US dataswitch to UK
Captains, Mates, and Pilots of Water Vessels
directing courses and speeds of ships, towing and maneuvering barges or signal tugboats to tow barges and reporting to appropriate authorities any violations of federal or state pilotage laws. If that's your week, this page is about your job.
The honest answer
AI changes the edges of this job, not the middle: steering and operating vessels, using radios, depth finders, radars, lights, buoys or lighthouses is work software can't reach.
What shifts is maintaining records of daily activities: the overhead at the edges, not the middle you trained for.
Your week, as this page understands it
Command or supervise operations of ships and water vessels, such as tugboats and ferryboats. Required to hold license issued by U.S. Coast Guard. The job title says “captains”, “mates” or “pilots of water vessels”: officially one job, several names. The real job is the part underneath: steering and operating vessels, using radios, depth finders, radars, lights, buoys or lighthouses. That is the thing someone has to be right about.
The exposed part of this job is specific, and we won’t pretend it is coming back. But captains, mates, and pilots of water vessels is not one task. It is 30 scored ones, and they are nowhere near equally exposed. The most durable of them, on this evidence, is steering and operating vessels, using radios, depth finders, radars, lights, buoys or lighthouses, and the ledger below shows exactly why.
Where the work sits, by task weight
- shifting to AI
- 0%
- changing shape
- 13%
- staying human
- 87%
These bars are tasks changing hands, not people being counted out. The ledger below shows which.
Whole-job exposure score 13 out of 100 (9–19 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, across 30 scored tasks. The number is the support for the sentence above it, not a headline about anyone’s future.
How we know this
What is measured: Every published task statement for captains, mates, and pilots of water vessels is rated on five dimensions: can a model produce the output, does the work need a body in a room, does it need a legally accountable person, does it depend on a person being trusted in the moment, and how much data exists. A published formula turns those five ratings into the score; the model never writes the number.
How the bar is built: Each task’s share of the bar is its published importance weight, so a task you do all day counts for more than one you do twice a year.
Release: 2026-q4.1, scores computed 2026-08-05. Read the full method.
Your job, task by task
These are the official task statements for this occupation, in plain English, sorted by what the evidence says is happening to each one. The official wording sits under every line so you can check the rewrite against it.
- 2 tasks scored differently between repeat runs, so their range on this page is wider. We would rather show the wobble than hide it.
- 5 of this occupation's scored task statements carry a score that was measured under a different occupation's context, because the statement is shared between jobs and has only been scored once so far. Each one names the occupation it was measured under in the free routes below; none is presented as a measurement for this job.
- Task clusters are not derived in this release, so the task-cluster field is empty and no Collab365 Space routing is attached to this occupation yet.
Shifting to AI
0 tasksTasks today’s tools can already do most of. This is the part we will not soften: where these rows are the bulk of your week, the week changes.
Nothing in this job’s scored task list landed in this group. That is the measurement, not an editorial choice, and it is worth knowing either way.
Changing shape
4 tasksTasks where the machine takes the producing and a person keeps the checking, the deciding, or the answering-for-it. For most jobs this is the biggest group, and it is where "transformation, not termination" is literally visible.
Reporting to appropriate authorities any violations of federal or state pilotage laws
The software now makes the first pass at appropriate authorities any violations of federal, but someone has to be answerable for the result, and it cannot be the software. So the job becomes checking and deciding rather than producing.
importance 4 · CoreSource: “Report to appropriate authorities any violations of federal or state pilotage laws.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 42 out of 100 (35–49 allowing for uncertainty): partial exposure, medium confidence.
Why it sits in this group: reading one thing and writing another; the same decision, made over and over; someone qualified has to answer for it.
The rating behind it: Writing up a pilotage violation is report work, though the report has to come from the licensed pilot.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 3/4 · needs a body in a room 1/4 · needs an accountable person 2/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 3/4.
Maintaining records of daily activities
The software now makes the first pass at records of daily activities, but someone has to be answerable for the result, and it cannot be the software. So the job becomes checking and deciding rather than producing.
importance 4 · CoreSource: “Maintain records of daily activities, personnel reports, ship positions and movements, ports of call, weather and sea conditions, pollution control efforts, or cargo or passenger status.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 52 out of 100 (45–59 allowing for uncertainty): partial exposure, medium confidence.
