains, Mates, and Pilots of Water Vessels
Occupation · SOC 53-5021.00
Command or supervise operations of ships and water vessels, such as tugboats and ferryboats. Required to hold license issued by U.S. Coast Guard.
Also called: Boat Captain · Captain · First Mate · Mate · Ferry Boat Captain · Harbor Pilot · River Pilot · Ship Pilot · Tugboat Captain · Vessel Master · Able Bodied Seaman (AB Seaman) · Able Bodied Tankerman (AB Tankerman)
Job family: Transportation and Material Moving Occupations
Take this to your AI
A source-stamped Markdown brief of this occupation — paste it into an agent, or fetch
/roles/role-53-5021-00/context.md directly.
AI work map
A fast read on where AI already shows up in this occupation, where it stays a copilot, where humans remain in the loop, and what the labor market is doing. Built from observed Claude.ai conversations mapped to O*NET tasks and from published research — measures of usage and exposure, not advice or predictions that the job is going away.
Market signal
Independent published positions, read together — not a forecast.
- About average employment outlook (+0.5% by 2034)
- 4,300 openings/yr
- Moderate AI exposure
- Median pay $85,540/yr
- Work is mostly on-site (not teleworkable)
36th-percentile task overlap — yet about 4,300 openings a year (+0.5% projected, BLS) . What exposure means →
AI & job outlook
What today's research says about this occupation's exposure to AI, how AI is actually being used in it, and where employment is headed. These are positions within published studies — measures of exposure and usage, not predictions that this job will disappear.
Exposure to current AI
Each study uses its own scale, so the raw scores are not comparable across rows — the percentile (this job's rank among all U.S. occupations with data) is the comparable figure, and sizes the bars.
| Measure | Rank vs all occupations | Percentile | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall AI exposure (Felten et al.) Moderate | 37th | -0.4 | |
| LLM task exposure, γ (OpenAI / Eloundou) Moderate | 34th | 0.3 | |
| AI assistant applicability (Microsoft) Moderate | 42nd | 0.1 |
OpenAI's exposure study scores tasks three ways: with a language model alone (α 0.2), with simple added tooling (β 0.3), and including AI-powered software (γ 0.3). Higher means more of the job's tasks could be done at least twice as fast — not that they will be automated away.
This job mostly cannot be done remotely (Dingel–Neiman) — its hands-on tasks sit outside what software-based AI reaches.
Historical automation estimate (2013)
A pre-LLM (2013) estimate of how automatable this job is by computerization and robotics. Shown for historical context only — it is not part of any current AI ranking.
Frey–Osborne probability 0.3 · 38th percentile among occupations · Moderate
How AI is actually used in this job
Among measured AI assistant conversations mapped to this occupation (Anthropic Economic Index, 2026-01-15), these task types came up most. These are shares of observed AI conversations — not shares of the job, of worker time, or of what could be automated.
| Maintain records of daily activities, personnel reports, ship positions and movements, ports of call, weather and sea conditions, pollution control efforts, or cargo or passenger status. | 0.2% |
Job outlook
Independent U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics employment projection for 2024–2034 — a labor-market forecast, not an AI-impact forecast.
| Outlook | About average · +0.5% by 2034 |
| Projected annual openings | 4,300 |
| Employment 2024 → 2034 | 40,700 → 40,900 |
“Annual openings” counts new jobs plus replacements for workers who leave the occupation, so it can be large even when growth is modest.
Where this work sits on the global GenAI gradient
The ILO's 2025 global study scores generative-AI exposure on the international ISCO-08 occupation system, not US SOC. Bridged through the published (and approximate, many-to-many) IBS O*NET-SOC ↔ ISCO-08 crosswalk, this US occupation corresponds to the international occupation below. Exposure here means how much of the work's tasks today's AI can attempt — task overlap, not automation, adoption, or jobs lost.
Captains, Mates, and Pilots of Water Vessels sits at the 55th percentile of 427
occupations on the global GenAI task-exposure gradient
— exposure eased from 2023 to 2025. Each dot is one occupation; the
ringed one is this work. Exposure is task overlap, not automation or jobs lost.
29% mean task exposure (2025)
55th percentile of 427 placed occupations
−6 pts shift 2023 → 2025
| International occupation (ISCO-08) | Task exposure (2025) | Most tasks fall in |
|---|---|---|
| Ships' Deck Officers and Pilots · 3152 | 29% | Not exposed |
Read the whole six-band gradient on the GenAI exposure gradient page. The crosswalk is approximate: a US occupation can map to several international ones, and the ILO scores describe the international occupation, not this exact US role.
Tasks
All 30 tasks O*NET lists for this occupation, ordered by importance. Each links to its own page with AI-exposure and observed-use detail.
