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Ship Engineers

It's a bright outlook for

This career will grow rapidly in the next few years.

Learn more about what they do.

Supervise and coordinate activities of crew engaged in operating and maintaining engines, boilers, deck machinery, and electrical, sanitary, and refrigeration equipment aboard ship.

Related: Hydroelectric Plant Technicians Marine Engineers & Naval Architects Motorboat Mechanics & Service Technicians Sailors & Marine Oilers Stationary Engineers & Boiler Operators

Industries: Transportation & Storage Government

Summary
Details

Clean engine parts and keep engine rooms clean.
Monitor engine, machinery, or equipment indicators when vessels are underway, and report abnormalities to appropriate shipboard staff.
Order and receive engine room stores, such as oil or spare parts, maintain inventories, and record usage of supplies.
Start engines to propel ships, and regulate engines and power transmissions to control speeds of ships, according to directions from captains or bridge computers.
Perform or participate in emergency drills, as required.
Maintain electrical power, heating, ventilation, refrigeration, water, or sewerage systems.
Install engine controls, propeller shafts, or propellers.
Monitor engine, machinery, or equipment indicators when vessels are underway, and report abnormalities to appropriate shipboard staff.
Monitor and test operations of engines or other equipment so that malfunctions and their causes can be identified.
Supervise marine engine technicians engaged in the maintenance or repair of mechanical or electrical marine vessels, and inspect their work to ensure that it is performed properly.
Perform general marine vessel maintenance or repair work, such as repairing leaks, finishing interiors, refueling, or maintaining decks.
Maintain or repair engines, electric motors, pumps, winches, or other mechanical or electrical equipment, or assist other crew members with maintenance or repair duties.
Monitor the availability, use, or condition of lifesaving equipment or pollution preventatives to ensure that international regulations are followed.
Clean engine parts and keep engine rooms clean.
Fabricate engine replacement parts, such as valves, stay rods, or bolts, using metalworking machinery.
Order and receive engine room stores, such as oil or spare parts, maintain inventories, and record usage of supplies.
Record orders for changes in ship speed or direction, and note gauge readings or test data, such as revolutions per minute or voltage output, in engineering logs or bellbooks.
Act as a liaison between a ship's captain and shore personnel to ensure that schedules and budgets are maintained and that the ship is operated safely and efficiently.
Maintain complete records of engineering department activities, including machine operations.
Operate or maintain off-loading liquid pumps or valves.

Complex Problem Solving
- Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
Writing
- Writing things for co-workers or customers.
Negotiation
- Bringing people together to solve differences.
Time Management
- Managing your time and the time of other people.
Learning Strategies
- Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
Operations Analysis
- Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
Equipment Selection
- Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
Management of Financial Resources
- Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
Critical Thinking
- Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
Programming
- Writing computer programs.
Service Orientation
- Looking for ways to help people.
Operations Monitoring
- Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
Quality Control Analysis
- Testing how well a product or service works.
Technology Design
- Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
Equipment Maintenance
- Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
Active Listening
- Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
Repairing
- Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
Systems Evaluation
- Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
Troubleshooting
- Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
Speaking
- Talking to others.
Coordination
- Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
Persuasion
- Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
Installation
- Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
Instructing
- Teaching people how to do something.
Mathematics
- Using math to solve problems.
Management of Material Resources
- Managing equipment and materials.
Science
- Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
Management of Personnel Resources
- Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
Systems Analysis
- Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
Monitoring
- Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
Active Learning
- Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
Judgment and Decision Making
- Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
Operation and Control
- Using equipment or systems.
Reading Comprehension
- Reading work-related information.
Social Perceptiveness
- Understanding people's reactions.