Why it sits in this group: reading one thing and writing another; the same decision, made over and over; someone qualified has to answer for it.
The rating behind it: Ship logs are structured records software can largely assemble automatically, though the master remains legally responsible for them.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 4/4 · needs a body in a room 1/4 · needs an accountable person 2/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 3/4.
Arranging for ships
The software now makes the first pass at ships, but the deciding part still needs a person. So the job becomes checking and deciding rather than producing.
importance 4 · CoreSource: “Arrange for ships to be fueled, restocked with supplies, or repaired.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 48 out of 100 (44–52 allowing for uncertainty): partial exposure, high confidence.
Why it sits in this group: reading one thing and writing another; the same decision, made over and over; mistakes that are cheap to catch.
The rating behind it: Arranging fuel, stores and repairs is correspondence and booking work that can be handled from a desk.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 3/4 · needs a body in a room 1/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 1/4 · how much data exists 3/4.
Purchasing supplies or equipment
The software now makes the first pass at supplies, but the deciding part still needs a person. So the job becomes checking and deciding rather than producing.
importance 4 · CoreSource: “Purchase supplies or equipment.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 57 out of 100 (50–64 allowing for uncertainty): partial exposure, medium confidence.
Why it sits in this group: reading one thing and writing another; mistakes that are cheap to catch.
The rating behind it: Ordering supplies and equipment is procurement paperwork, though what the vessel needs depends on local knowledge.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 3/4 · needs a body in a room 0/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 1/4 · how much data exists 2/4.
Staying human
26 tasksTasks that stay with a person, because they happen in the physical world, because the rules need someone accountable, or because the value is that a specific person does them.
Directing courses and speeds of ships
This work happens in the physical world: courses, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 5 · CoreSource: “Direct courses and speeds of ships, based on specialized knowledge of local winds, weather, water depths, tides, currents, and hazards.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 8 out of 100 (1–15 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, medium confidence.
Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world; someone qualified has to answer for it.
The rating behind it: Course and speed decisions rest on local knowledge and legally require a licensed officer on the vessel.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 2/4 · needs a body in a room 3/4 · needs an accountable person 3/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 2/4.
Consulting maps, charts, weather reports or navigation equipment to determine and direct ship movements
This work happens in the physical world: maps, charts, weather reports or navigation equipment, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 5 · CoreSource: “Consult maps, charts, weather reports, or navigation equipment to determine and direct ship movements.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 18 out of 100 (11–25 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, medium confidence.
Why it sits in this group: the same decision, made over and over; work that happens in the physical world; someone qualified has to answer for it.
The rating behind it: Route planning can be worked out automatically, but directing a ship needs a certificated officer on the bridge.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 2/4 · needs a body in a room 2/4 · needs an accountable person 3/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 3/4.
Steering and operating vessels, using radios, depth finders, radars, lights, buoys or lighthouses
This work happens in the physical world: vessels, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 5 · CoreSource: “Steer and operate vessels, using radios, depth finders, radars, lights, buoys, or lighthouses.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (0–4 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.
Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world; someone qualified has to answer for it.
The rating behind it: Steering and operating a vessel means a person at the controls on board.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 0/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 3/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 2/4.
Serving as a vessel's docking master upon arrival at a port or at a berth
This work happens in the physical world: a vessel's docking master upon arrival, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 5 · CoreSource: “Serve as a vessel's docking master upon arrival at a port or at a berth.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (0–4 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.
Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world; someone qualified has to answer for it.
The rating behind it: Docking master work is hands-on ship handling from aboard the vessel.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 0/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 3/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 1/4 · how much data exists 1/4.
Preventing ships under navigational control from engaging in unsafe operations
This work happens in the physical world: ships under navigational control, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 5 · CoreSource: “Prevent ships under navigational control from engaging in unsafe operations.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 4 out of 100 (0–11 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, medium confidence.
Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world; someone qualified has to answer for it; the value is that a specific person does it.
The rating behind it: Stopping an unsafe operation needs the authority of a qualified officer who is there at the time.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 1/4 · needs a body in a room 3/4 · needs an accountable person 3/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 2/4 · how much data exists 2/4.
