What skills should a Captains, Mates, and Pilot of Water Vessels put on a resume?

O*NET rates Operation and Control, Monitoring, Speaking, Active Listening, and Critical Thinking among the most important skills for this occupation. Name the ones that are genuinely yours and show where you used them. A resume that lists skills you do not have is weaker than one that lists fewer.

What software should a Captains, Mates, and Pilot of Water Vessels list?

Software recorded for this occupation includes Apple macOS, Autodesk Revit, Computerized maintenance management system CMMS, FURUNO navigational chart software, and Groundwater modeling system GMS. Applicant tracking systems match on the exact product name, so write the tool as the posting writes it rather than describing it in general terms.

What other job titles cover Captains, Mates, and Pilot of Water Vessels work?

O*NET records 40 titles for this occupation, including Boat Captain, Captain, First Mate, and Mate. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.

What qualifications does a Captains, Mates, and Pilot of Water Vessels need?

In O*NET's survey of people doing this job, 42% reported their level of education as "High School Diploma, or the equivalent". That is what current postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.

Will this resume pass an ATS for a Captains, Mates, and Pilot of Water Vessels role?

No tool outside an employer can tell you how that employer's system is configured, including ours. What you can control is that the resume parses cleanly, names the work in the words the posting uses, and does not claim anything you cannot back up.

Captains, Mates, and Pilot of Water Vessels resume example

A resume for a Captains, Mates, and Pilot of Water Vessels needs to show the work itself: command or supervise operations of ships and water vessels, such as tugboats and ferryboats. Day to day that means work like this: direct courses and speeds of ships, based on specialized knowledge of local winds, weather, water depths, tides, currents, and hazards; prevent ships under navigational control from engaging in unsafe operations. Recruiters and applicant tracking systems both read for the tasks and tools this role actually involves, so the strongest resume names them in your own experience rather than describing the job in the abstract. Below are the tasks O*NET records for this occupation, the software and tools it uses, the titles it is advertised under, and the skills worth naming if they are genuinely yours.

Also advertised as

The same job is posted under many titles. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.

Boat Captain
Captain
First Mate
Mate
Ferry Boat Captain
Harbor Pilot
River Pilot
Ship Pilot
Tugboat Captain
Vessel Master
AB Seaman
AB Tankerman
DSV Operator
Able Bodied Seaman
Able Bodied Tankerman
Area Relief Pilot
Bar Pilot
Barge Captain

O*NET records 40 titles for this occupation in total.

What this work actually involves

Tasks recorded for this occupation, in O*NET's words. If your experience covers one of these, it belongs on your resume in your own words.

Direct courses and speeds of ships, based on specialized knowledge of local winds, weather, water depths, tides, currents, and hazards.
Prevent ships under navigational control from engaging in unsafe operations.
Serve as a vessel's docking master upon arrival at a port or at a berth.
Consult maps, charts, weather reports, or navigation equipment to determine and direct ship movements.
Steer and operate vessels, using radios, depth finders, radars, lights, buoys, or lighthouses.
Operate ship-to-shore radios to exchange information needed for ship operations.
Dock or undock vessels, sometimes maneuvering through narrow spaces, such as locks.
Stand watches on vessels during specified periods while vessels are under way.
Inspect vessels to ensure efficient and safe operation of vessels and equipment and conformance to regulations.
Read gauges to verify sufficient levels of hydraulic fluid, air pressure, or oxygen.
Report to appropriate authorities any violations of federal or state pilotage laws.
Provide assistance in maritime rescue operations.

30 tasks are recorded in total; these are the most central.

Example bullets for this role

Built from this occupation's own tasks. The brackets stay empty on purpose: we will not invent a number for you, and a fabricated metric is the fastest way to lose an interview you had already won.

Direct courses and speeds of ships, based on specialized knowledge of local winds, weather, water depths, tides, currents, and hazards, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Prevent ships under navigational control from engaging in unsafe operations, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Serve as a vessel's docking master upon arrival at a port or at a berth, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Consult maps, charts, weather reports, or navigation equipment to determine and direct ship movements, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].

Software used in this role

Recorded for this occupation by O*NET. An applicant tracking system matches the exact product name, so write the tool the way the posting writes it.