- Direct courses and speeds of ships, based on specialized knowledge of local winds, weather, water depths, tides, currents, and hazards. Core · importance 5.0
- Prevent ships under navigational control from engaging in unsafe operations. Core · importance 4.9
- Serve as a vessel's docking master upon arrival at a port or at a berth. Core · importance 4.9
- Consult maps, charts, weather reports, or navigation equipment to determine and direct ship movements. Core · importance 4.8
- Steer and operate vessels, using radios, depth finders, radars, lights, buoys, or lighthouses. Core · importance 4.8
- Operate ship-to-shore radios to exchange information needed for ship operations. Core · importance 4.7
- Dock or undock vessels, sometimes maneuvering through narrow spaces, such as locks. Core · importance 4.7
- Stand watches on vessels during specified periods while vessels are under way. Core · importance 4.6
- Inspect vessels to ensure efficient and safe operation of vessels and equipment and conformance to regulations. Core · importance 4.6
- Read gauges to verify sufficient levels of hydraulic fluid, air pressure, or oxygen. Core · importance 4.6
- Tow and maneuver barges or signal tugboats to tow barges to destinations. Supplemental · importance 4.5
- Report to appropriate authorities any violations of federal or state pilotage laws. Core · importance 4.5
- Provide assistance in maritime rescue operations. Core · importance 4.5
- Signal passing vessels, using whistles, flashing lights, flags, or radios. Core · importance 4.4
- Measure depths of water, using depth-measuring equipment. Core · importance 4.4
- Maintain boats or equipment on board, such as engines, winches, navigational systems, fire extinguishers, or life preservers. Core · importance 4.3
- Signal crew members or deckhands to rig tow lines, open or close gates or ramps, or pull guard chains across entries. Core · importance 4.3
- Perform various marine duties, such as checking for oil spills or other pollutants around ports or harbors or patrolling beaches. Supplemental · importance 4.3
- Advise ships' masters on harbor rules and customs procedures. Core · importance 4.3
- Maintain records of daily activities, personnel reports, ship positions and movements, ports of call, weather and sea conditions, pollution control efforts, or cargo or passenger status. Core · importance 4.3
- Observe loading or unloading of cargo or equipment to ensure that handling and storage are performed according to specifications. Core · importance 4.2
- Calculate sightings of land, using electronic sounding devices and following contour lines on charts. Core · importance 4.2
- Learn to operate new technology systems and procedures through instruction, simulators, or models. Core · importance 4.2
- Direct or coordinate crew members or workers performing activities such as loading or unloading cargo, steering vessels, operating engines, or operating, maintaining, or repairing ship equipment. Core · importance 4.1
- Arrange for ships to be fueled, restocked with supplies, or repaired. Core · importance 4.1
- Assign watches or living quarters to crew members. Supplemental · importance 3.5
- Supervise crews in cleaning or maintaining decks, superstructures, or bridges. Core · importance 3.5
- Purchase supplies or equipment. Core · importance 3.5
- Interview and hire crew members. Supplemental · importance 3.2
- Conduct safety drills such as man overboard or fire drills.
Emerging tasks
Newer responsibilities O*NET has flagged as growing for this occupation.
- Oversee the use of drones for inspection and maintenance of hard-to-reach parts of the vessel.
Work activities
- Choose optimal transportation routes or speeds.
- Direct passenger or freight transport activities.
- Read maps to determine routes.
- Operate ships or other watercraft.
- Operate communications equipment or systems.
- Monitor surroundings to detect potential hazards.
- Monitor equipment operation to ensure proper functioning.
- Monitor equipment gauges or displays to ensure proper operation.
- Notify others of emergencies, problems, or hazards.
- Assist others during emergencies.
- Signal others to coordinate vehicle movement.
- Measure the level or depth of water or other liquids.
- Maintain watercraft engines or machinery.
- Communicate with others to coordinate material handling or movement.
- Explain regulations, policies, or procedures.
- Record operational details of travel.
- Monitor work environment to ensure safety or adherence to specifications.
- Determine geographic coordinates.
- Maintain professional knowledge or certifications.
- Direct maintenance or repair activities.
- Direct material handling or moving activities.
- Arrange maintenance activities.
- Acquire supplies or equipment.
- Recommend personnel decisions or human resources activities.
- Provide safety training.
Knowledge, skills & abilities
O*NET importance rating, from 1 (not important) to 5 (extremely important).