Docking or undocking vessels, sometimes maneuvering through narrow spaces, such as locks
This work happens in the physical world: vessels, sometimes, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 5 · CoreSource: “Dock or undock vessels, sometimes maneuvering through narrow spaces, such as locks.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (0–4 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.
Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world; someone qualified has to answer for it.
The rating behind it: Bringing a vessel alongside or through a lock is physical ship handling.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 0/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 3/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 1/4.
Show the other 20 tasks
Advising ships' masters on harbor rules and customs procedures
staying humanThe rules require a named, qualified person to answer for ships' masters, and that person cannot be a piece of software.
importance 4 · CoreSource: “Advise ships' masters on harbor rules and customs procedures.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 36 out of 100 (29–43 allowing for uncertainty): low exposure, medium confidence.
Why it sits in this group: reading one thing and writing another; the same decision, made over and over; someone qualified has to answer for it.
The rating behind it: Harbor rules and customs procedures are written down, so the advice is easy to produce from documents.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 3/4 · needs a body in a room 1/4 · needs an accountable person 2/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 1/4 · how much data exists 3/4.
Assigning watches or living quarters to crew members
staying humanThe ratings behind this row put watches well outside what today's tools can do on their own.
importance 4 · SupplementalSource: “Assign watches or living quarters to crew members.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 22 out of 100 (12–32 allowing for uncertainty): low exposure, medium confidence, and it moved between repeat runs, so the range is widened.
Why it sits in this group: the same decision, made over and over.
The rating behind it: Watch rosters follow documented rest rules software can build, but quarters and crew fit involve judgment aboard.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 1/4 · needs a body in a room 1/4 · needs an accountable person 1/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 1/4 · how much data exists 3/4.
Reading gauges to verify sufficient levels of hydraulic fluid
staying humanThis work happens in the physical world: gauges, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 5 · CoreSource: “Read gauges to verify sufficient levels of hydraulic fluid, air pressure, or oxygen.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 19 out of 100 (12–26 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, medium confidence.
Why it sits in this group: the same decision, made over and over; mistakes that are cheap to catch; work that happens in the physical world.
The rating behind it: Sensors can report these levels automatically, but as done today someone walks to the gauge and reads it.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 3/4 · needs a body in a room 3/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 3/4.
Measuring depths of water, using depth-measuring equipment
staying humanThis work happens in the physical world: depths of water, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 4 · CoreSource: “Measure depths of water, using depth-measuring equipment.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 19 out of 100 (12–26 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, medium confidence.
Why it sits in this group: the same decision, made over and over; mistakes that are cheap to catch; work that happens in the physical world.
The rating behind it: Echo sounders take the measurement automatically, but the equipment is operated from on board.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 3/4 · needs a body in a room 3/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 3/4.
Interviewing and hiring crew members
staying humanThe value here is that a specific person handles crew members and stands behind it. That is earned, not computed.
importance 3 · SupplementalSource: “Interview and hire crew members.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 15 out of 100 (8–22 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, medium confidence.
Why it sits in this group: the value is that a specific person does it.
The rating behind it: Software can shortlist applicants, but deciding who you want aboard for weeks at sea is a personal judgment.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 1/4 · needs a body in a room 1/4 · needs an accountable person 1/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 2/4 · how much data exists 2/4.
Calculating sightings of land, using electronic sounding devices and following contour lines on charts
staying humanThis work happens in the physical world: sightings of land, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 4 · CoreSource: “Calculate sightings of land, using electronic sounding devices and following contour lines on charts.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 14 out of 100 (7–21 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, medium confidence.
Why it sits in this group: the same decision, made over and over; work that happens in the physical world; someone qualified has to answer for it.
The rating behind it: The calculation is straightforward, but the sounding equipment and charts are worked from on board.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 3/4 · needs a body in a room 3/4 · needs an accountable person 2/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 3/4.
Learning to operate new technology systems and procedures through instruction
staying humanThis work happens in the physical world: operate new technology systems, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 4 · CoreSource: “Learn to operate new technology systems and procedures through instruction, simulators, or models.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 14 out of 100 (7–21 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, medium confidence.
Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world.
The rating behind it: Learning to run a new system is something the officer has to do for themselves, often in a simulator.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 1/4 · needs a body in a room 2/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 1/4 · how much data exists 2/4.
Operating ship-to-shore radios to exchange information needed for ship operations
staying humanThis work happens in the physical world: ship-to-shore radios, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 5 · CoreSource: “Operate ship-to-shore radios to exchange information needed for ship operations.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 11 out of 100 (4–18 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, medium confidence.
Why it sits in this group: the same decision, made over and over; mistakes that are cheap to catch; work that happens in the physical world.
The rating behind it: Radio traffic is information, but it is exchanged by someone standing on the bridge as the ship operates.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 2/4 · needs a body in a room 3/4 · needs an accountable person 1/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 1/4 · how much data exists 3/4.
Inspecting vessels to ensure efficient and safe operation of vessels and equipment and conformance to regulations
staying humanThis work happens in the physical world: vessels, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 5 · CoreSource: “Inspect vessels to ensure efficient and safe operation of vessels and equipment and conformance to regulations.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 9 out of 100 (2–16 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, medium confidence.
Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world; someone qualified has to answer for it.
The rating behind it: Some conformance checking is paperwork, but most of the inspection is walking the ship and looking at equipment.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 2/4 · needs a body in a room 3/4 · needs an accountable person 2/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 2/4.
Directing or coordinating crew members or workers performing activities
staying humanThis work happens in the physical world: crew members, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 4 · CoreSource: “Direct or coordinate crew members or workers performing activities such as loading or unloading cargo, steering vessels, operating engines, or operating, maintaining, or repairing ship equipment.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 4 out of 100 (0–11 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, medium confidence.
Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world; someone qualified has to answer for it; the value is that a specific person does it.
The rating behind it: Directing a crew through cargo and engine work depends on a person present with authority over them.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 1/4 · needs a body in a room 3/4 · needs an accountable person 2/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 2/4 · how much data exists 2/4.
Supervising crews in cleaning or maintaining decks
staying humanThis work happens in the physical world: crews, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 4 · CoreSource: “Supervise crews in cleaning or maintaining decks, superstructures, or bridges.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 4 out of 100 (0–11 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, medium confidence.
Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world; the value is that a specific person does it.
The rating behind it: Supervising deck maintenance means walking the ship and checking the work as it is done.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 1/4 · needs a body in a room 3/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 2/4 · how much data exists 1/4.
Standing watches on vessels during specified periods while vessels are under way
staying humanThis work happens in the physical world: watches, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 5 · CoreSource: “Stand watches on vessels during specified periods while vessels are under way.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (0–4 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.
Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world; someone qualified has to answer for it.
The rating behind it: Standing watch means a qualified person physically on the bridge for the whole period.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 0/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 3/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 1/4.
Providing assistance in maritime rescue operations
staying humanThis work happens in the physical world: assistance, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 4 · CoreSource: “Provide assistance in maritime rescue operations.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (0–4 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.
Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world; someone qualified has to answer for it; the value is that a specific person does it.
The rating behind it: Maritime rescue is physical work carried out at the scene.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 0/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 2/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 2/4 · how much data exists 1/4.
Signaling passing vessels, using whistles, flashing lights, flags or radios
staying humanThis work happens in the physical world: vessels, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 4 · CoreSource: “Signal passing vessels, using whistles, flashing lights, flags, or radios.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (0–4 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.
Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world.
The rating behind it: Sounding a whistle or working flags and lights is a physical act on deck.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 0/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 1/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 2/4.
Maintaining boats or equipment on board
staying humanThis work happens in the physical world: boats, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 4 · CoreSource: “Maintain boats or equipment on board, such as engines, winches, navigational systems, fire extinguishers, or life preservers.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (0–4 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.
Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world.
The rating behind it: Servicing engines, winches and safety gear is hands-on maintenance aboard.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 0/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 1/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 2/4.
Signaling crew members or deckhands to rig tow lines
staying humanThis work happens in the physical world: crew members, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 4 · CoreSource: “Signal crew members or deckhands to rig tow lines, open or close gates or ramps, or pull guard chains across entries.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (0–4 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.
Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world.
The rating behind it: Signaling deckhands during line and ramp work happens on deck as the job is done.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 0/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 1/4 · how much data exists 1/4.
Observing loading or unloading of cargo or equipment to ensure that handling and storage
staying humanThis work happens in the physical world: cargo, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 4 · CoreSource: “Observe loading or unloading of cargo or equipment to ensure that handling and storage are performed according to specifications.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (0–4 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.
Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world; someone qualified has to answer for it.
The rating behind it: Watching cargo being handled to check it is done correctly means being at the quayside or hatch.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 0/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 2/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 2/4.
Towing and maneuvering barges or signal tugboats to tow barges to destinations
staying humanThis work happens in the physical world: barges, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 5 · SupplementalSource: “Tow and maneuver barges or signal tugboats to tow barges to destinations.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (0–4 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.
Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world; someone qualified has to answer for it.
The rating behind it: Towing and maneuvering barges is physical vessel handling.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 0/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 3/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 1/4.
Performing various marine duties
staying humanThis work happens in the physical world: various marine duties, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 4 · SupplementalSource: “Perform various marine duties, such as checking for oil spills or other pollutants around ports or harbors or patrolling beaches.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (0–4 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.
Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world.
The rating behind it: Checking harbors for spills or patrolling beaches means being out there looking.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 0/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 1/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 2/4.
Conducting safety drills, man overboard or fire drills
staying humanThis work happens in the physical world: safety drills, man overboard or fire drills, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance not publishedO*NET hasn't yet published importance ratings for this occupation's tasks, so the ordering here is ours, not theirs.
Source: “Conduct safety drills such as man overboard or fire drills.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (0–7 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence, and it moved between repeat runs, so the range is widened.
Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world; someone qualified has to answer for it.
The rating behind it: A fire or man-overboard drill is people physically practicing on the vessel.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 0/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 2/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 1/4 · how much data exists 2/4.
What this job pays, and how many people do it
- Median pay
- $92,460a year, the middle of the range, so half earn more and half earn less.bls-oews, 2025 · May 2025 estimates (national_M2025_dl.xlsx)
How we know this
Source: bls-oews
Reference period: May 2025 estimates (national_M2025_dl.xlsx)
Rounding: Shown as published.
- People doing this job
- 36,850in the US, 2025.bls-oews · May 2025 estimates (national_M2025_dl.xlsx)
What is deliberately not here: a forecast of how many of these jobs exist in ten years. Where an official projection exists for a market we publish it with its vintage; where it does not, we leave the space empty rather than borrow the other country’s number.
Why this is shifting
The reason is boringly specific. Most of what is shifting here is reading one thing and writing another: records of daily activities in, a record out. The rows above are exactly that shape: maintaining records of daily activities and reporting to appropriate authorities any violations of federal or state pilotage laws. What it cannot do is be answerable: vessels need a named person the rules will accept, and software cannot be that person. Which is why this page talks about your tasks changing, not your job ending.
Your move
Over a pint: what I’d tell you if you were my friend
Start with what does not change: steering and operating vessels, using radios, depth finders, radars, lights, buoys or lighthouses is the middle of this job, and the evidence on this page says it stays with a person.
So, given all that: 0% of this job's task weight sits in rows the software is already learning, 13% in rows that change shape rather than disappear, and 87% in rows it is nowhere near. That is the position, measured across 30 scored tasks. It is not a forecast about you.
So the thing worth your attention is not the job going away. It is the layer around it. Maintaining records of daily activities is the part turning into software, and being the person who understands that layer is worth money.
This week: one thing
Ask the one question. Find whoever is bringing new software into your workplace (the manager, the office, whoever runs the system) and ask them what it is meant to do to records of daily activities, and what it is not meant to touch. Ten minutes, this week, before anyone decides it for you.
- What you end up holding
- a straight answer about what is actually being rolled out, and when
- How long it takes
- ten minutes
If there’s nobody obvious to ask, or you’d rather not ask your manager: Put the same question to your union rep, your shift lead or the person who has been there longest, in person, over a break. Same ten minutes, same answer, and you will usually get a straighter one. Write down what they say. The note is the artifact, and it tells you whether maps, charts, weather reports or navigation equipment are in scope or not. Nothing to log into, no license needed.
