Second officer vs third officer

The differences between second officers and third 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 second officer and a third officer. Additionally, a third officer has an average salary of $121,038, which is higher than the $50,426 average annual salary of a second officer.

The top three skills for a second officer include safety equipment, vessel operations and chart corrections. The most important skills for a third officer are safety equipment, cargo operations, and emergency equipment.

Second officer vs third officer overview

	Second Officer	Third Officer
Yearly salary	$50,426	$121,038
Hourly rate	$24.24	$58.19
Growth rate	1%	1%
Number of jobs	55,822	55,887
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 70%	Bachelor's Degree, 78%
Average age	42	42
Years of experience	4	4

Second officer vs third officer salary

Second officers and third officers have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Second Officer	Third Officer
Average salary	$50,426	$121,038
Salary range	Between $22,000 And $115,000	Between $72,000 And $203,000
Highest paying City	-	-
Highest paying state	-	-
Best paying company	-	-
Best paying industry	-	-

Differences between second officer and third officer education

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

	Second Officer	Third Officer
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 70%	Bachelor's Degree, 78%
Most common major	Marine Transportation	Marine Transportation
Most common college	-	-

Second officer vs third officer demographics

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

	Second Officer	Third Officer
Average age	42	42
Gender ratio	Male, 88.1% Female, 11.9%	Male, 88.6% Female, 11.4%
Race ratio	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%	Black or African American, 7.0% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 9.1% Asian, 3.2% White, 74.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.1%
LGBT Percentage	11%	11%

Differences between second officer and third officer duties and responsibilities

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.

Third officer example responsibilities.

Work closely with surveyors, clients and ROV supervisors to achieve safe and effective subsea operations.
Provide support and leadership to businesses and capabilities for security and safety requirements.
Perform voyage planning, chart up keep and ECDIS maintenance.
Operate at various levels including supervising and safety maintenance.
Administer the company/client relationship particularly in the areas of safety and budget expectations.

Second officer vs third officer skills

Common second officer skills

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

Common third officer skills

Safety Equipment, 47%
Cargo Operations, 23%
Emergency Equipment, 7%
USCG, 6%
Safety Drills, 4%
Safety Inspections, 4%

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Second Officer
Second Officer vs Third Officer

Updated January 8, 2025

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