Transportation
Sailors & Marine Oilers
SOC 53-5011
Operate and maintain vessels and stand watch at sea.
The job
Median pay
$52k
$41k to $68k typical range
Outlook, 2025 to 2035
Growing
+3.2% projected
Openings a year
4k
BLS projection
Typical education
No formal credential
Our model
AI displacement risk
Moderate
How much of this job AI may do instead of the person
Works with AI
10/100
AI alongside the person rather than instead of them
AI exposure
21st pct
More exposed than 21% of occupations · modeled estimate · 17th pct in Microsoft's data
Future-proof
46/100
Key skills
- Monitoring
- Active Listening
- Critical Thinking
- Speaking
- Reading Comprehension
- Active Learning
Pay and jobs by state
BLS OEWS May 2025, 51 states. Sorted by jobs; per 1,000 is jobs per thousand workers in the state; vs national compares that rate with the country's. A tilde marks a figure estimated from the parent occupation group where BLS publishes none.
| State | Jobs | Per 1,000 | vs national | Median pay |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Louisiana | 7,580 | 3.9 | 19.2× | $47k |
| Texas | 4,270 | 0.3 | 1.5× | $56k |
| Virginia | 2,970 | 0.7 | 3.5× | $49k |
| Florida | 2,710 | 0.3 | 1.3× | $58k |
| California | 1,680 | 0.1 | 0.5× | $55k |
| Washington | 1,590 | 0.4 | 2.2× | $67k |
| New York | 1,570 | 0.2 | 0.8× | $54k |
| Kentucky | 1,470 | 0.7 | 3.6× | $47k |
| Tennessee | 870 | 0.3 | 1.3× | $61k |
| Arizona | 629 | 0.2 | 0.9× | $52k~ |
All 51 states
| State | Jobs | Per 1,000 | vs national | Median pay |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Indiana | 570 | 0.2 | 0.9× | $57k |
| New Jersey | 520 | 0.1 | 0.6× | $72k |
| Colorado | 505 | 0.2 | 0.9× | $55k~ |
| Mississippi | 490 | 0.4 | 2.1× | $50k |
| Alaska | 480 | 1.5 | 7.2× | $63k |
| Illinois | 420 | 0.1 | 0.3× | $49k |
| Massachusetts | 420 | 0.1 | 0.6× | $44k |
| Connecticut | 400 | 0.2 | 1.2× | $45k |
| Oklahoma | 361 | 0.2 | 1.0× | $44k~ |
| Nevada | 345 | 0.2 | 1.1× | $49k~ |
| Hawaii | 340 | 0.5 | 2.7× | $76k |
| Utah | 313 | 0.2 | 0.9× | $53k~ |
| Kansas | 312 | 0.2 | 1.1× | $52k~ |
| Maryland | 310 | 0.1 | 0.6× | $52k~ |
| North Carolina | 310 | 0.1 | 0.3× | $45k |
| Alabama | 290 | 0.1 | 0.7× | $43k |
| Michigan | 250 | 0.1 | 0.3× | $51k |
| Maine | 240 | 0.4 | 1.8× | $47k |
| Missouri | 220 | 0.1 | 0.4× | $52k |
| Nebraska | 212 | 0.2 | 1.0× | $52k~ |
| Oregon | 210 | 0.1 | 0.5× | $70k |
| Pennsylvania | 210 | 0.0 | 0.2× | $39k |
| Rhode Island | 210 | 0.4 | 2.1× | $49k |
| South Carolina | 210 | 0.1 | 0.5× | $51k |
| Idaho | 169 | 0.2 | 1.0× | $52k~ |
| New Mexico | 150 | 0.2 | 0.8× | $47k~ |
| Ohio | 140 | 0.0 | 0.1× | $54k |
| New Hampshire | 118 | 0.2 | 0.8× | $51k~ |
| Wisconsin | 110 | 0.0 | 0.2× | $49k |
| West Virginia | 100 | 0.1 | 0.7× | $47k |
| North Dakota | 99 | 0.2 | 1.1× | $57k~ |
| South Dakota | 92 | 0.2 | 1.0× | $47k~ |
| Montana | 91 | 0.2 | 0.9× | $53k~ |
| Minnesota | 90 | 0.0 | 0.1× | $57k |
| Delaware | 80 | 0.2 | 0.8× | $60k |
| Georgia | 80 | 0.0 | 0.1× | $38k |
| Arkansas | 70 | 0.1 | 0.3× | $24k |
| Iowa | 70 | 0.0 | 0.2× | $48k |
| Wyoming | 59 | 0.2 | 1.0× | $55k~ |
| Vermont | 48 | 0.2 | 0.8× | $53k~ |
| Washington DC | 43 | 0.1 | 0.3× | $57k~ |
Top metro areas
- Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX3,470 jobs · $56k median
- Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC2,830 jobs · $48k median
- Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux, LA2,140 jobs · $49k median
- New Orleans-Metairie, LA1,940 jobs · $44k median
- New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ1,720 jobs · $63k median
- Baton Rouge, LA1,310 jobs · $48k median
- Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL1,150 jobs · $58k median
- Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA1,080 jobs · $69k median
Explore the rankings
Explore Sailors & Marine Oilers interactively →Pay and outlook from BLS (OEWS 2025, Employment Projections 2025-2035). Skills and work activities from O*NET 30.3. AI exposure and future-proof scores are modeled estimates. How these numbers are made.