Jobs for the Major
How this major affects a job search
You're making ships.
That's not 100% certain or anything, but it's probably what you wanted to do, and there's a market for it. Why not allow the chocolate of your degree merge with the peanut butter of careers and embrace the destiny you've been training for?
There's no reason not to. In fact, we're saying you should go for it. However, there are some different careers you might not have considered. We just want you to have as many options on the table as possible, so you can make the most informed decision there is.
You still just want to make ships, don't you? Well, do us a favor and paint giant flames on the side and convince everyone they're vital for structural integrity. What, you think they're going to gainsay you? You have a degree in this.
Common Career Fields
Naval Architect. Let's start with the easy one. You wanted to build ships and here it is: the ship-building job. The nicest part of this is that your degree funnels you directly into this line of work. Also, since roughly half of all characters in fiction are architects, you're joining some good company. They show you buildings, you show them some monstrous seagoing vessel.
Marine Engineers. While the naval architects are making the ships, the marine engineers are making them function. Basically anything that separates a ship from a really graceful and attractive paperweight is the job of the engineers. You're basically Star Trek's Scotty, only without the accent. Or maybe with the accent. Whatever.
Offshore Drilling. Most people like the flashy stuff, which means ships and boats. Some people are more into stationary features of the sea. Most of those are offshore drilling platforms. You're facing some of the same challenges, in that you're putting something artificial on the ocean. You also have different ones, since these operate a bit more like islands. They don't need to move, but they do need to not erode.
Marketing and Sales. Boats need to be sold, and not just to super-rich people, either (unless you're marketing luxury yachts). Fishing boats tend to go to more working-class customers. Container ships go to large corporations. Really, there are tons of places that need seagoing vessels and this is the career to match customer to ship. The advantage you have is that you know the systems and design inside and out; you can take the person's or company's needs and match them to the right vessel.
Professor. (Master's required; PhD encouraged) Sometimes you finish college and you think to yourself, "Why would I ever want to leave?" Good news, because there's always a need for people to teach. You've just learned everything there is to know about ships, so you're really in the prime position to do the same for the next generation of nautical wizards.
Consultant. If you've ever watched an old samurai movie, there's always one scene where the hero, almost always a master-less samurai, wanders into town and proceeds to be awesome. The consultant is the modern equivalent of the master-less samurai. You have no nine-to-five gig. Instead, you get called in when there's trouble, you sort it out, then you're back on the road. The next day, everyone looks around and is like, "Who was that masked person?" Oh yeah, you're wearing a mask in this story. We should have led with that.
Operations. Maybe your true love is the sea. Ships are great and all, but only because they happen to be on the ocean for so much of the time. Good news: Just because you know how to design a ship from the ground-up doesn't mean that's all you can do. Every system on that ship, every inch of that hull, is known to you. You designed it, so you can operate it like no one's business. Now you get to be out on the water, where you belong.
Current unemployment of the major
3.0%Percentage of majors who get a higher degree after college
39%Stats obtained from this source.