Apple macOS
Autodesk Revit
Computerized maintenance management system CMMS
FURUNO navigational chart software
Groundwater modeling system GMS
Jeppesen Marine Nobeltec Admiral
JRC navigation software
KNMI TurboWin
Log book software
Maptech The CAPN
Microsoft Excel
Microsoft Office Outlook
Microsoft Office software
Microsoft Outlook

18 software entries are recorded in total.

Tools and equipment

The physical equipment this occupation is recorded as using. Worth naming when a posting asks for it by name.

Accommodation ladder
Anchors
Automatic radar plotting aids ARPA
Bolt cutters
Bridge to bridge radiotelephones
Bulk carriers
Carbon dioxide CO2 fire extinguishing systems
Carbon dioxide CO2 flooding systems
Cargo derricks
Centrifugal cargo pumps
Chain cargo falls
Chemical tankers

What this job rates as most important

O*NET rates every skill for importance to this occupation. These are the highest rated, in order.

01Operation and Control
02Monitoring
03Speaking
04Active Listening
05Critical Thinking
06Judgment and Decision Making
07Operations Monitoring
08Complex Problem Solving
09Coordination
10Management of Personnel Resources

Knowledge areas

The subject knowledge this occupation draws on, rated by importance.

Transportation
Public Safety and Security
Mechanical
Law and Government
English Language
Geography
Administration and Management
Customer and Personal Service

What qualifications people in this job have

From O*NET's survey of people doing this work. This is what postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.

42%High School Diploma, or the equivalent
37%Post-Secondary Certificate, awarded for training completed after high school
8%Bachelor's Degree

What level this role is pitched at

O*NET places this occupation in “Medium Preparation Needed”. Most occupations in this zone require training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree.

Previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is required for these occupations. For example, an electrician must have completed three or four years of apprenticeship or several years of vocational training, and often must have passed a licensing exam, in order to perform the job.

Common questions

What does a Captains, Mates, and Pilot of Water Vessels do?: Command or supervise operations of ships and water vessels, such as tugboats and ferryboats. Day to day that includes work like direct courses and speeds of ships, based on specialized knowledge of local winds, weather, water depths, tides, currents, and hazards and Prevent ships under navigational control from engaging in unsafe operations.
What skills should a Captains, Mates, and Pilot of Water Vessels put on a resume?: O*NET rates Operation and Control, Monitoring, Speaking, Active Listening, and Critical Thinking among the most important skills for this occupation. Name the ones that are genuinely yours and show where you used them. A resume that lists skills you do not have is weaker than one that lists fewer.
What software should a Captains, Mates, and Pilot of Water Vessels list?: Software recorded for this occupation includes Apple macOS, Autodesk Revit, Computerized maintenance management system CMMS, FURUNO navigational chart software, and Groundwater modeling system GMS. Applicant tracking systems match on the exact product name, so write the tool as the posting writes it rather than describing it in general terms.
What other job titles cover Captains, Mates, and Pilot of Water Vessels work?: O*NET records 40 titles for this occupation, including Boat Captain, Captain, First Mate, and Mate. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.
What qualifications does a Captains, Mates, and Pilot of Water Vessels need?: In O*NET's survey of people doing this job, 42% reported their level of education as "High School Diploma, or the equivalent". That is what current postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.
Will this resume pass an ATS for a Captains, Mates, and Pilot of Water Vessels role?: No tool outside an employer can tell you how that employer's system is configured, including ours. What you can control is that the resume parses cleanly, names the work in the words the posting uses, and does not claim anything you cannot back up.

Related roles

Occupations O*NET records as closest to this one, and worth looking at if this search is not moving.

What this page cannot tell you

No tool outside an employer can tell you how that employer’s ATS is configured, including ours.
This page makes no claim about pay, demand or how many people hold this job. O*NET does not publish that here and we will not estimate it.
Keyword overlap is one input to a resume’s score, not a verdict on you. A resume that names skills you do not have is worse than one that names fewer.

If this is the job you are aiming at, the guide to tailoring a resume covers how to aim one posting properly, and building and exporting a resume here is free.

Occupation data from the O*NET 29.1 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under CC BY 4.0. O*NET is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. SpartanResume is not endorsed by USDOL/ETA.