Mate vs second officer

The differences between mates and second officers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a mate and a second officer. Additionally, a second officer has an average salary of $50,426, which is higher than the $38,913 average annual salary of a mate.

The top three skills for a mate include safety equipment, vessel maintenance and mates. The most important skills for a second officer are safety equipment, vessel operations, and chart corrections.

Mate vs second officer overview

	Mate	Second Officer
Yearly salary	$38,913	$50,426
Hourly rate	$18.71	$24.24
Growth rate	1%	1%
Number of jobs	301	55,822
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 52%	Bachelor's Degree, 70%
Average age	42	42
Years of experience	4	4

Mate vs second officer salary

Mates and second officers have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Mate	Second Officer
Average salary	$38,913	$50,426
Salary range	Between $22,000 And $66,000	Between $22,000 And $115,000
Highest paying City	-	-
Highest paying state	-	-
Best paying company	-	-
Best paying industry	-	-

Differences between mate and second officer education

There are a few differences between a mate and a second officer in terms of educational background:

	Mate	Second Officer
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 52%	Bachelor's Degree, 70%
Most common major	Business	Marine Transportation
Most common college	-	-

Mate vs second officer demographics

Here are the differences between mates' and second officers' demographics:

	Mate	Second Officer
Average age	42	42
Gender ratio	Male, 78.8% Female, 21.2%	Male, 88.1% Female, 11.9%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 6.8% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 8.8% Asian, 3.1% White, 75.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.1%	Black or African American, 6.9% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 9.0% Asian, 3.1% White, 75.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.1%
LGBT Percentage	11%	11%

Differences between mate and second officer duties and responsibilities

Mate example responsibilities.

Work closely with surveyors, clients and ROV supervisors to achieve safe and effective subsea operations.
Supervise the mates and deck hands with regards to all safety inspections, maintenance, and back deck operations.
Maintain and troubleshot office and field equipment.
Involve in shipyard conversion and COI inspections.
Assign to electrical maintenance on USS O'Brien DD-975.
Supervise students, mates, and other diving instructors.

Second officer example responsibilities.

Comply with stringent local, federal, USCG and international regulations.
Train, direct and supervise ship operators in proper and effective use of GPS, radar and radio equipment while underway.
Operate flight instruments, navigation systems and radar equipment on C-130E aircraft.
Conform and build training requirements that meets or exceeds OSHA and CFR guidelines.
Trained/Mentore multiple junior officers in dynamic positioning, ballast control, and seamanship.
Develop and implement procedures for LNG cargo transfer and ballast operations.

Mate vs second officer skills

Common mate skills

Safety Equipment, 16%
Vessel Maintenance, 12%
Mates, 10%
Management System, 6%
DP, 6%
Groceries, 5%

Common second officer skills

Safety Equipment, 37%
Vessel Operations, 24%
Chart Corrections, 5%
USCG, 5%
Emergency Equipment, 5%
GPS, 5%

Mate vs. similar jobs

Mate related careers

Mate related jobs

What similar roles do

Ship Worker responsibilities

Updated January 8, 2025

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