← Career directory · Transportation and moving things
Captains, Mates, and Pilots of Water Vessels
Commands boats and ships carrying people and cargo.
Read the full guide
Captains and mates navigate ferries, tugboats, cargo ships and charter boats, and are responsible for the crew and vessel. Many work weeks on and weeks off.
The guide checks the courses against your plan, with things to try each year. Free account needed.
High school courses that build toward it
- Business Law · Career and Technical
Builds law and government, which this job uses.
- English 10 · English
Builds reading and writing, which this job uses.
- Human Geography · Social Studies
Builds geography, which this job uses.
- Physical Education · Health and PE
Builds teaching and training, which this job uses.
- Pre-Algebra · Math
Builds math, which this job uses.
- Computer Science Principles · Computer Science
Builds computers and electronics, which this job uses.
Ranked by how much the job relies on what each course teaches, from O*NET's knowledge ratings. Your school's own courses and the counselor have the final word.
Captains, Mates, and Pilots of Water Vessels on O*NET OnLine · O*NET 31.0 (U.S. Department of Labor, CC BY 4.0); BLS Employment Projections 2025.