Over the next 90 days
Get inside the tool rollout rather than waiting for it. Over the next ninety days, ask to be in the group that tests, checks or signs off whatever new system arrives near reporting to appropriate authorities any violations of federal or state pilotage laws. It is usually an unglamorous seat that nobody fights for, and it is the one that decides how the software is used on your job rather than to it.
Over the next 12 months
On this evidence I would not retrain out of this job, and I will say that plainly rather than hedge it. The task list here is dominated by work that stays with a person. What I would do with a year is get formally recognised for the layer around it (the systems, the compliance, the planning), so you are the one who understands the software instead of the one it is done to. Before you pay for anything, use CareerOneStop - Find local training. It is free, it is the Labor Department's own service, and it is listed below with the rest of the free routes.
The roads out of here, and why I am not sending you down them
I looked at the obvious moves out of this job, and here is what I found.
I checked the 12 nearest US occupations to captains, mates, and pilots of water vessels (nearest by the work that AI is not taking, not by job title), and none of them survived. The closest was sailors and marine oilers: only about 8% of its durable work is work you already do and it pays 44.3% less. And on the numbers you do not need one. This job scores 13/100 here, with only 0% of the task list in the top band, and “direct courses and speeds of ships, based on specialized knowledge of local…” is not work that hands over cleanly. None of them beats deepening what you already have.
How that was checked: this job was compared against all 830 US occupations in this release on their official task statements, and the 12 nearest were examined one by one. A move that turns on an industry, an employer or a qualification rather than on the work itself will not show up in a check like that. And this release carries no licence register, so anything you are weighing needs that looked up separately.
3 moves I checked and rejected
These are the obvious-looking jumps. They are here with their reasons rather than quietly dropped, because the ones that fail are worth knowing about. It is one less thing to turn over at night.
Sailors and Marine Oilers
Why it looked obvious: It came up as a near neighbour on the work AI is not taking: you already tow and maneuver barges or signal tugboats to tow barges to destinations, and their equivalent is to tie barges together into tow units for tugboats to handle, inspecting barges periodically…. Across both published task lists that is about 8% of the durable work in that job.
Why I am not recommending it: Almost none of it is work you already do: about 8% of the durable side of that job. That is a different job, not a next step. It is a pay cut, in those words: $51,520 against your $92,460, 44.3% less (OEWS May 2025 (both)). Retraining to earn less is a decision, not advice.
Motorboat Operators
Why it looked obvious: It came up as a near neighbour on the work AI is not taking: you already maintain boats or equipment on board, and their equivalent is to maintain equipment such as range markers, fire extinguishers, boat fenders, lines, pumps, and…. Across both published task lists that is about 4% of the durable work in that job.
Why I am not recommending it: Almost none of it is work you already do: about 4% of the durable side of that job. That is a different job, not a next step. It is a pay cut, in those words: $47,520 against your $92,460, 48.6% less (OEWS May 2025 (both)). Retraining to earn less is a decision, not advice. And it is a narrow door: about 2,480 of those jobs against 36,850 of yours (OEWS May 2025), 7% as many seats.
Transportation Inspectors
Why it looked obvious: It came up as a near neighbour on the work AI is not taking: you already observe loading or unloading of cargo or equipment to ensure that handling and…, and their equivalent is to inspect loaded cargo, cargo lashed to decks or in storage facilities, and cargo…. Across both published task lists that is about 3% of the durable work in that job.
Why I am not recommending it: Almost none of it is work you already do: about 3% of the durable side of that job. That is a different job, not a next step.
What I’d stop worrying about
A friend tells you what not to spend fear on. This is that list.
The headline number you read somewhere
The big “X% of jobs” figures are about the whole economy, not about you. The number that describes your job is on this page: 0% of its task weight, across 30 scored tasks. Every row behind it is printed above with the source. Check ours; ignore theirs.
The headlines about your trade disappearing
They are usually about the technology, not the timetable. Changes to work like steering and operating vessels, using radios, depth finders, radars, lights, buoys or lighthouses arrive through rules, insurance and money, slowly and visibly. This page tracks the task evidence and will move when it moves.
