Ship Pilot
Everything OPM FedScope (June 2026) reports about the Ship Pilot occupation series (code 9904): headcount, average salary, length of service, and pay comparison.
The verdict
With 36 employees (0.0% of the federal civilian workforce), Ship Pilot ranks as a smaller, specialized federal occupation within the Vessel Jobs Family (excluded From the Federal Wage System) family. Its average salary of n/a pays below the federal average.
- Headcount change
- 0.0%
- Pay change
- 0.0%
- Avg tenure
- 16.3 yrs
- Rank in family
- #44 of 55
FedScope read on Ship Pilot (thin series)
For job seekers weighing career length: this series shows a long average tenure, typical of career federal roles where employees stay through much of a full career before retirement. Headcount moved sideways versus the prior period, though at this small a headcount, year-to-year swings can reflect a handful of hires or departures rather than a broad hiring trend. As for pay, the latest move was a small shift, within the range of normal year-to-year rounding rather than a broad pay-table change.
The Vessel Jobs Family (excluded From the Federal Wage System) family (code 99) groups Ship Pilot together with 54 other related occupations across the federal government. Candidates browsing USAJOBS for Ship Pilot postings should also review these sibling occupations in the Vessel Jobs Family (excluded From the Federal Wage System) family. Ship Pilot makes up 0.5% of the Vessel Jobs Family (excluded From the Federal Wage System) family's 6,786 combined employees.
Salary context · lean-pay series
How Ship Pilot pay compares to the federal average
Occupation Average
n/a
Federal Average
$117,339
vs. Federal Avg
-100.0%
Where Ship Pilot ranks on lean federal pay
Ship Pilot earns more on average than 0% of federal occupation series (0 of 541). The highlighted bar marks where Ship Pilot sits in the federal pay distribution.
Average-salary distribution across all 541 federal occupation series; the highlighted bar marks Ship Pilot.
Related Occupations in Vessel Jobs Family (excluded From the Federal Wage System)
10 other occupations in the same family
| Occupation | Employees | Avg Salary | Avg LOS |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steward Utilityman | 646 | n/a | 5.1 yrs |
| Ordinary Seaman | 619 | $42,990 | 2.5 yrs |
| Able Seaman-Maintenance | 556 | n/a | 11.2 yrs |
| Wiper | 449 | $42,656 | 2.9 yrs |
| Able Seaman | 338 | $51,760 | 12.1 yrs |
| Engine Utilityman | 283 | n/a | 8.5 yrs |
| Third Officer | 249 | n/a | 4.2 yrs |
| Boatswain's Mate | 199 | $60,969 | 16.9 yrs |
| Assistant Storekeeper | 194 | n/a | 6.1 yrs |
| Second Assistant Engineer | 186 | $107,628 | 13.5 yrs |
Nationwide peers near this thin headcount
Two peer sets for Ship Pilot outside the Vessel Jobs Family (excluded From the Federal Wage System) family, on headcount and average salary axes that vary across all OPM occupation series.
Similar thin headcount
Nearest employee counts in other occupation families (36 here).
Similar lean average salary
Nearest average salaries in other occupation families (n/a here).
Key takeaways
- Place Ship Pilot pay in context with the pay-rank chart above, then compare it with another occupation.
- Turn an average salary into a grade: the GS pay grade tables show how grades and steps map to pay.
- Browse the Vessel Jobs Family (excluded From the Federal Wage System) family occupations in the table above, or search current Ship Pilot postings on USAJOBS.
OPM FedScope and Federal Workforce Data figures are federal civilian headcounts, average salaries, and length-of-service statistics - not job-quality scores, hiring advice, or a live vacancy listing. A larger or higher-paid agency is not a better employer.