Commercial Fishing

What Commercial Fishing Majors Need to Know

In an O*NET survey, commercial fishing majors were asked to rate what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important in their occupations. These answers were weighted on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being the most important.

Knowledge Areas for Commercial Fishing Majors

According to O*NET survey takers, a major in commercial fishing should prepare you for careers in which you will need to be knowledgeable in the following areas:

• Transportation - Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
• Public Safety and Security - Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
• Law and Government - Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
• Mechanical - Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
• Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.

Skills for Commercial Fishing Majors

commercial fishing majors are found most commonly in careers in which the following skills are important:

• Operation and Control - Controlling operations of equipment or systems.
• Operation Monitoring - Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.
• 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.
• Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.

Abilities for Commercial Fishing Majors

As you progress with your commercial fishing degree, there are several abilities you should pick up that will help you in whatever related career you choose. These abilities include:

• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Far Vision - The ability to see details at a distance.
• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• Problem Sensitivity - The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.
• Control Precision - The ability to quickly and repeatedly adjust the controls of a machine or a vehicle to exact positions.

What Can You Do With a Commercial Fishing Major?

People with a commercial fishing degree often go into the following careers:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Mates- Ship, Boat, and Barge	8.8%	$69,180
Pilots, Ship	8.8%	$69,180
Ship and Boat Captains	8.8%	$69,180

How Much Do Commercial Fishing Majors Make?

Salaries According to BLS

Commercial Fishing majors often go into careers with median salaries of $82,380. This median refers to all degree levels, so the salary for a person with just a bachelor’s degree may be a little less and the one for a person with an advanced degree may be a little more.

To put that into context, according to BLS data from the first quarter of 2020, the typical high school graduate makes between $30,000 and $57,900 a year (25th through 75th percentile). The average person with a bachelor’s degree (any field) makes between $45,600 and $99,000. Advanced degree holders make the most with salaries between $55,600 and $125,400.

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to Commercial Fishing

Some degrees associated with commercial fishing may require an advanced degree, while others may not even require a bachelor’s in the field. In general, the more advanced your degree the more career options will open up to you. However, there is significant time and money that needs to be invested into your education so weigh the pros and cons.

Find out what the typical degree level is for commercial fishing careers below.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
Less than a High School Diploma	5.3%
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)	42.4%
Post-Secondary Certificate - awarded for training completed after high school (for example, in agriculture or natural resources, computer services, personal or culinary services, engineering technologies, healthcare, construction trades, mechanic and repair technologies, or precision production)	34.5%
Some College Courses	5.5%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	4.2%
Bachelor’s Degree	7.6%
Master’s Degree	1.0%
First Professional Degree - awarded for completion of a program that: requires at least 2 years of college work before entrance into the program, includes a total of at least 6 academic years of work to complete, and provides all remaining academic requirements to begin practice in a profession.	1.0%

Is a Degree in Commercial Fishing Worth It?

The median salary for a commercial fishing grad is $82,380 per year. This is based on the weighted average of the most common careers associated with the major.

This is 106% more than the average salary for an individual holding a high school degree. This adds up to a gain of about $849,600 after 20 years!

Trades Related to Commercial Fishing

You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to commercial fishing.

Major	Number of Grads
Diver, Professional & Instructor	876
Marine Science/Merchant Marine Officer	583
Other Marine Transportation	34

References

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• College Scorecard
• National Center for Education Statistics
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers First Quarter 2020

More about our data sources and methodologies.