Knowledge
| Transportation | 4.1 | |
| Public Safety and Security | 3.8 | |
| Mechanical | 3.4 | |
| Law and Government | 3.4 | |
| English Language | 3.3 | |
| Geography | 3.3 |
Abilities
| Oral Comprehension | 3.9 | |
| Oral Expression | 3.9 | |
| Problem Sensitivity | 3.8 | |
| Deductive Reasoning | 3.8 | |
| Spatial Orientation | 3.8 | |
| Far Vision | 3.8 | |
| Written Comprehension | 3.6 | |
| Arm-Hand Steadiness | 3.6 | |
| Control Precision | 3.6 | |
| Near Vision | 3.6 | |
| Speech Clarity | 3.6 | |
| Inductive Reasoning | 3.5 | |
| Information Ordering | 3.5 | |
| Perceptual Speed | 3.5 | |
| Speech Recognition | 3.5 | |
| Written Expression | 3.4 | |
| Flexibility of Closure | 3.4 | |
| Manual Dexterity | 3.4 | |
| Depth Perception | 3.4 | |
| Category Flexibility | 3.3 | |
| Visualization | 3.3 | |
| Selective Attention | 3.3 | |
| Time Sharing | 3.3 |
Transferable skills
| Operation and Control | 3.6 | |
| Operations Monitoring | 3.4 | |
| Judgment and Decision Making | 3.4 | |
| Coordination | 3.3 | |
| Complex Problem Solving | 3.3 | |
| Management of Personnel Resources | 3.3 |
Essential skills
| Speaking | 3.5 | |
| Monitoring | 3.5 | |
| Active Listening | 3.4 | |
| Critical Thinking | 3.4 | |
| Reading Comprehension | 3.3 |
Skills in demand
Skills employers ask for in job postings for this occupation (Lightcast), with whether each is a common or specialized skill.
Tools & technology
Work context
How characteristic each condition is of the job, on O*NET's 1–5 context scale (higher = more present in day-to-day work). Each condition links to how it varies across all occupations.
How to get in
- Job zone
- Zone 3 — Job Zone Three: Medium Preparation Needed
- Education
- Most occupations in this zone require training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree.
- Typical entry-level education
- Postsecondary nondegree award · BLS, the typical path — not a requirement
- Related experience
- Previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is required for these occupations. For example, an electrician must have completed three or four years of apprenticeship or several years of vocational training, and often must have passed a licensing exam, in order to perform the job.
- Preparation level
- SVP (6.0 to < 7.0) — total schooling plus on-the-job experience.
What to study: Transportation and Materials Moving . Fields of study crosswalked to this occupation (NCES CIP–SOC), not a requirement.
Education of current workers
Share of people in this occupation at each level of education.
| High School Diploma | 42.0% | |
| Post-Secondary Certificate | 36.6% | |
| Bachelor's Degree | 8.4% | |
| Some College Courses | 5.5% | |
| Less than a High School Diploma | 4.5% | |
| Associate's Degree (or other 2-year degree) | 2.2% | |
| Master's Degree | 0.5% | |
| First Professional Degree | 0.4% |
Interests & work styles
The interests and personal qualities O*NET associates with people who do this work.
Work styles
| Dependability | 9.0 | |
| Attention to Detail | 8.0 | |
| Integrity | 7.0 | |
| Cautiousness | 6.0 | |
| Self-Control | 5.0 | |
| Stress Tolerance | 4.0 | |
| Perseverance | 3.0 | |
| Leadership Orientation | 3.0 |
Interest areas
| Transportation/Machine Operation | 6.3 | |
| Management/Administration | 4.6 | |
| Nature/Outdoors | 3.6 | |
| Mechanics/Electronics | 3.5 | |
| Engineering | 3.0 |
Career interests (Holland / RIASEC)
| Realistic | 5.6 | |
| Conventional | 4.6 | |
| Enterprising | 4.2 |
Wages & employment
U.S. · annual wages (BLS OEWS)
| 10th percentile | $46,260 |
| 25th percentile | $60,800 |
| Median (50th) | $85,540 |
| 75th percentile | $124,530 |
| 90th percentile | $164,230 |
| People employed | 35,390 |
Industries that employ this occupation
Where these workers are employed, by number of jobs (national, BLS OEWS). Pay shown is the occupation's national median, not industry-specific.
| Industry | Workers | National median pay |
|---|---|---|
| Transportation and Warehousing · Sector | 26,550 | $92,440 |
| Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation · Sector | 1,210 | $59,900 |
| Construction · Sector | 1,130 | $82,390 |
| Real Estate and Rental and Leasing · Sector | 690 | $85,520 |
| Mining, Quarrying, and Oil and Gas Extraction · Sector | 560 | $128,740 |
| Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services · Sector | 550 | $61,080 |
| Educational Services · Sector | 370 | $64,460 |
| Wholesale Trade · Sector | 350 | $138,780 |
| Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services · Sector | 340 | $74,790 |
| Manufacturing · Sector | 280 | $82,970 |
| Management of Companies and Enterprises · Sector | 230 | — |
| Engineering Services · National industry | 140 | $72,990 |
Where this work is most concentrated
Industries where this occupation is far more common than in the economy as a whole. The location quotient is how many times more concentrated it is here (a value of 5 means five times its economy-wide share).
| Industry | Concentration | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Transportation and Warehousing · Sector | 15.65× | 26,550 |
| Mining, Quarrying, and Oil and Gas Extraction · Sector | 4.25× | 560 |
| Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation · Sector | 2× | 1,210 |
| Real Estate and Rental and Leasing · Sector | 1.27× | 690 |
| Construction · Sector | 0.61× | 1,130 |
| Engineering Services · National industry | 0.53× | 140 |
| Management of Companies and Enterprises · Sector | 0.36× | 230 |
| Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services · Sector | 0.27× | 550 |
Related occupations
Part of the Supply Chain & Transportation career cluster.
