Becoming a Marine Engineer

Marine engineers, sometimes known as naval architects, design all types of seagoing craft, including civil arid naval ships, aircraft carriers, oil tankers, roll-on roll-off car ferries, and submarines. They may also work on floating equipment that can be used to develop oil fields located at sea.

The Job:

The job of a marine engineer is to design maritime craft and to manage and supervise their construction. There is such a wide variety of craft, each designed for quite a different purpose, that the work can be extremely varied. Many marine engineers, however, specialize in the design and construction of one type of craft due to the specific interests of their employer.

Marine engineers maybe employed by national defense departments to work on the design and development of military craft. They also find employment opportunities with shipbuilders and, increasingly, with oil companies and their contractors. Some are employed as civil servants, whose job it is to inspect vessels for safety. A few work for insurance companies, where they assess insurance risks and survey the loss when something goes wrong.

Much of this work is office based. Computer-aided design (CAD) is an important tool, but prototype models of new designs are thoroughly tested for their stability and other characteristics in large water tanks. Different shapes of craft move differently through water. Marine engineers have an in-depth understanding of how such characteristics as speed and maneuverability of a vessel change with the shape it makes through the water.

The weight of a ship and the height of its centre of gravity are just two of the important factors that determine the stability of craft in all types of weather conditions.

The propulsion, steering, and navigation of a vessel all come under their responsibility.

Marine engineers put all of these systems together to ensure that the crew can readily sail the ship. Recently there has been considerable debate about the safety of certain types of ferry which is another concern of marine engineers.

Training Involved:

Four years of practical training are required. In some countries, this training is interspersed with academic work; in others, practical experience takes place after studies have been completed.

Marine engineers spend a considerable part of their training in the design office, where they learn at first hand the problems of ship design, the critical choices that must be made, and the links between design, the economics of manufacture, and on-going maintenance.

They also spend time in the shipyard gaining a detailed understanding of different types of construction, the planning, scheduling, and time taken for each stage from laying the keel to launching. Where their employer is not a shipbuilder, they are often seconded to another firm for a period to gain this type of experience.

Shipping is an international business and a thorough knowledge of shipping law, and especially the safety requirements, must be gained during training.

Eventually, a trainee will be given responsibility for seeing through an aspect of the work. This may initially be a part of a much larger design or the supervision of some aspect of a ship's construction or maintenance. At the end of the training period, fully qualified marine engineers can manage full projects, supervise staff, liaise with customers, and pursue the full range of responsibilities of a marine engineer.

Useful Qualifications to Have:

Useful subjects include: science, physics, and mathematics.

Salary Expectations:

The base salary range of a Marine Engineer ranges from $53,534 to $120,325 annually, while the median salary for most Marine Engineers is $84,672 annually. (US Base Pay)

Future Prospects:

The prospects for marine engineers are variable. Some countries have a highly successful shipbuilding industry while others do not. The demand for new ships also rises and falls, and is closely dependent on the level of world trade. Military requirements for ships are related closely to the perceived level of threat or tension that exists around the world at any time, but also on the age of their fleet. Advances in technology and the ability of current craft to cope with these developments are also crucial factors governing demand.

While prospects for marine engineers may not be dramatically high, there is no doubt that there will always be an on going need for ships. This will inevitably fuel a demand for their services. New uses and different types of vessel are continually being pursued.

Demand for liners to meet the growing fashion for tourist cruises and for semi-submersible craft that can remain stationary over an oil well or store oil at sea are among the current niche markets that provide continuing work for marine engineers.

For further information, contact national professional engineering institutions concerned with marine engineering, naval architecture, or mechanical engineering. Also contact shipbuilders and navy recruiting offices.