How To Become A Boat Operator: What It Is and Career Path

What is a boat operator and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

2 min read

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a boat operator. For example, did you know that they make an average of $18.99 an hour? That's $39,509 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 1% and produce 500 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScoreBoat OperatorUS Average

Salary

3.1

Avg. Salary $39,509

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

8.3

Growth rate 1%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

8.5

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 1.09%

Asian 3.15%

Black or African American 6.96%

Hispanic or Latino 9.01%

Unknown 4.74%

White 75.04%

Gender

female 9.58%

male 90.42%

Age - 40.5

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 40.5

Stress level

8.3

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

7.4

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

6.9

Work life balance is good

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a boat operator

Explore boat operator education requirements

Most common boat operator degrees

Bachelor's

44.1 %

High School Diploma

25.9 %

Associate

23.1 %

Start to develop specific boat operator skills

Skills	Percentages
Safety Procedures	31.32%
USCG	22.19%
Boats	21.16%
Coast Guard	6.12%
GPS	5.06%

Complete relevant boat operator training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New boat operators learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a boat operator based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real boat operator resumes.

Research boat operator duties and responsibilities

Collect and track revenue; maintain inventory and manage boat insurance, registration and payments.
Analyze the detail of ISO quality certificates in ERP system to insure the achievement of the MRP parameter
Bid, RFP, and quote preparation.
Can run skimmers, vacu-max, pressure washer, forklifts ect ..

Prepare your boat operator resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your boat operator resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a boat operator resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable boat operator resume templates

Build a professional boat operator resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your boat operator resume.