Retraining out of a job that is holding up
On this evidence I would not spend money leaving. Spend it on the layer around the job instead: the tools, the paperwork, the planning. That is where the change actually is.
The “obvious” next job everyone suggests
I checked the obvious moves and most of them did not survive. The reasons are printed with the routes above, including the pay and the gate. A move that fails on the numbers is worth knowing about so you can stop turning it over at night.
If you run a team doing this job
If you run a team doing this job, the conversation you owe them is the one on this page, and sooner than feels comfortable. Show them the ledger rather than a reassurance: the rows moving toward the software are maintaining records of daily activities, and the rows that are not are where you want your people visible. Ask each of them to do the this-week move and bring the list to your next one-to-one. It turns a rumour into a piece of work, and it tells you which parts of your team's week are actually at stake. And say the thing out loud that a team lead usually leaves unsaid: a shrinking team is your exposure too, so do the move yourself as well.
You are reading the United States figures
The United Kingdom splits this work across more than one official group, of which Ship and hovercraft officers is the closest. The pay and employment figures are not directly comparable, and we do not average them together.
Switch to the United Kingdom page →partial match
The other groups this work is counted across:
In UK official statistics this job is counted as Ship and hovercraft officers and Officers in armed forces. Pay is shown separately for each of those groups (medians cannot be averaged together), while the task list and the scores on this page are for this group only.
Your route through this
Where to go next, and what it costs
Free, and complete
The moves above cost nothing. These are the real services that go with them: public, government-funded, and free at the point of use. Nothing on this page is behind an email address or a payment.
Anywhere in the US:
CareerOneStop - Find local training
Search what's running near you, from the Labor Department's own database, before anyone sells you a course.
Free to search; individual programs vary, and some are funded
Anywhere in the US:
An American Job Center will sit down with you for free. Find yours by ZIP code.
Free
Anywhere in the US:
CareerOneStop - Licensed occupations finder
Check what your state actually requires before you pay for anything.
Free
Anywhere in the US:
Free
Why there is no community here
Collab365, who build this site, run paid Spaces for a small number of subjects, and none of them is built for this job. We are not going to point you at the nearest one and call it a fit.
So the free services listed on this page are the whole answer, and it is the same answer we would give a friend.
Noted, and thank you. We’ll email you if a Space for captains / mates / pilots of water vessels launches. Nothing else.
That did not look like an email address, so nothing was saved. Have another go below.
We could not save that. The fault is ours, not yours, and your address was not stored. Please try again later.
No deadline on any of this. The page will still be here, and the data is refreshed on a published schedule rather than when someone wants a headline.
Questions people ask about this job
- Will AI replace Captains, Mates, and Pilots of Water Vessels?
- Not as a job, but it is already doing parts of the work. Across the 30 official task statements scored for Captains, Mates, and Pilots of Water Vessels (United States, SOC 53-5021), 0% of the importance-weighted core work is made of tasks today's AI could already do most of. The overall exposure score is 13 out of 100 (range 9–19, band: minimal). That is a statement about tasks, not about headcount: this measures what AI could do, not whether any employer adopts it, whether the law allows it, or whether doing the routine parts faster creates more demand for the human parts. Figures are from release 2026-q4.1.
- Which tasks in “Captains, Mates, and Pilots of Water Vessels” can AI already do?
- The highest-scoring tasks in release 2026-q4.1 are: “Purchase supplies or equipment” (57/100, partial); “Maintain records of daily activities, personnel reports, ship positions and movements, ports of call, weather and sea conditions, pollution control efforts,…” (52/100, partial); “Arrange for ships to be fueled, restocked with supplies, or repaired” (48/100, partial). Each score comes from five published 0–4 ratings turned into a number by a published formula, and each carries the model's one-sentence reason on the page.
- Which tasks in “Captains, Mates, and Pilots of Water Vessels” stay human?
