Command ships to steer them into and out of harbors, estuaries, straits, or sounds, or on rivers, lakes, or bays. Must be licensed by U.S. Coast Guard with limitations indicating class and tonnage of vessels for which license is valid and route and waters that may be piloted.
U.S. Workers
35,390
Median Salary
$85,540
10-Year Growth
+0.5%
Annual Openings
4,300
Typical entry: Postsecondary nondegree award
18 of 18 tasks have some AI capability
Exposure Trend
This score reflects estimated AI technical capability for tasks in this occupation. It does not predict employment changes, and it does not account for company-specific constraints, regulation, or adoption barriers.
Set ships' courses that avoid reefs, outlying shoals, or other hazards, using navigational aids, such as lighthouses or buoys.
AI: Fully automatable - Route-setting that avoids reefs, shoals, and hazards using navigational aids is already well-supported by ECDIS, chart databases and route-planning algorithms and can be fully automated technically.
Consult maps, charts, weather reports, or navigation equipment to determine and direct ship movements.
AI: Fully automatable - Consulting charts, weather, and navigation equipment to determine routes and issue movement directions is already well within AI and integrated navigation system capabilities.
Give directions to crew members who are steering ships.
AI: Fully automatable - Giving steering directions is a straightforward communications/control task that AI and autopilot systems can perform reliably in applicable contexts.
Operate ship-to-shore radios to exchange information needed for ship operations.
AI: Fully automatable - Operating ship‑to‑shore radios and exchanging operational information is a routine communications task that can be automated by AI and software systems.
Report to appropriate authorities any violations of federal or state pilotage laws.
AI: Fully automatable - Detecting regulatory violations from telemetry/logs and generating reports to authorities is a rule‑based monitoring and reporting task that AI can fully automate.
Maintain ship logs.
AI: Fully automatable - Automated sensor systems and electronic logging software can record, timestamp, and maintain ship logs without continuous human intervention, making this task fully automatable.
Advise ships' masters on harbor rules and customs procedures.
AI: Fully automatable - Advising masters on harbor rules and customs procedures is information retrieval and interpretation work that AI can perform fully with up‑to‑date regulatory data.
Learn to operate new technology systems and procedures, through the use of instruction, simulators, or models.
AI: Fully automatable - AI systems can be trained and adapted using instruction, simulators, and models to learn new technology systems and procedures.
Make nautical maps.
AI: Fully automatable - AI can process sonar, LiDAR, and satellite data to generate and update nautical charts, a pipeline that is largely automatable with current technology.
Direct courses and speeds of ships, based on specialized knowledge of local winds, weather, water depths, tides, currents, and hazards.
AI: Partial - AI can recommend courses and speeds using environmental and chart data, but the nuanced, real-time, liability-heavy decision-making based on local pilot knowledge is not fully automatable as of 2025.
Steer ships into or out of berths or signal tugboat captains to berth or unberth ships.
AI: Partial - Autonomous docking systems exist in limited/controlled settings and AI can communicate with tugs, but universal, reliable, and regulatory-accepted autonomous steering into/out of berths is not yet complete.
Prevent ships under their navigational control from engaging in unsafe operations.
AI: Partial - AI systems can monitor sensors, detect unsafe conditions, and issue warnings or automated interventions in some vessels, but cannot universally assume the pilot's full authority and complex real‑time judgment across all operational contexts by 2025.
Serve as a vessel's docking master upon arrival at a port or when at a berth.
AI: Partial - AI can plan and coordinate docking maneuvers and enable remote/autonomous docking in some ports, but cannot yet fully replace an on‑site docking master in all environments and regulatory frameworks.
Provide assistance to vessels approaching or leaving seacoasts, navigating harbors, or docking and undocking.
AI: Partial - AI can provide high‑quality guidance and remote assistance for approaches, harbor navigation, and docking in many cases, but cannot yet comprehensively replace human pilots across all ports and unexpected situations.
Provide assistance in maritime rescue operations.
AI: Partial - AI can assist rescue operations by detecting distress, coordinating resources, and controlling unmanned assets, but cannot fully perform physical rescue tasks in all scenarios.
Relieve crew members on tugs or launches.
AI: Partial - Remote-control and autonomous tug/launch prototypes can take over some duties, but reliable, regulatory-accepted replacement of human crew in all conditions is not yet fully achievable.
Maintain or repair boats or equipment.
AI: Partial - AI-driven diagnostics and robotic tools can handle routine maintenance and assist repairs, but complex, improvised, or dexterous repair work still requires human technicians.
Oversee cargo storage on or below decks.
AI: Partial - Cargo stowage planning, stability calculations, and sensor-based monitoring can be automated, but physical oversight and complex in-port decision-making still need human judgment.