SOC Code 53-5021 - Captains, Mates, and Pilots of Water Vessels
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Captains, Mates, and Pilots of Water Vessels (SOC 53-5021) is a 2018 SOC detailed occupation with about 33,370 U.S. jobs and a mean annual wage of $87,420 (May 2025 OEWS).
Key facts for SOC 53-5021
- Code
- 53-5021
- O*NET® code
- 53-5021.00
- Level
- Detailed occupation, 2018 SOC
- Official title
- Captains, Mates, and Pilots of Water Vessels
- Minor group
- 53-5000 Water Transportation Workers
- Broad occupation
- 53-5020 Ship and Boat Captains and Operators
- Employment
- 33,370 in the United States
- Hourly wage
- $42.03 average
- Annual wage
- $87,420 average
- Extended SOC
- 1 O*NET® occupation
- Source
- BLS, 2018 SOC. Wages and employment: May 2025 OEWS
Description
Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2018 Standard Occupational Classification.
Command or supervise operations of ships and water vessels, such as tugboats and ferryboats. Required to hold license issued by U.S. Coast Guard.
Classification scope for SOC 53-5021
Included examples, work this classification places in another SOC code.
Included examples
Bureau of Labor Statistics illustrative examples for this SOC code.
- Barge Captain
- Barge Master
- Boat Pilot
- Car Ferry Captain
- Car Ferry Master
- Coastal Tug Mate
- Deck Officer
- Docking Pilot
- Ferry Boat Captain
- Ferry Captain
- Ferryboat Captain
- First Mate
- Harbor Boat Pilot
- Harbor Pilot
- Harbor Tug Captain
- Port Captain
- River Boat Captain
- River Pilot
- Sailboat Captain
- Ship Harbor Pilot
- Tow Boat Captain
- Towboat Pilot
- Tug Boat Captain
- Tugboat Captain
- Tugboat Mate
- Tugboat Operator
- Tugboat Pilot
Classified elsewhere
Bureau of Labor Statistics exclusions. This work belongs in another SOC code.
Where SOC 53-5021 sits in the hierarchy
Extended SOC (O*NET®-SOC 31.0)
1 occupationO*NET® child pages of this detailed SOC code. A suffix of .00 is the O*NET® occupation for this code. A higher suffix is a finer breakout. These are not additional official SOC codes.
Other detailed occupations (1)
Career video for Captains, Mates, and Pilots of Water Vessels
This video describes Captains, Mates, and Pilots of Water Vessels, including the career, work options, and abilities. Source: CareerOneStop.
Using SOC 53-5021
Use SOC 53-5021, Captains, Mates, and Pilots of Water Vessels, when that is the work performed. A more specific O*NET® occupation, when listed, is an Extended SOC code inside this SOC code.
What do Captains, Mates, and Pilots of Water Vessels do?
Command or supervise operations of ships and water vessels, such as tugboats and ferryboats. Required to hold license issued by U.S. Coast Guard.
How much do Captains, Mates, and Pilots of Water Vessels earn?
May 2025 OEWS reports a mean annual wage of $87,420 and a mean hourly wage of $42.03 for this occupation.
How many people work as Captains, Mates, and Pilots of Water Vessels in the U.S.?
May 2025 OEWS estimates 33,370 U.S. jobs in SOC 53-5021, Captains, Mates, and Pilots of Water Vessels.
Is SOC 53-5021 the same as an O*NET® code?
The official code is the six-digit SOC code 53-5021. Each O*NET® occupation is a child page of that code. 53-5021.00 Captains, Mates, and Pilots of Water Vessels is the .00 O*NET® child page for this SOC code.
Sources for SOC 53-5021
- Official classification source U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. 2018 Standard Occupational Classification. BLS SOC page
- Extended SOC source This page includes information from the O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. SICCODE.com has modified all or some of this information. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications.
- Wage and employment data U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. May 2025 Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics. BLS OEWS
Published by SICCODE.com. The title, description, and exclusions are the Bureau of Labor Statistics 2018 SOC text. Wage and employment figures, when shown, are U.S. national estimates from the May 2025 Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey.
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