What You Need to Know About Ship Mate
Job Description: Supervise or coordinate activities of crew aboard ships, boats, barges, or dredges.
Life As a Ship Mate: What Do They Do?
- Supervise crews in cleaning or maintaining decks, superstructures, or bridges.
- Observe water from ships’ mastheads to advise on navigational direction.
- Participate in activities related to maintenance of vessel security.
- Assume command of vessels in the event that ships’ masters become incapacitated.
- Determine geographical positions of ships, using lorans, azimuths of celestial bodies, or computers, and use this information to determine the course and speed of a ship.
- Inspect equipment, such as cargo-handling gear, lifesaving equipment, visual-signaling equipment, or fishing, towing, or dredging gear, to detect problems.
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Ship Mate Skills
Ship Mates state the following job skills are important in their day-to-day work.
Operation Monitoring: Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.
Operation and Control: Controlling operations of equipment or systems.
Active Listening: Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
Critical Thinking: Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
Monitoring: Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
Speaking: Talking to others to convey information effectively.
Related Job Titles
- Skipper
- Dock Hand
- Mate
- First Officer
- Third Mate
Job Outlook for Ship Mates
In 2016, there was an estimated number of 38,800 jobs in the United States for Ship Mate. New jobs are being produced at a rate of 8.8% which is above the national average. The Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts 3,400 new jobs for Ship Mate by 2026. Due to new job openings and attrition, there will be an average of 4,400 job openings in this field each year.

The states with the most job growth for Ship Mate are Nevada, Georgia, and Tennessee. Watch out if you plan on working in Kentucky, Indiana, or Oregon. These states have the worst job growth for this type of profession.
How Much Does a Ship Mate Make?
Ship Mates make between $35,410 and $144,690 a year.

Ship Mates who work in Texas, Oregon, or Maryland, make the highest salaries.
How much do Ship Mates make in each U.S. state?
State | Annual Mean Salary |
---|---|
Alabama | $79,750 |
Alaska | $72,570 |
California | $70,840 |
Delaware | $74,790 |
Florida | $78,880 |
Georgia | $73,410 |
Hawaii | $52,830 |
Illinois | $67,020 |
Iowa | $75,600 |
Kentucky | $79,130 |
Louisiana | $93,010 |
Maine | $61,410 |
Maryland | $86,460 |
Massachusetts | $57,700 |
Michigan | $83,040 |
Minnesota | $73,910 |
New Hampshire | $51,490 |
New Jersey | $75,170 |
New York | $95,370 |
North Carolina | $55,710 |
Ohio | $47,810 |
Oregon | $100,150 |
Pennsylvania | $74,780 |
South Carolina | $67,090 |
Tennessee | $54,480 |
Texas | $103,950 |
Virginia | $77,370 |
Washington | $90,890 |
Wisconsin | $48,190 |
Tools & Technologies Used by Ship Mates
Although they’re not necessarily needed for all jobs, the following technologies are used by many Ship Mates:
- Computerized maintenance management system CMMS
- Log book software
- KNMI TurboWin
- Jeppesen Marine Nobeltec Admiral
- Maptech The CAPN
How do I Become a Ship Mate?
Education needed to be a Ship Mate:

How Long Does it Take to Become a Ship Mate?

Where Ship Mates Work

The table below shows the approximate number of Ship Mates employed by various industries.

References:
Image Credit:
More about our data sources and methodologies.
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