How To Become A Vessel Operator: What It Is and Career Path

What is a vessel operator and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

2 min read

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a vessel operator. For example, did you know that they make an average of $24.72 an hour? That's $51,409 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 1% and produce 500 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScoreVessel OperatorUS Average

Salary

4.0

Avg. Salary $51,409

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

8.3

Growth rate 1%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

8.5

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 1.09%

Asian 3.15%

Black or African American 6.92%

Hispanic or Latino 8.97%

Unknown 4.74%

White 75.13%

Gender

female 12.39%

male 87.61%

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

8.3

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

7.4

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

6.9

Work life balance is good

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a vessel operator

Explore vessel operator education requirements

Most common vessel operator degrees

Bachelor's

58.5 %

Associate

16.9 %

Master's

12.3 %

Start to develop specific vessel operator skills

Skills	Percentages
USCG	31.94%
TWIC	25.52%
Safety Equipment	12.95%
Coast Guard	10.72%
Logistics	6.92%

Complete relevant vessel operator training and internships

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

Research vessel operator duties and responsibilities

Manage the master calendar and schedule resources such as communication equipment, weapons, transportation and ammunition forecast and delivery.
Monitor combat missions through satellite and computer global positioning systems in order to prepare accurate reports for unit commanders.
Master of ATB, hawser tug/barge combinations operating worldwide and GOM.

Prepare your vessel operator resume

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

Choose from 10+ customizable vessel operator resume templates

Build a professional vessel operator 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 vessel operator resume.