There are several disciplines within the field of engineering. If you are up for technical challenges, practical adventures, and want to earn in Lakhs (per month) at the entry-level stage, then marine engineering is one of the best-suited branches for you.
Careers in Marine Engineering
Top Colleges, Jobs, and Salaries
Co-authored by Parinita Gupta
What is Marine Engineering?
Marine Engineering is a branch of engineering that deals with the construction and operation of the power plant and other mechanical equipment of seagoing craft, docks, and harbor installations. It includes the engineering of boats, ships, oil rigs, and any other marine vessel or structure, as well as oceanographic engineering or ocean engineering.
Marine engineering is the discipline of applying engineering sciences, including mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, electronic engineering, and computer science, to the development, design, operation, and maintenance of watercraft propulsion and onboard systems and oceanographic technology and the Marine engineers are skilled individuals who are involved in the design, construction, and maintenance of vehicles and structures used on or around water.
Careers in Marine Engineering
No environment on Earth is as demanding as the sea. Designing and building vessels and structures that can withstand the wind, waves and salt exposure requires special education and experience. The modern world’s global commerce is largely enabled by the ocean-going technological marvels created by Marine Engineers.
Marine engineers and naval architects design, build, and maintain ships, from aircraft carriers to submarines and from sailboats to tankers.
Marine Engineers are responsible for the design and construction of seagoing vessels and structures, focusing primarily on their internal systems. Simply put, they design the onboard electrical, environmental and propulsion systems aboard everything from oil platforms to cruise ships.
Why is the Salary so high in Marine Engineering?
Marine engineering curriculums are very similar to those in mechanical engineering. You will be trained to be a practical engineer and learn to work with the giant marine engines and auxiliary machines on board merchant vessels.
It’s a very technical job where you have to make time-sensitive decisions in order for the ship to run in good shape. Ship travel is enormously expensive, and mistakes can cost a shipping company millions. This is why, as an engineer, you will be paid such a large amount to maintain the ship’s machinery.
Earnings increase per promotion. The median salary for 4th Engineer (the career of a Marine Eng after training starts with this rank) is about INR 180,000 per month for Indian Seafarers and it keeps on increasing with each promotion one gets.
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Marine Engineering Career Path
How to Become a Marine Engineer?
In order to become a marine engineer, you must receive a bachelor’s degree of either engineering or technology in marine engineering from an approved training college. The Indian Ministry of Shipping maintains a list of 133 approved marine training colleges in the country, organized by region, and including both government-run and private schools.
Eligibility Criteria
The general eligibility for the degree, regardless of where you are trained, includes the following educational requirements:
- A pass in Class 12 with a 60% aggregate in Physics, Chemistry, and Maths.
- Good marks (usually 50%) in English.
- Most schools have an entrance exam. Most, including the best-known colleges—T.S. Chanakya in Mumbai and the Marine Engineering Research Institute (MERI) in Kolkata—use the Joint Entrance Examination given through IIT.
- Training colleges usually conduct interviews and psychometric tests for potential candidates.
As working at sea can sometimes be strenuous, candidates for marine training colleges must meet certain physical standards, which are determined by the Merchange Shipping Medical Examination Rules.
- No younger than 17 and no older than 25, with 5 years of relaxation for candidates from Scheduled Castes or Scheduled Tribes.
- Good eyesight with no color blindness or impaired field of vision.
- No impairment in hearing.
- Weight of no less than 42 kilograms and height of at least 150 centimeters.
- Good dental health.
- Mentally stable and in good psychological condition.
- Be otherwise in good health as determined by a medical examination.
Other requirements:
- There are no gender restrictions for marine engineering training.
- Candidates should be unmarried by the time of commencement.
- Indian citizenship, though a few foreign candidates may receive special permission from the Ministry of Shipping.
Marine Engineering Courses
The normal path to becoming a Marine Engineer is to pursue a Bachelor’s Degree from an accredited university. Many public and private colleges offer undergraduate degrees in Marine Engineering, but there are some schools that specialize in this arena. A few of the popular courses after Class 12 are as follows:
- B.Tech / B.E in Marine Engineering
- B.Tech in Naval Architecture & Ocean Engineering
- Diploma in Marine Engineering
A Master’s Degree in Marine Engineering will often encompass a broader area of study including Naval Architecture. Naval Architecture involves the overall structural design of ships and other vessels. At the pinnacle of Marine Engineering are professionals who have earned their Doctor of Philosophy (Ph. D.) in the field.
Top Marine Engineering Colleges in India and Abroad
Top Colleges for Marine Engineering in India
Few of the good institutes/colleges offering Marine Engineering courses in India are –
- International Marine Communication Centre, Cochin University
- National Institute of Technology, Mangalore
- IMU Kolkata Indian Maritime University, Taratala
- Marine Engineering and Research Institute, Kolkata, Mumbai
- Indian Maritime University, Mangalore University
- Tolani Maritime Institute (TMI), Pune
- Vels Academy of Maritime Studies, Chennai.
