How To Become A First Mate: What It Is and Career Path

What is a first mate and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a first mate. For example, did you know that they make an average of $17.22 an hour? That's $35,819 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 1% and produce 500 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScoreFirst MateUS Average

Salary

2.8

Avg. Salary $35,819

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

9.1

Growth rate 1%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

8.5

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 1.08%

Asian 3.13%

Black or African American 6.81%

Hispanic or Latino 8.86%

Unknown 4.72%

White 75.39%

Gender

female 18.42%

male 81.58%

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

9.1

Stress level is very high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

8.1

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

2.3

Work life balance is very poor

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a first mate

Explore first mate education requirements

Most common first mate degrees

Bachelor's

58.1 %

High School Diploma

17.2 %

Associate

13.6 %

Start to develop specific first mate skills

Skills	Percentages
Vessel Maintenance	18.58%
Cleanliness	16.33%
Passenger Safety	15.04%
Mooring Lines	11.98%
Engine Room	5.08%

Complete relevant first mate training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New first mates 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 first mate based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real first mate resumes.

Research first mate duties and responsibilities

Work closely with surveyors, clients and ROV supervisors to achieve safe and effective subsea operations.
Hold a PIC and are in charge of loading/discharging of product as well as docking/undocking and handling of the ATB unit.
Trained/Mentore multiple junior officers in dynamic positioning, ballast control, and seamanship.
Provide operational and technical support to the company's fleet of tugboats.

Prepare your first mate resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your first mate 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 first mate resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable first mate resume templates

Build a professional first mate 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 first mate resume.