Marine Engineers & Naval Architects
Marine Engineers & Naval Architects
Career Overview
Marine engineers and naval architects design, build, and maintain ships, from aircraft carriers to submarines and from sailboats to tankers. Marine engineers are responsible for the internal systems of a ship, such as the propulsion, electrical, refrigeration, and steering systems. Naval architects are responsible for the ship design, including the form, structure, and stability of hulls.
Education
Marine engineers and naval architects typically need a bachelor’s degree in marine engineering and naval architecture, respectively, or a related degree, such as a degree in mechanical or electrical engineering. Some marine engineering and naval architecture programs are offered at state maritime academies.
Future Outlook
Employment of marine engineers and naval architects is projected to grow 1 percent from 2019 to 2029, slower than the average for all occupations. Many jobs for these workers are in the ship and boat building industry, which supplies new ship orders for the military. Therefore, federal budgetary constraints may limit employment growth.
Work Environment
Marine engineers and naval architects typically work in offices, where they have access to computer software and other tools necessary for analyzing projects and designing solutions. Sometimes, they must go to sea to test or maintain the ships that they have designed or built.
Recommended High School Courses
- Calculus
- Physics
- Mathematics
- Statistics
- Algebra 1
- Algebra 2
- Active Learning - Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
- Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
- Complex Problem Solving - Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
- Coordination - Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
- Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
- Instructing - Teaching others how to do something.
- Judgment and Decision Making - Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
- Learning Strategies - Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
- Management of Material Resources - Obtaining and seeing to the appropriate use of equipment, facilities, and materials needed to do certain work.
- Management of Personnel Resources - Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job.
- Mathematics - Using mathematics to solve problems.
- Monitoring - Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
- Operation Monitoring - Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.
- Operations Analysis - Analyzing needs and product requirements to create a design.
- Quality Control Analysis - Conducting tests and inspections of products, services, or processes to evaluate quality or performance.
- Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
- Science - Using scientific rules and methods to solve problems.
- Social Perceptiveness - Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
- Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
- Systems Analysis - Determining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.
- Systems Evaluation - Identifying measures or indicators of system performance and the actions needed to improve or correct performance, relative to the goals of the system.
- Time Management - Managing one's own time and the time of others.
- Troubleshooting - Determining causes of operating errors and deciding what to do about it.
- Writing - Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
- Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
- Design - Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
- Engineering and Technology - Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
- English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
- Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
- Mechanical - Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
- Physics - Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub- atomic structures and processes.
- Public Safety and Security - Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
- Transportation - Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
- Category Flexibility - The ability to generate or use different sets of rules for combining or grouping things in different ways.
- Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
- Far Vision - The ability to see details at a distance.
- Flexibility of Closure - The ability to identify or detect a known pattern (a figure, object, word, or sound) that is hidden in other distracting material.
- Fluency of Ideas - The ability to come up with a number of ideas about a topic (the number of ideas is important, not their quality, correctness, or creativity).
- Inductive Reasoning - The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
- Information Ordering - The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
- Mathematical Reasoning - The ability to choose the right mathematical methods or formulas to solve a problem.
- Near Vision - The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
- Number Facility - The ability to add, subtract, multiply, or divide quickly and correctly.
- Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
- Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
- Originality - The ability to come up with unusual or clever ideas about a given topic or situation, or to develop creative ways to solve a problem.
- Perceptual Speed - The ability to quickly and accurately compare similarities and differences among sets of letters, numbers, objects, pictures, or patterns. The things to be compared may be presented at the same time or one after the other. This ability also includes comparing a presented object with a remembered object.
- Problem Sensitivity - The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.
- Selective Attention - The ability to concentrate on a task over a period of time without being distracted.
- Speech Clarity - The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
- Speech Recognition - The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
- Visualization - The ability to imagine how something will look after it is moved around or when its parts are moved or rearranged.
- Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
- Written Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
- Supervise engineering or other technical personnel.
- Monitor processes for compliance with standards.
- Schedule operational activities.
- Prepare contracts, disclosures, or applications.
- Prepare detailed work plans.
- Test performance of electrical, electronic, mechanical, or integrated systems or equipment.
- Maintain electronic equipment.
- Evaluate characteristics of equipment or systems.
- Create graphical representations of structures or landscapes.
- Inspect equipment or systems.
- Maintain operational records or records systems.
- Devise research or testing protocols.
- Prepare technical reports for internal use.
- Coordinate safety or regulatory compliance activities.
- Direct equipment maintenance or repair activities.
- Direct installation activities.
- Purchase materials, equipment, or other resources.
- Communicate technical information to suppliers, contractors, or regulatory agencies.
- Maintain mechanical equipment.
- Confer with other personnel to resolve design or operational problems.
- Confer with technical personnel to prepare designs or operational plans.
- Research advanced engineering designs or applications.
- Review technical documents to plan work.
- Analyze design or requirements information for mechanical equipment or systems.
Schools
Schools
Austin Community College...
Great Lakes Boat Building...
Indian River State Colleg...
Iyrs School Of Technology...
Maine Maritime Academy
Massachusetts Maritime Ac...
Stevens Institute Of Tech...
Suny Maritime College
Texas A & M University- G...
United States Coast Guard...
United States Merchant Ma...
United States Naval Acade...
University Of Michigan- A...
Webb Institute
British Columbia Insti...
Canadian Coast Guard C...
Georgian College- Owen...
Memorial University
Nova Scotia Community...
Nova Scotia Community...
University Of British...
Potential Scholarships
5 Strong Scholarship
Agnes M. Lindsay Scholars...
Curt Pozan Trades Scholar...
- Traditional Fulbright P...
Approx Salary Expectation
Currency:
Low End:
$65,440.00 /yr
Avg/Med:
$92,400.00 /yr
High End:
$147,710.00 /yr
References
Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, https://www.bls.gov/ooh/.
Trend Analysis - Explorer the Market, Labour Market Information, Government of Canada https://www.jobbank.gc.ca/trend-analysis.
O*NET OnLine, National Center for O*NET Development, https://www.onetonline.org/.
Trend Analysis - Explorer the Market, Labour Market Information, Government of Canada https://www.jobbank.gc.ca/trend-analysis.
O*NET OnLine, National Center for O*NET Development, https://www.onetonline.org/.