How To Become A Harbor Master: What It Is and Career Path

What is a harbor master and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

2 min read

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a harbor master. For example, did you know that they make an average of $25.29 an hour? That's $52,596 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 1% and produce 500 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScoreHarbor MasterUS Average

Salary

4.1

Avg. Salary $52,596

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability Level

9.5

Growth Rate 1%

Growth Rate 0.3%

Diversity

8.5

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 1.08%

Asian 3.14%

Black or African American 6.83%

Hispanic or Latino 8.87%

Unknown 4.72%

White 75.36%

Gender

female 15.29%

male 84.71%

Age - 40.5

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 - 40.5

Stress Level

9.5

Stress level is very high

7.1 - high

Complexity Level

9.7

Complexity Level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work Life Balance

2.6

Work Life balance is poor

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a harbor master

Explore harbor master education requirements

Most common harbor master degrees

Bachelor's

63.2 %

Associate

20.0 %

High School Diploma

8.0 %

Start to develop specific harbor master skills

Skills	Percentages
Reservations	28.44%
Boats	24.20%
Customer Service	11.42%
Emergency Situations	9.78%
Law Enforcement	6.74%

Complete relevant harbor master training and internships

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

Research harbor master duties and responsibilities

Manage records and assist customers with billing and reservations.organize and assist with running of events.
Train and advance the skills of firefighting team members.
Own two vessels (2000dwt coastal freighter working Caribbean and 190 foot supply tug).
Manage outgoing and incoming canoe rentals and provide customers with instructional sessions.

Prepare your harbor master resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your harbor master 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 harbor master resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose From 10+ Customizable Harbor Master Resume templates

Build a professional Harbor Master 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 Harbor Master resume.

Apply for harbor master jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a harbor master 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 harbor masters rate their job?

4/5

Based On 1 Ratings

5 Stars

4 Stars

3 Stars

2 Stars

1 Star

Harbor Master reviews

4.0

A zippia user wrote a review on Jun 2020

Pros

The responsibility of the harbor.

Cons

The clanging of the rigging on the masts of sail boats.