How To Become A Ship Docking Tugboat Deckhand: What It Is and Career Path

What is a ship docking tugboat deckhand 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 ship docking tugboat deckhand. For example, did you know that they make an average of $14.11 an hour? That's $29,351 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 1% and produce 500 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScoreShip Docking Tugboat DeckhandUS Average

Salary

2.3

Avg. Salary $29,351

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

8.1

Growth rate 1%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

3.7

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 1.72%

Asian 3.95%

Black or African American 12.71%

Hispanic or Latino 9.97%

Unknown 9.45%

White 62.20%

Gender

female 13.64%

male 86.36%

Age - 31

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 - 31

Stress level

8.1

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

7.7

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

1.9

Work life balance is very poor

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a ship docking tugboat deckhand

Explore ship docking tugboat deckhand education requirements

Most common ship docking tugboat deckhand degrees

Bachelor's

52.9 %

High School Diploma

23.5 %

Associate

17.6 %

Start to develop specific ship docking tugboat deckhand skills

Skills	Percentages
Safety Procedures	100.00%

Complete relevant ship docking tugboat deckhand training and internships

Accountants spend an average of Less than 1 month on post-employment, on-the-job training. New ship docking tugboat deckhands 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 ship docking tugboat deckhand based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real ship docking tugboat deckhand resumes.

Research ship docking tugboat deckhand duties and responsibilities

Conduct daily JSA's, occasionally lead weekly fire and boat drills.
Move parts into position, manually and by using hoists and cranes.
Work temporarily for stock building supply company delivering windows and loading/unloading trucks.
Paint or varnish decks, superstructures, lifeboats, or sides of ships.

Prepare your ship docking tugboat deckhand resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your ship docking tugboat deckhand resume.

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Choose from 10+ customizable ship docking tugboat deckhand resume templates

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