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Captains, Mates, and Pilots of Water Vessels: apprenticeship hours and pay
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Approved apprenticeship titles
2 apprenticeship titles on the Department of Labor's approved list fall under Captains, Mates, and Pilots of Water Vessels, trained competency-based, hybrid, time-based. The shortest approved term is 3,000 hours, for Officer in Charge of Navig Watch (competency-based).
| Title | RAPIDS code | Approach and term |
|---|---|---|
| Officer in Charge of Navig Watch | 1104 | Competency-Based: 3,000 hours Hybrid: 3,000 to 3,750 hours Time-Based: 3,000 hours |
| PILOT, SHIP | 0623 | Competency-Based: 3,000 hours Hybrid: 3,000 to 3,750 hours Time-Based: 3,000 hours |
Time-based programs count hours on the job; competency-based programs move on when the apprentice shows the skills; hybrid programs use both, within a range of hours (29 CFR 29.5(b)(2)). Each registered program sets its own term inside what the approved title allows.
What captains, mates, and pilots of water vessels earn, by state
Maryland has the highest state median for captains, mates, and pilots of water vessels ($138,950) and Puerto Rico the lowest ($47,410), across the 40 states with a published figure.
| State | Median pay | Hourly | Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maryland | $138,950 | $66.80 | 450 |
| Tennessee | $132,710 | $63.80 | 940 |
| Louisiana | $117,160 | $56.33 | 6,830 |
| Texas | $111,390 | $53.55 | 3,400 |
| California | $110,090 | $52.93 | 2,420 |
| New York | $104,800 | $50.39 | 1,930 |
| Mississippi | $104,220 | $50.11 | 570 |
| Washington | $103,730 | $49.87 | 1,560 |
| Iowa | $97,700 | $46.97 | 80 |
| Oregon | $97,050 | $46.66 | 350 |
| Indiana | $92,000 | $44.23 | 1,010 |
| New Jersey | $90,310 | $43.42 | 510 |
| Alaska | $88,230 | $42.42 | 710 |
| Virginia | $87,610 | $42.12 | 2,270 |
| West Virginia | $85,290 | $41.00 | 110 |
| Missouri | $83,670 | $40.23 | 420 |
| Minnesota | $80,920 | $38.90 | 110 |
| Oklahoma | $79,110 | $38.03 | 30 |
| Massachusetts | $77,950 | $37.47 | 650 |
| Georgia | $77,090 | $37.06 | 220 |
| Rhode Island | $76,790 | $36.92 | 250 |
| Florida | $76,040 | $36.56 | 5,040 |
| New Hampshire | $75,870 | $36.48 | 70 |
| Connecticut | $75,810 | $36.45 | 380 |
| Wisconsin | $74,390 | $35.76 | 170 |
| Delaware | $73,280 | $35.23 | 50 |
| Hawaii | $72,960 | $35.08 | 700 |
| Maine | $72,770 | $34.99 | 360 |
| Illinois | $69,600 | $33.46 | 900 |
| North Carolina | $69,170 | $33.26 | 490 |
| Alabama | $68,920 | $33.13 | 350 |
| Vermont | $64,020 | $30.78 | 40 |
| Pennsylvania | $61,420 | $29.53 | 580 |
| Arizona | $58,700 | $28.22 | 40 |
| South Carolina | $57,660 | $27.72 | 520 |
| Ohio | $56,070 | $26.96 | 420 |
| Michigan | $53,590 | $25.76 | 640 |
| Utah | $50,010 | $24.04 | Not published |
| U.S. Virgin Islands | $48,700 | $23.42 | 130 |
| Puerto Rico | $47,410 | $22.79 | 120 |
Finding a program
The public sponsor file names the organizations that run registered apprenticeships but not the occupations each one trains, so this guide names no sponsor. Search apprenticeship.gov's Apprenticeship Finder for this title, or ask your American Job Center which local programs train it.
Apprenticeship sponsors by state (25,633) · All approved occupations
Sources: apprenticeship.gov approved occupations list (Last-Modified October 8, 2026); BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 (all industries; blanks are figures BLS does not publish).