How To Become A Bosun: What It Is and Career Path

What is a bosun and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

A bosun, also known as a boatswain, is an unlicensed member of the deck department. He/She is responsible for supervising the unlicensed deck crew of the merchant ship. He/She oversees the planning, scheduling, and assigning of work on the ship. Additionally, he/she inspects the work to ensure it complies with the approved operating procedures. Furthermore, he/she regularly inspects the vessel and maintains areas of the ship not maintained by the engineering department, including painting and cleaning. His/Her responsibilities include the ship's anchors, cordage, colors, deck crew, and the ship's boats while on board.

For this position, you need a high school diploma or its equivalent. You must have two years of marine experience. Having relevant certifications is a plus. You must possess communication, multitasking, organization, and time management skills. A bosun earns an average salary of $69,177 per year, equivalent to $33.26 an hour. This ranges between $56,995 and $99,293.

ScoreBosunUS Average

Salary

4.1

Avg. Salary $52,884

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability Level

8.1

Growth Rate 1%

Growth Rate 0.3%

Diversity

4.9

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 1.82%

Asian 5.00%

Black or African American 15.22%

Hispanic or Latino 13.72%

Unknown 9.77%

White 54.48%

Gender

female 2.94%

male 97.06%

Age - 31

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 31

Stress Level

8.1

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity Level

7.7

Complexity Level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work Life Balance

1.9

Work Life balance is very poor

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a bosun

Explore bosun education requirements

Most common bosun degrees

Bachelor's

40.6 %

High School Diploma

25.0 %

Associate

18.8 %

Start to develop specific bosun skills

Skills	Percentages
Deck Equipment	54.35%
General Maintenance	45.65%

Complete relevant bosun training and internships

Accountants spend an average of Less than 1 month on post-employment, on-the-job training. New bosuns learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a bosun based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real bosun resumes.

Research bosun duties and responsibilities

Work closely with surveyors, clients and ROV supervisors to achieve safe and effective subsea operations.
Sustain superior performance, leadership, self-improvement, command and community involvement, self-expression, military bearing and appearance
Serve with responsibility for protecting the environment by ensuring the safe transfer of petrochemicals to vessel, dock, or barge.

Prepare your bosun resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your bosun resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a bosun resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose From 10+ Customizable Bosun Resume templates

Build a professional Bosun resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your Bosun resume.

Apply for bosun jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a bosun job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams

How do bosuns rate their job?