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The differences between boat captains and chief engineers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 4-6 years to become both a boat captain and a chief engineer. Additionally, a chief engineer has an average salary of $108,050, which is higher than the $43,632 average annual salary of a boat captain.
The top three skills for a boat captain include vessel maintenance, boats and CPR. The most important skills for a chief engineer are HVAC, plumbing, and customer service.
| Boat Captain | Chief Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $43,632 | $108,050 |
| Hourly rate | $20.98 | $51.95 |
| Growth rate | 1% | 2% |
| Number of jobs | 2,860 | 88,473 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 47% | Bachelor's Degree, 49% |
| Average age | 42 | 41 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 6 |
A boat captain is primarily in charge of spearheading and overseeing boat operations and managing staff, ensuring efficient operations for a safe and successful voyage. With their years of experience, they have the authority to develop and implement strategies, delegate responsibilities among staff, conduct safety inspections before and after every journey, direct maintenance strategies, implement solutions if issues arise, and make significant decisions. In larger sea vessels, a boat captain may also act as the host and welcome passengers, communicating with them regularly throughout the journey.
A chief engineer is responsible for monitoring the engineering department's overall operations, ensuring performance efficiency, and everyone's strict compliance with the safety standards and regulatory procedures. Chief engineers manage the distribution of the tasks to the team, communicate with the clients and management for instructions and specifications, monitor expenses and forecast sales reports, analyze and approve designs, negotiate contracts, and process disputes. A chief engineer must have excellent knowledge of the engineering disciplines and exemplary leadership skills to handle the team's performance towards the company's objectives.
Boat captains and chief engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Boat Captain | Chief Engineer | |
| Average salary | $43,632 | $108,050 |
| Salary range | Between $28,000 And $66,000 | Between $65,000 And $177,000 |
| Highest paying City | - | Palo Alto, CA |
| Highest paying state | - | California |
| Best paying company | - | BGC Partners |
| Best paying industry | - | Transportation |
There are a few differences between a boat captain and a chief engineer in terms of educational background:
| Boat Captain | Chief Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 47% | Bachelor's Degree, 49% |
| Most common major | Business | Mechanical Engineering |
| Most common college | Stanford University | Michigan Technological University |
Here are the differences between boat captains' and chief engineers' demographics:
| Boat Captain | Chief Engineer | |
| Average age | 42 | 41 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 92.0% Female, 8.0% | Male, 96.2% Female, 3.8% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 7.0% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 9.0% Asian, 3.2% White, 75.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.1% | Black or African American, 3.5% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 9.9% Asian, 10.2% White, 71.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% |
| LGBT Percentage | 11% | 5% |