Career
Marine engineers and naval architects
Design ships and the systems that keep them at sea.
Here's what you actually need to know.
The work
What people in this job do
- Perform monitoring activities to ensure that ships comply with international regulations and standards for life-saving equipment and pollution preventatives.
- Design complete hull and superstructure according to specifications and test data, in conformity with standards of safety, efficiency, and economy.
- Conduct analyses of ships, such as stability, structural, weight, and vibration analyses.
- Study design proposals and specifications to establish basic characteristics of craft, such as size, weight, speed, propulsion, displacement, and draft.
- Maintain contact with, and formulate reports for, contractors and clients to ensure completion of work at minimum cost.
The outlook
How the forecast changed this year
The deeper question
What kind of person does this path ask you to become?
What this work centers on
O*NET interest profile, scored 1–7.
The work
Do you want most of your days spent on objects & tools, then ideas & analysis?
Responsibility
Are you willing to be the one responsible for this?
“Perform monitoring activities to ensure that ships comply with international regulations and standards for life-saving equipment and pollution preventatives.”
Development
What would you need to build over the next 5–10 years?
Critical Thinking, Complex Problem Solving, Reading Comprehension, Writing.
Trade-offs
What does it ask of you in exchange?
4 years of education after high school (bachelor's degree), for a median of $112,230 a year and 500 openings nationally each year.
Paths in
Degrees that lead here
- Naval Architecture and Marine EngineeringCIP 14.2201
Paths across
Careers that use similar skills
- Ship Engineers$109,530 · +2.7%
- Aerospace Engineering and Operations Technologists and Technicians$82,890 · +11.9%
- Aerospace Engineers$134,960 · +8.3%
- Mechanical Engineering Technologists and Technicians$74,510 · +1.3%
- Mechanical Engineers$104,110 · +11.2%
Ask anything about this career.
“Would this make sense if I don't want to sit at a desk all day?” Answers will come from the sources on this page, with citations. Coming soon.
Not sure this fits who you are? Start with Vocational Finder →
Sources
- BLS Employment Projections, 2025–35, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- BLS Employment Projections, 2024–34 (archived), U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- O*NET 31.0 Database (August 2026), National Center for O*NET Development / U.S. Department of Labor. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 Crosswalk, NCES and BLS. Retrieved 2026-10-01.