The median annual wage for marine engineers and naval architects was $93,110 in May 2015.
The median wage is the wage at which half the workers in an occupation earned more than that amount and half earned less. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $61,110, and the highest 10 percent earned more than $149,330.
In May 2015, the median annual wages for marine engineers and naval architects in the top industries in which they worked were as follows:
Mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction
$123,120
Federal government, excluding postal service
98,000
Engineering services
92,050
Water transportation
88,900
Ship and boat building
88,690
Marine engineers and naval architects work full time, and about 1 in 3 worked more than 40 hours per week in 2014. Marine engineers who work at sea will work a schedule tied to the operations of their particular ship. Those who work on shore will have somewhat more regular work schedules. Because naval architects are primarily designers, they are much more likely to work a regular schedule in an office or at a shipyard.
Union Membership
Compared with workers in all occupations, marine engineers and naval architects had a higher percentage of workers who belonged to a union in 2014.
Marine Engineers and Naval Architects
Median annual wages, May 2015
Marine engineers and naval architects
$93,110
Engineers
$90,060
Total, all occupations
$36,200
Note: All Occupations includes all occupations in the U.S. Economy. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment Statistics