From MoneyWise, May 14:
Most college graduates are hoping to land a decent salary and maybe a signing bonus if they're very lucky. Many of them will be hard-pressed to top the salaries awaiting some graduates of America's maritime academies: job offers topping $170,000 a year, plus bonuses worth as much as $54,000.
It's anything but easy money, though: The jobs can involve months at sea, long shifts and potential deployments near military conflict zones.
The high starting pay reflects a growing problem that most Americans rarely think about until supply chains break down and store shelves are empty: The U.S. doesn't have enough licensed mariners to move goods, fuel and military supplies around the world.
A serious shortage of mariners
According to reporting from NPR (1), the U.S. maritime sector currently has roughly 8,000 open positions. More than 5,000 are tied to the Military Sealift Command (2), the federal agency responsible for supplying ammunition, fuel and food to Navy ships. Without enough support vessels operating overseas, some Navy ships in the Persian Gulf could reportedly run low on provisions within days.That pressure is what's helping to push salaries these roles sharply higher. The demand has placed schools including SUNY Maritime College (3) in the spotlight. Maritime academies combine traditional college coursework with Coast Guard licensing requirements, giving graduates credentials that are suddenly in extremely short supply.
In 2024, there were about 83,400 workers in water transportation jobs, with a median pay of $66,490 per year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (4). But new grads are cashing in on demand created by conflict hotspots, such as the Strait of Hormuz, which is at the center of the Iran war.
The Trump administration in February unrolled a Maritime Action Plan (5) to, in part, help address a merchant Marine staffing shortage that is attributed to factors including an aging workforce, high turnover and skill gaps.
It’s also a difficult path to take. Students training for these jobs often complete grueling schedules involving up to 24 credit hours per semester alongside mandatory sea training, and the jobs themselves are intense. Also, in order to get that $54,000 signing bonus with the Military Sealift Command, you’d have to commit to a three-year contract.
"Our kids graduate highly educated, focused," SUNY Maritime President John Okon, who is a 1991 graduate himself, told NPR. "When they graduate, their biggest problem is how are they going to manage all the money they're making and all the opportunities that they're going to have."....
....MUCH MORE
A few of the higher paying jobs we've looked at (you have to move while the opportunity is available):
February 2019 - "You Want Autonomous Vehicles? The Mining Industry Is Already Going to Level 5
January 2017 - "Robots Are Replacing Up To 75% Of Jobs On Oil Drilling Rigs"
A few years ago Norwegian offshore oil workers averaged a bit over 1.07 million Kroner, at the time approximately $175,000. Even the grunts of the business, the roustabouts were booking the equivalent of $120,000 per annum, with roughnecks adding $50K to that and drillers and toolpushers at $200,000 and up....
Contrasted with earlier today:
The Class of 2026 is cooked