- About 87% of this job's task weight sits in work that scores low for AI exposure. The lowest-scoring tasks in release 2026-q4.1 are: “Conduct safety drills such as man overboard or fire drills” (0/100, minimal); “Perform various marine duties, such as checking for oil spills or other pollutants around ports or harbors or patrolling beaches” (0/100, minimal); “Tow and maneuver barges or signal tugboats to tow barges to destinations” (0/100, minimal). Low scores usually mean the task needs a body in a room, a legally accountable human, or trust built in real time. Those are the three things the scoring rubric treats as gates rather than obstacles.
- What should someone working in “Captains, Mates, and Pilots of Water Vessels” do about AI?
- Start from the ledger rather than the headline: 0% of this job's weighted core work is exposed, and roughly 87% is not. The practical move is to spend more of your week on the tasks that score low, the ones above, and to get fluent at directing AI through the tasks that score high, because those are the parts that change whether or not you are ready for them. This page does not predict your job, and nothing here is career advice tailored to you: the score describes the occupation, not the person.
- How is the AI exposure score for Captains, Mates, and Pilots of Water Vessels calculated?
- Each official task statement for the occupation is rated on five published 0–4 dimensions (output replicability, physical embodiment, licensed accountability, real-time human trust, and data availability) by claude-opus-5 using scoring prompt task_scoring_v1.0. The model never writes the score; a published formula turns the five ratings into a 0–100 number, so every score can be recomputed by hand. The occupation figure is the importance-weighted mean across 30 scored tasks. The prompt, the rubric, the formula and the full dataset are published at https://futureproof.collab365.com/method and https://futureproof.collab365.com/data/2026-q4.1 under CC BY 4.0.
Where these numbers come from
About the data on this page
- 2 tasks scored differently between repeat runs, so their range on this page is wider. We would rather show the wobble than hide it.
- The match between this job and its counterpart in the other country is partial, so the two pages count slightly different groups of people.
- 5 of this occupation's scored task statements carry a score that was measured under a different occupation's context, because the statement is shared between jobs and has only been scored once so far. Each one names the occupation it was measured under in the free routes below; none is presented as a measurement for this job.
- Task clusters are not derived in this release, so the task-cluster field is empty and no Collab365 Space routing is attached to this occupation yet.
- Task statements
- onet-dbProcessing: catalogue-bridge → onet-im-rt-weighting → task-scoring → score-aggregation
- Task weights
- onet-db (im-rt-with-imputed)
- Scores
- Rubric task_scoring_v1.0, model claude-opus-5, computed 2026-08-05.
- Pay and employment
- bls-oews (May 2025 estimates (national_M2025_dl.xlsx))bls-oews (May 2025 estimates (national_M2025_dl.xlsx))
Figures on this page come from release 2026-q4.1, published 2026-08-05. Every release keeps its own permanent address, so a figure you cite in March is still there, unchanged, in November.
The plain-English wording on this page is assembled directly from the task statements and the published ratings, not written by hand for this occupation. That is why it is specific, and it is also why we say so.
The routes and free resources further up are today’s, not the release’s (last reviewed 2026-08-05). A route is an offer, not a historical fact, so it moves on its own clock.
Using these figures?
Cite this
Everything on this site is published under CC BY 4.0. Quote it, chart it, sell something built on it. Just say where it came from, and cite the dated release rather than the site, so the figure you quote stays checkable.
Plain text
Collab365 (2026). Collab365 Futureproof: task-level AI exposure for US and UK occupations, release 2026-q4.1 (methodVersion 2.0.0, promptVersion task_scoring_v1.0). https://futureproof.collab365.com/data/2026-q4.1. Licensed CC BY 4.0. Built with O*NET data (USDOL/ETA, CC BY 4.0); ONS data (Open Government Licence v3.0); GAISI task framework (arXiv:2507.22748, MIT); BLS data (public domain).
BibTeX
@misc{collab365futureproof2026q41,
title = {Collab365 Futureproof: task-level AI exposure for US and UK occupations, release 2026-q4.1},
author = {{Collab365}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://futureproof.collab365.com/data/2026-q4.1},
note = {Release 2026-q4.1, methodVersion 2.0.0, promptVersion task_scoring_v1.0, CC BY 4.0}
}Data as of release 2026-q4.1, published . Releases never change after publication; when the figures move, a new dated release is published beside this one and this one stays exactly where it is.