Deckhand vs merchant marine

The differences between deckhands and merchant marines can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a merchant marine has an average salary of $59,752, which is higher than the $56,163 average annual salary of a deckhand.

The top three skills for a deckhand include TWIC, vessel maintenance and mooring lines. The most important skills for a merchant marine are safety procedures, vessel security, and diesel engines.

Deckhand vs merchant marine overview

	Deckhand	Merchant Marine
Yearly salary	$56,163	$59,752
Hourly rate	$27.00	$28.73
Growth rate	1%	1%
Number of jobs	500	11,319
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 43%	Bachelor's Degree, 53%
Average age	33	33
Years of experience	-	-

Deckhand vs merchant marine salary

Deckhands and merchant marines have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Deckhand	Merchant Marine
Average salary	$56,163	$59,752
Salary range	Between $21,000 And $145,000	Between $23,000 And $151,000
Highest paying City	Bayonne, NJ	-
Highest paying state	New Jersey	-
Best paying company	Enterprise Products Partners	-
Best paying industry	-	-

Differences between deckhand and merchant marine education

There are a few differences between a deckhand and a merchant marine in terms of educational background:

	Deckhand	Merchant Marine
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 43%	Bachelor's Degree, 53%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	-	-

Deckhand vs merchant marine demographics

Here are the differences between deckhands' and merchant marines' demographics:

	Deckhand	Merchant Marine
Average age	33	33
Gender ratio	Male, 90.9% Female, 9.1%	Male, 88.8% Female, 11.2%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 16.9% Unknown, 9.4% Hispanic or Latino, 12.9% Asian, 4.8% White, 54.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.7%	Black or African American, 16.0% Unknown, 9.3% Hispanic or Latino, 13.9% Asian, 5.0% White, 54.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.7%
LGBT Percentage	3%	3%

Differences between deckhand and merchant marine duties and responsibilities

Deckhand example responsibilities.

Conduct daily JSA's, occasionally lead weekly fire and boat drills.
Spearhead cross-functional initiative to achieve successful whole shipments of wild Alaskan salmofrozen and gut.
Qualify shipboard firefighting and water survival, certify CPR human resources.
Maintain working order of multiple boats including water taxis, ferries, yachts, and passenger vessels.
Comply with all environmental and CFR regulations.
Sign DOI and go over pretransfer procedures.

Merchant marine example responsibilities.

Manage the logistics and operation of 23 work centers locate at five separate sites in a dynamic operational environment.
Operate and maintain firefighting safety equipment and maintain ships operational condition.
Ensure that the facilities capabilities are complimentary to the task request by FEMA logistics.
Develop and present briefings to management and senior leadership.
Organize multiple emergency airlifts of repair parts and ammunition under stressful combat conditions.
Establish valuable links with receiving combat units and ensure accurate delivery of critical supplies.

Deckhand vs merchant marine skills

Common deckhand skills

TWIC, 9%
Vessel Maintenance, 9%
Mooring Lines, 8%
Ladders, 8%
Customer Service, 7%
USCG, 6%

Common merchant marine skills

Safety Procedures, 29%
Vessel Security, 17%
Diesel Engines, 14%
Cargo Operations, 10%
Deck Hand, 9%
USCG, 5%

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Deckhand
Deckhand vs Merchant Marine

Updated January 8, 2025

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