- Sailors and Marine Oilers · 53-5011.00 Compare →
- Motorboat Operators · 53-5022.00 Compare →
- Ship Engineers · 53-5031.00 Compare →
- Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineers · 53-2011.00 Compare →
- Commercial Pilots · 53-2012.00 Compare →
- Transportation Inspectors · 53-6051.00 Compare →
- Bridge and Lock Tenders · 53-6011.00 Compare →
- Aircraft Cargo Handling Supervisors · 53-1041.00 Compare →
- Locomotive Engineers · 53-4011.00 Compare →
- Dredge Operators · 53-7031.00 Compare →
- Fishing and Hunting Workers · 45-3031.00 Compare →
- Riggers · 49-9096.00 Compare →
Side-by-side comparisons place two occupations’ pay, preparation, skills, and AI exposure on the same page — same data, same scale, no forecast.
What you can do with this
Options the data surfaces for Captains, Mates, and Pilots of Water Vessels — not advice or a forecast. Each is a real cross-link you can follow into the evidence.
Skills that travel
Capabilities this work builds that are used across many other occupations.
Adjacent roles
Occupations O*NET rates as related — the nearby moves on the map.
Paths in
How people typically prepare for this work.
- Postsecondary nondegree award · typical entry level
- Job zone 3 — Job Zone Three: Medium Preparation Needed · preparation tier
- Transportation and Materials Moving · field of study
Zoom out
On the global GenAI exposure gradient this work sits around the 55th percentile of 427 international occupations.
Write a report on thisheadline · factoids · citation
Captains, Mates, and Pilots of Water Vessels show 36th-percentile AI task overlap — and about 4,300 annual U.S. openings
- Captains, Mates, and Pilots of Water Vessels rank in the 36th percentile (Moderate band) for AI task overlap across U.S. occupations — a measure of how much of the work today's AI can attempt, not how much is automated.Eloundou et al. (GPTs are GPTs) + Felten AIOE
- The occupation is projected to see about 4,300 U.S. job openings per year (2024–34), counting growth and replacement — a labor-demand projection made independently of AI.BLS Employment Projections 2024–34
- BLS projects employment to be about average (+0.5%) from 2024 to 2034.BLS Employment Projections 2024–34
- Median annual pay is $85,540, across about 35,390 U.S. workers.BLS OEWS (May 2024)
Copy the whole kit
Captains, Mates, and Pilots of Water Vessels show 36th-percentile AI task overlap — and about 4,300 annual U.S. openings • Captains, Mates, and Pilots of Water Vessels rank in the 36th percentile (Moderate band) for AI task overlap across U.S. occupations — a measure of how much of the work today's AI can attempt, not how much is automated. (Eloundou et al. (GPTs are GPTs) + Felten AIOE) • The occupation is projected to see about 4,300 U.S. job openings per year (2024–34), counting growth and replacement — a labor-demand projection made independently of AI. (BLS Employment Projections 2024–34) • BLS projects employment to be about average (+0.5%) from 2024 to 2034. (BLS Employment Projections 2024–34) • Median annual pay is $85,540, across about 35,390 U.S. workers. (BLS OEWS (May 2024)) Source: Singulariki — "Captains, Mates, and Pilots of Water Vessels". https://singulariki.com/roles/role-53-5021-00 Note: AI task overlap measures what today's AI can attempt, not automation, job loss, or a forecast.
AssetsShare imageMethodology & sourcesPress & newsroomThe newsroom
Every line is built only from figures this page already shows and cites. AI task overlap means what today's AI can attempt — not automation, job loss, or a forecast.
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
- Anthropic Economic Index v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27) Anthropic
- 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
Plain
Singulariki. "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/roles/role-53-5021-00
APA
Singulariki. (2026). Captains, Mates, and Pilots of Water Vessels. Singulariki: a source-backed encyclopedia of work. Retrieved June 7, 2026, from https://singulariki.com/roles/role-53-5021-00
BibTeX
@misc{singulariki-role-53-5021-00,
title = {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/roles/role-53-5021-00}
} Citations name the underlying public dataset releases — they reflect what this page is built from, not just the URL.