- Maharashtra Academy of Naval Education & Training (MANET), Pune
- Chennai School of Ship Management (CSSM), Tamil Nadu
- National Institute of Ocean Technology, Chennai
- National Institute of Oceanography, Goa
Top Foreign Universities for Marine Engineering
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), USA
- University College London, UK
- University of Michigan – Ann Arbor, USA
- University of Washington, USA
- University of Melbourne, Australia
- University of British Columbia, Canada
- Massachusetts Maritime Academy, USA
- University of Southampton, UK
- Texas A&M University, USA
- University of New Orleans, USA
- University of Strathclyde, UK
Career Scopes and Job Opportunities in India
Career opportunities for Marine Engineers are huge. They can advance into supervisory or management positions with experience. Typically, the USCG licenses can help marine engineers move up the ladder as the level of license increases, the responsibilities also increase normally.
Some marine engineers move into sales, using their technical knowledge to help clients plan and execute projects. There’s certainly more to this industry than meets the eye. It’s not all about naval architects and marine engineers. There are many other roles in this industry from shipbuilders and site managers, to carpenters, welders, metal workers, and carbon fiber technicians. The size of the ships and the massive variety of materials used to create these vessels necessitates a complex system of suppliers and contractors from various different disciplines. Suppliers also play a huge part in this industry.
Demand for Marine Engineers is expected to continue growing about as fast as the national average for all careers. New fields like alternative energy from wind and tides combine with traditional ship design and oil platform work to generate a healthy demand for professional Marine Engineers.
The demands for marine engineers are expected to be fueled by a combination of factors. First, many existing vessels may need to be retrofitted to comply with new regulations involving pollution and emissions standards. Marine engineers will be needed to work on offshore energy sources, such as wind turbines. As oil companies continue to move offshore to drill, marine engineers will also be needed to design and service these rigs.
Plenty of career opportunities are available in India for the one who completed his marine engineering course with excellent pre-sea training in India. You will also find your answer to the question – Why India is the greatest place for Merchant Marine? Â
India is such a country which is surrounded by oceans (Bay of Bengal, Arabian Sea, and the Indian Ocean) that are overlooking our world. Our Merchant navy force and Maritime is the purpose nonetheless why we are safe in India. So there may be lots of career placements in Marine & Merchant Navy Industry to get hired and settle in your future.
Marine Engineering Salaries
Salaries in India
In India, a Marine Engineer gets an average salary that can range from 64000 to 96000 INR depending on experience and domain knowledge. Your salary will be determined in part by your rank. This job has five promotional levels, from bottom to top. The figures are salaries paid per month in Indian Rupee and US Dollars :
- Fifth Engineer or Engineering Cadet:Â Rs 35 to 75 thousand INR per month; or 300 to 1200 USD per month
- Fourth Engineer:Â Rs 1.5 to 2.25 lacs INR; or 2000 to 4000 USD per month
- Third Engineer:Â Rs 2.75- 3.5 lacs INR; or 4000 to 5900 USD per month
- Second Engineer:Â Rs 4 to 5 lacs INR; or 7500 to 9500 USD per month
- Chief Engineer:Â Rs 5 lacs and above INR per month; or 10,000 USD and above per month
The salaries are usually paid when the seafarer is on the vessel. No salary is paid when the sailor is at home or vacation. Although some companies pay their sailors every month and even when they are not sailing but the average salaries come to about the same.
Salaries in the US
According to the US Government’s Bureau of Labor Statistics, Marine Engineers and Naval Architects earn an average annual salary of $84,850. However, the top 10% of the career field pulls in a healthy $145,790 annually.
Demand for Marine Engineers is expected to continue growing about as fast as the national average for all careers. New fields like alternative energy from wind and tides combine with traditional ship design and oil platform work to generate a healthy demand for professional Marine Engineers.
The demand is expected to be fueled by a combination of factors. First, many existing vessels may need to be retrofitted to comply with new regulations involving pollution and emissions standards. As oil companies continue to move offshore to drill, marine engineers will also be needed to design and service these rigs. Marine engineers will be needed to work on offshore energy sources, such as wind turbines.
Quick Advice
Don’t get fascinated by high salaries. As marine engineering is a relatively small field, the numerical change is only expected to be about 1,000 new jobs.
Getting a job is not too hard. But, it does take time.
Then staying away from the family for months is not always easy.
Finally, the life schedule is very hectic in the seas.
As they say – only the best man goes to sea, it requires a hell lot of prerequisites to be safe and successful at sea. One needs to be resilient, hardworking, vigilant, team member and healthy.
One has to keep studying and appearing for exams until he/she becomes a chief engineer. A bit more if he wants to be a surveyor or get Extra first Class degree. One should be aware of every part of the machinery, no matter how trivial it is. Of course one will gain that with experience. One will have to face every hardship the mighty ocean presents, with his tenacity and presence of mind within the stipulated time frame or the ship, will be converted to just another fossil.
A Marine Engineer has to encounter rough weather, sea-sickness, changing weather and if that’s not enough, high temperature and humidity in the engine room (Temperature around 55 ℃ and 90% Humidity). Also, the 2 stroke engine contributing to the propulsion of the ship roars like hell. To make things worse, A Marine Engineer also has to fight the fire and extinguish.
Author Bio:Â Parinita Gupta is a full-time banking professional. Additionally, she is also a passionate blogger and digital marketer.
She mostly writes about the Banking & Finance, Technology, and FinTech sector. But, she also enjoys writing on other topics as well.  You can follow her on Twitter.
Featured Image Source: Marine Insight