Marine mechanic
Also called ship machinist, mechanic on a ship, cargo ship mechanic
Marine mechanics are in charge of the engines and mechanical parts of the vessel and replace defective equipment and parts. They communicate with other crew members on the operational level. Marine mechanics maintain and repair the engines and other machinery of vessels such as boilers, generators and electrical equipment.
What you'd do
Agricultural and industrial machinery mechanics and repairers · ILO- Fitting, installing, examining, servicing and repairing engines, machinery and mechanical equipment
- Oiling and greasing stationary engines and machinery
- Inspecting and testing new machinery and mechanical equipment for conformity with standards and specifications
- Disassembling machinery and equipment to remove parts and make repairs
- Examining parts for defects such as breakage and excessive wear
- Operating newly repaired machinery and equipment to verify the adequacy of repairs
- Recording repairs and maintenance performed
- Mostly outdoors
- On your feet most of the day
- Lots of contact with people, including the public
- Good freedom to decide
- Often more than 40 hours a week
- Deadlines most weeks
- Varied tasks, little repetition
Will there be jobs?
Yes, good prospects15 EU countries are short of agricultural and industrial machinery mechanics and repairers now, but fewer jobs than in most work will need filling by 2035.
Solid: measured. Dashed: forecast.
What does it pay?
About averagePay depends a lot on the country: from about €1,200 a month (Bulgaria) to €5,100 (Denmark), before tax.
Pick a country at the top of the page to see typical pay there, for people under 30, and compared with all jobs.
Among craft and related trades workers in the EU, women earn 26% less per hour than men. Craft and related trades workers · Eurostat
What do I need to study?
Upper secondary or vocationalUpper secondary or vocational training in mechanics and metal trades is the usual route.
Pick a country at the top of the page to see where to study and the official course finders.
Will AI change it?
Very littleAI could help with only small parts of the tasks.
Average task score 0.17 on a scale from 0 (AI can't do it) to 1 (AI could do it fully).
See the score for each of the 7 tasks
Based on what AI could technically do when assessed in 2025. It is not a forecast for a future year, and not a forecast of job losses. Scores for agricultural and industrial machinery mechanics and repairers. Source: ILO (2025), adapted (credits).