Marine Engineering

Types of Degrees Marine Engineering Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many marine engineering graduations there were in 2018-2019 for each degree level.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Bachelor’s Degree	426
Master’s Degree	41
Undergraduate Certificate	7
Doctor’s Degree	6
Graduate Certificate	1

What Marine Engineering Majors Need to Know

O*NET surveyed people in occupations related to marine engineering and asked them what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important for their jobs. The responses were rated on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being most important.

Knowledge Areas for Marine Engineering Majors

Marine Engineering majors often go into careers in which the following knowledge areas are important:

• Engineering and Technology - Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
• Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
• Design - Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• Physics - Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub- atomic structures and processes.

Skills for Marine Engineering Majors

When studying marine engineering, you’ll learn many skills that will help you be successful in a wide range of jobs - even those that do not require a degree in the field. The following is a list of some of the most common skills needed for careers associated with this major:

• Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
• Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
• Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
• Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
• Judgment and Decision Making - Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.

Abilities for Marine Engineering Majors

Marine Engineering majors often go into careers where the following abilities are vital:

• Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
• Inductive Reasoning - The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).

What Can You Do With a Marine Engineering Major?

Below is a list of occupations associated with marine engineering:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Architectural and Engineering Managers	5.5%	$140,760
Engineering Professors	14.7%	$101,720
Marine Architects	12.2%	$92,560
Marine Engineers	12.2%	$92,560

Who Is Getting a Bachelor’s Degree in Marine Engineering?

This is a less frequently chosen undergraduate major. Only 426 students graduated with a bachelor’s degree in marine engineering in 2019, making it rank #213 in popularity. This major tends to be male dominated. About 86% of recent graduates are men.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the countrywide level, the racial-ethnic distribution of marine engineering majors is as follows:

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	15
Black or African American	5
Hispanic or Latino	22
White	344
International Students	8
Other Races/Ethnicities	32

Geographic Diversity

Marine Engineering appeals to people across the globe. About 1.9% of those with this major are international students. The most popular countries for students from outside the country are:

• China
• India
• United Arab Emirates
• Mexico
• South Korea

How Much Do Marine Engineering Majors Make?

Bachelor’s Degree Starting Salary

According to 2017-2018 data from the U.S. Department of Education, students who graduated with a bachelor’s degree in marine engineering have a median salary of $78,200 during the early years of their career. During this timeframe, most salaries fell between $69,100 (25th percentile) and $86,900 (75th percentile).

We don’t know for sure if all of these people took jobs related to marine engineering so take that into consideration.

Salaries According to BLS

Average salaries range from $98,970 to $148,970 (25th to 75th percentile) for careers related to marine engineering. This range includes all degree levels, so you may expect those with a more advanced degree to make more while those with less advanced degrees will typically make less.

To put that into context, according to BLS data from the first quarter of 2020, the typical high school graduate makes between $30,000 and $57,900 a year (25th through 75th percentile). The average person with a bachelor’s degree (any field) makes between $45,600 and $99,000. Advanced degree holders make the most with salaries between $55,600 and $125,400.

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to Marine Engineering

Some degrees associated with marine engineering may require an advanced degree, while others may not even require a bachelor’s in the field. Whatever the case may be, pursuing more education usually means that more career options will be available to you.

Find out what the typical degree level is for marine engineering careers below.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
Less than a High School Diploma	0.5%
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)	3.9%
Post-Secondary Certificate - awarded for training completed after high school (for example, in agriculture or natural resources, computer services, personal or culinary services, engineering technologies, healthcare, construction trades, mechanic and repair technologies, or precision production)	3.0%
Some College Courses	1.8%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	1.0%
Bachelor’s Degree	47.8%
Post-Baccalaureate Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Baccalaureate degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees carrying the title of Master.	3.8%
Master’s Degree	15.8%
Post-Master’s Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Master’s degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees at the doctoral level.	2.6%
Doctoral Degree	17.8%
Post-Doctoral Training	2.6%

Online Marine Engineering Programs

In the 2018-2019 academic year, 14 schools offered some type of marine engineering program. The following table lists the number of programs by degree level, along with how many schools offered online courses in the field.

Degree Level	Colleges Offering Programs	Colleges Offering Online Classes
Certificate (Less Than 1 Year)	0	0
Certificate (1-2 years)	1	0
Certificate (2-4 Years)	0	0
Associate’s Degree	1	0
Bachelor’s Degree	2	1
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	3	2
Post-Master’s	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	1	0
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	0	0

Is a Degree in Marine Engineering Worth It?

The median salary for a marine engineering grad is $113,680 per year. This is based on the weighted average of the most common careers associated with the major.

This is 185% more than the average salary for an individual holding a high school degree. This adds up to a gain of about $1,475,600 after 20 years!

Majors Related to Marine Engineering

You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to marine engineering.

Major	Number of Grads
Mechanical Engineering	47,405
Electrical Engineering	31,384
Civil Engineering	21,938
Computer Engineering	15,891
Chemical Engineering	14,406
Biomedical Engineering	12,001
General Engineering	11,739
Industrial Engineering	9,410
Aerospace & Aeronautical Engineering	7,069
Materials Engineering	3,538
Systems Engineering	3,491
Other Engineering	2,982
Environmental Engineering	2,850
Petroleum Engineering	2,269
Operations Research	1,745
Agricultural Engineering	1,554
Engineering Science	1,515
Architectural Engineering	1,019
Nuclear Engineering	1,014
Engineering Physics	979
Robotics Engineering	943
Manufacturing Engineering	932
Construction Engineering	865
Geoscience Engineering	424
Polymer & Plastics Engineering	387
Biological Engineering	374
Textile Engineering	366
Ocean Engineering	346
Mining Engineering	340
Engineering Mechanics	314
Metallurgical Engineering	235
Biochemical Engineering	118
Ceramic Engineering	101
Surveying Engineering	89
Electromechanical Engineering	65
Forest Engineering	52
Paper Science & Engineering	44
Engineering Chemistry	9

References

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• College Scorecard
• National Center for Education Statistics
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers First Quarter 2020

More about our data sources and methodologies.