Static Strength
- Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
Written Comprehension
- Reading and understanding what is written.
Oral Expression
- Communicating by speaking.
Deductive Reasoning
- Using rules to solve problems.
Finger Dexterity
- Putting together small parts with your fingers.
Speed of Closure
- Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
Extent Flexibility
- Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
Trunk Strength
- Using your lower back and stomach.
Explosive Strength
- Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
Written Expression
- Communicating by writing.
Problem Sensitivity
- Noticing when problems happen.
Auditory Attention
- Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
Dynamic Flexibility
- Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
Category Flexibility
- Grouping things in different ways.
Mathematical Reasoning
- Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
Speed of Limb Movement
- Quickly moving your arms and legs.
Peripheral Vision
- Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
Spatial Orientation
- Knowing where things are around you.
Number Facility
- Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
Memorization
- Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
Control Precision
- Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
Inductive Reasoning
- Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
Rate Control
- Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
Time Sharing
- Doing two or more things at the same time.
Flexibility of Closure
- Seeing hidden patterns.
Stamina
- Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
Gross Body Coordination
- Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
Wrist-Finger Speed
- Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
Visual Color Discrimination
- Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
Visualization
- Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
Perceptual Speed
- Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
Information Ordering
- Ordering or arranging things.
Reaction Time
- Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
Gross Body Equilibrium
- Keeping your balance or staying upright.
Oral Comprehension
- Listening and understanding what people say.
Sound Localization
- Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
Manual Dexterity
- Holding or moving items with your hands.
Selective Attention
- Paying attention to something without being distracted.
Hearing Sensitivity
- Telling the difference between sounds.
Dynamic Strength
- Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
Originality
- Creating new and original ideas.
Near Vision
- Seeing details up close.
Night Vision
- Seeing at night or under low light.
Response Orientation
- Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
Arm-Hand Steadiness
- Keeping your arm or hand steady.
Depth Perception
- Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
Multilimb Coordination
- Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
Speech Clarity
- Speaking clearly.
Fluency of Ideas
- Coming up with lots of ideas.
Far Vision
- Seeing details that are far away.
Glare Sensitivity
- Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
Speech Recognition
- Recognizing spoken words.

Communications and Media
- Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
Medicine and Dentistry
- Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
English Language
- Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
History and Archeology
- Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
Food Production
- Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
Telecommunications
- Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
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.
Design
- Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
Mathematics
- Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
Chemistry
- Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
Geography
- Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
Administrative
- Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
Economics and Accounting
- Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
Customer and Personal Service
- Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
Building and Construction
- Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
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.
Biology
- Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
Education and Training
- Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
Sales and Marketing
- Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
Philosophy and Theology
- Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
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.
Sociology and Anthropology
- Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
Foreign Language
- Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
Fine Arts
- Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
Personnel and Human Resources
- Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
Law and Government
- Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
Therapy and Counseling
- Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
Production and Processing
- Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
Transportation
- Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
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.
Computers and Electronics
- Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
Psychology
- Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.

Education

Postsecondary certificate

Work Experience

Less than 5 years work experience

Training

No on-the-job training

Education and Training Opportunities

Washington Annual Salary

96390/yr

Washington Hourly Wage

46.34/hr

Currently Employed

940

Yearly Projected Openings

120

Realistic: People interested in this work like activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They do well at jobs that need:

Attention to Detail
Dependability
Integrity
Cooperation
Self Control
Adaptability/Flexibility

Adjustable widemouth pliers
Allen wrench
Ball peen hammer
Box end wrenches
Calipers
Claw hammer
Cold chisels
Combination pliers
Combination wrenches
Commercial water heaters
Condensing units
Cross and straight pein hammer
Curved nose pliers
Depth gauges
Diagonal cut pliers
Dial indicator or dial gauge
Diesel engines
Electric boilers
End cut pliers
Evaporative coolers
Feeler gauges
Fire suppression system
Flat hand file
Flat nose pliers
Fuel pumps
Gas generators
Goggles
Hacksaw
Hammers
Hex keys
Inspection mirror
Jigsaw
Longnose pliers
Mallets
Micrometers
Mobile medical services first aid kits
Multimeters
Nut drivers
Open end wrenches
Pipe or tube cutter
Plasma cutting machine
Power chippers
Power drills
Power flaring tool
Power grinders
Power sanders
Pullers
Punches or nail sets or drifts
Ratchets
Razor knives
Rivet tools
Round nose pliers
Rubber mallet
Screwdrivers
Shears
Sledge hammer
Slip joint pliers
Sludge or sewage removal equipment
Socket attachments and accessories
Socket sets
Sockets
Stationary separation equipment or parts or screens
Strain gauges
Strap wrenches
Sump pumps
Taps
Tinners snips
Torque wrenches
Tracer or duplicating or contouring lathe
Turbine engines
Water pumps
Welder gloves
Welder torch
Welding masks
Wire brushes
Wire twister

Customer relationship management CRM software
Data base user interface and query software
Document management software
Electronic mail software
Enterprise application integration software
Enterprise resource planning ERP software
Facilities management software
Helpdesk or call center software
Industrial control software
Office suite software
Operating system software
Presentation software
Project management software
Spreadsheet software
Word processing software

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