Ship's Master
What the work is
Controls and manages the operations of a ship or boat.
Would you enjoy the work?
These are the main tasks in the official description. Mark how each one sounds to you.
- Manages and controls the movement of a vessel
- Oversees the interpretation of navigational instruments to ensure a vessel's course is maintained
- Adjusts a vessel's course according to weather conditions
- Communicates with port authorities
- Plans and schedules a vessel's route, considering factors such as weather, tides and cargo requirements
- Oversees the loading and unloading of cargo and/or passengers
- Implements emergency procedures in case of accidents, storms or unforeseen events
- Ensures compliance with maritime laws, regulations and safety procedures
Try it
A simulation and a case study from this kind of work, set in a working vessel at a fictional regional port, with a bridge, an engine room and a deck crew. They are fictional.
The kind of days you could have
Good days
- A smooth arrival into a tight berth with the crew working together
- You find and fix an engine problem before it becomes a breakdown at sea
- A calm sunrise at sea after a night when everything ran the way it should
Hard days
- Weather closes in and plans change faster than you can communicate them
- Weeks away from home, and missing family events that cannot be moved
- A surveyor or port inspector finds a fault you hoped was not there
Written by Career Calling as a general guide. Real roles vary by employer and place.
Work a mission
Step into a simulated workplace in this field, with a brief from your manager.
Description and tasks: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Occupation Standard Classification for Australia, 2024, Version 1.0 (opens another site), occupation 313435, used under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence. The skill guide above is our plain English summary.