How To Become A Crew Manager: What It Is and Career Path

What is a crew manager and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Crew managers are responsible for coordinating the work of a group of people performing duties as a group on aircraft, vessels, or various other working environments. They are hired to make sure the crew delivers top performance. They are responsible for recruiting and training their people, managing budgets allocated to the funding of expenses related to crew activities, and making sure they have all documents and certificates in place.

To excel in this position, you will have to be a proficient leader and motivator. You have to know the vessel your crew works on from the inside out. Being organized and focused on achieving long-term results will be essential here. You have to know how to keep your calm under pressure and serve as a role model for your people.

Having a bachelor's degree is commonly expected of crew managers. Experience in management will be a must, as well as computer literacy and familiarity with software specialized for crew management. This respectable and rewarding position is remunerated with an average annual salary of $45,000.

ScoreCrew ManagerUS Average

Salary

2.6

Avg. Salary $33,856

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability Level

9.7

Growth Rate 18%

Growth Rate 0.3%

Diversity

5.8

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 1.20%

Asian 9.53%

Black or African American 8.90%

Hispanic or Latino 11.83%

Unknown 5.14%

White 63.40%

Gender

female 33.15%

male 66.85%

Age - 46

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 - 46

Stress Level

9.7

Stress level is very high

7.1 - high

Complexity Level

10.0

Complexity Level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work Life Balance

2.5

Work Life balance is poor

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a crew manager

Explore crew manager education requirements

Most common crew manager degrees

Bachelor's

39.2 %

High School Diploma

29.9 %

Associate

17.6 %

Start to develop specific crew manager skills

Skills	Percentages
Food Service	45.36%
Cleanliness	10.64%
Customer Service	8.68%
Excellent Guest	5.65%
Food Orders	4.42%

Complete relevant crew manager training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New crew managers 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 crew manager based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real crew manager resumes.

Research crew manager duties and responsibilities

Manage servers and dishwashers on a daily basis making sure everything are always maintain accordingly.
Display leadership, teamwork, and collaboration during all projects and work to complete all jobs, on-time and under budget.
Maintain proper cleanliness and general maintenance of facility equipment.
Provide supervisory leadership by monitoring all tasks are complete promptly and properly.

Apply for crew manager jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a crew manager 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 crew managers rate their job?