What the work involves, what it pays, and grounded tasks, skills, tools, and experience you can choose from.
Also called barge engineer, deck engineer, engineer and equipment maintenance marine engineer.
$109,530
Median pay a year
8,400
People do this work
6
Resume lines ready for you
Real figures for this work, and lines you can use in your own resume. Where they come from is at the foot of this page.
An example
A Ship Engineer resume, filled in
Common skills that can help you remember what you used on the job.
Maintaining watercraft engines
Monitoring engine operation
Recording production data
Cleaning machinery and equipment
Cleaning work areas
Fabricating products
Installing parts
Controlling pumps
Operating ships or watercraft
Recording travel details
Reporting vehicle malfunctions
Directing maintenance or repair
Every line comes from the same public record as the rest of this page. The greyed parts are the ones only you can answer.
Ship Engineer
Summary
Ship engineer supervising and coordinating crew activities for operating and maintaining engines, boilers, and electrical equipment aboard vessels. Monitors machinery indicators, regulates engine speeds, and performs maintenance and repairs on various ship systems
Experience
Ship Engineer
Where you worked
Month Year to Month Year
Monitored engine, machinery, or equipment indicators when vessels were underway and reported abnormalities to appropriate shipboard staff
Started engines to propel ships and regulated engines and power transmissions to control speeds of ships according to directions from captains or bridge computers
Maintained or repaired engines, electric motors, pumps, winches, or other mechanical or electrical equipment, or assisted other crew members with maintenance or repair duties
Performed general marine vessel maintenance or repair work, such as repairing leaks, finishing interiors, refueling, or maintaining decks
Maintained complete records of engineering department activities, including machine operations
Operated or maintained off-loading liquid pumps or valves
Skills
Technical Skills
Maintaining watercraft engines, Recording production data, Recording travel details
Core Skills
Monitoring engine operation, Driver's license
Hands-On Work
Cleaning machinery and equipment, Cleaning work areas, Fabricating products, Installing parts, Controlling pumps, Operating ships or watercraft
Education
Certificate Your training program, Year
Yours will not say this. You choose what matches your experience, and every line remains yours to confirm or change.
Nothing to write from scratch
What to put on a Ship Engineer resume
Real duties for this job, already written the way a resume reads. Inside Rung you choose the ones that were yours.
What did you do each day?
Choose what fits, or say your own.
Monitored engine indicators during vessel operationsReported abnormalities to shipboard staff promptlyTested operations of engines to identify malfunctionsStarted engines to propel ships as directedParticipated in emergency drills as requiredPerformed general maintenance and repair on vessels
becomes
On your resume
Monitored engine indicators during vessel operations to ensure optimal performance and safety
Tested operations of engines to identify malfunctions and reported findings to shipboard staff promptly
These are written the way a resume line reads. Rung asks which ones are actually yours, keeps your own words, and never claims work you did not do.
Then it asks for one more thing
The line that could show more, and the fact that lands it.
Make it stronger
A few lines could show more. Each one is asked, and answered by choosing.
Add how often you monitored engine indicators during operations
The line
Monitored engine indicators every shift while the vessel was underway to ensure optimal performance and safety
Add how often you monitored engine indicators during operations
Pick one that fits
Every shift while the vessel was underwayContinuously during all operationsRegularly throughout the day
Or add your own.
In your wordsAdd it
Adding it to the line…
Added to your resume
Show what improved once you reported your findings
The line
Tested operations of engines to identify malfunctions and reported findings to shipboard staff promptly
Show what improved once you reported your findings
Pick one that fits
Reduced downtime for engine repairsImproved safety during vessel operationsEnhanced overall engine performance
Or add your own.
In your wordsAdd it
Adding it to the line…
Added to your resume
Every ready answer is in plain words, never a figure. Nothing is invented to fill a gap.
The work itself
What a Ship Engineer does
The public record of what this job is, in one paragraph.
Supervise and coordinate activities of crew engaged in operating and maintaining engines, boilers, deck machinery, and electrical, sanitary, and refrigeration equipment aboard ship.
What it pays
How much does a Ship Engineer make?
Annual pay across the United States. The middle figure is the median: half earn less than that, and half earn more.
25th percentile
$82,130
Median
$109,530
75th percentile
$135,760
About 8,400 people do this work in the United States.
What it pays in each state
State
25th percentile
Median
75th percentile
AK
$59,310
$88,190
$111,610
AL
$95,540
$96,030
$101,320
CA
$84,620
$97,660
$157,070
CT
$53,690
$119,010
$130,350
FL
$103,090
$130,480
$147,220
HI
$105,660
$131,640
$165,260
IL
$77,770
$115,310
$123,300
IN
$99,060
$122,190
$139,050
KY
$116,330
$120,550
$121,270
LA
$78,120
$103,430
$190,890
MA
$102,020
$122,720
$150,800
ME
$60,280
$77,160
$91,890
MI
$52,550
$79,170
$90,330
MS
$78,790
$98,380
$101,620
NC
$62,640
$65,010
$85,850
NJ
$90,920
$118,310
$119,540
NY
$106,660
$133,640
$151,240
OR
$87,820
$88,800
$113,530
PA
$73,550
$80,210
$99,540
PR
$38,800
$40,080
$40,080
RI
$95,950
$119,330
$139,360
SC
$80,700
$97,890
$105,590
TX
$103,930
$127,810
$132,740
VA
$56,700
$82,370
$117,140
WA
$82,520
$107,940
$135,400
Other names
Other names for this job
barge engineer, deck engineer, engineer, equipment maintenance marine engineer, equipment operating engineer, ferry engineer, fire boat engineer, fire department marine engineer, harbor engineer, licensed marine engineer, maritime engineer, operating engineer.
More names for this work
operating marine engineer, port engineer, ship engines operating engineer, small boat engineer, towboat engineer, tug boat engineer, tugboat engineer, turnaround engineer, vessel engineer, engineering watch officer, officer in charge of engineering watch, marine engine mechanic, marine mechanic, oicew.
If you served
Military jobs this work counts as
From the crosswalk the US Department of Labor publishes itself. If one of these was your job, this page is about the civilian work it maps to.
Below are the tasks a Ship Engineer job is made of. Choose the ones you have really done. There is no wrong answer here, and you can change any of it later.
Which of these tasks have you actually done?
4 chosen. Rung never adds a task you did not choose.
You can already claim 4 of the 9 tasks this job is made of.
What you have not done yet. Cleaning work areas, Fabricating products, Installing parts
Your resume, already started
Ship Engineer
Maintaining watercraft engines
Monitoring engine operation
Recording production data
Cleaning machinery and equipment
Nothing here was invented. Every line is something you chose above, and it comes with you when you start.
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This page is about the occupation Ship Engineers. What this job involves and what it is made of come from O*NET 30.3, the US Department of Labor's occupation database, refreshed July 2026; Rung writes those records into the plain sentences you see. Pay comes from the Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS release for 2025. How Rung handles accuracy is on the accuracy page, and the full data credits are on the credits page.