How To Become An Oil Tanker Captain: What It Is and Career Path

What is an oil tanker captain and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being an oil tanker captain. For example, did you know that they make an average of $28.11 an hour? That's $58,460 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 1% and produce 500 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScoreOil Tanker CaptainUS Average

Salary

4.6

Avg. Salary $58,460

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability Level

9.5

Growth Rate 1%

Growth Rate 0.3%

Diversity

8.4

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 1.02%

Asian 2.90%

Black or African American 5.12%

Hispanic or Latino 7.17%

Unknown 4.44%

White 79.35%

Gender

female 4.35%

male 95.65%

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 an oil tanker captain

Explore oil tanker captain education requirements

Most common oil tanker captain degrees

Bachelor's

62.5 %

High School Diploma

12.5 %

Master's

12.5 %

Start to develop specific oil tanker captain skills

Skills	Percentages
Asphalt	52.54%
Routine Maintenance	13.17%
Safety Procedures	12.60%
CDL	12.36%
API	9.33%

Complete relevant oil tanker captain training and internships

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

Research oil tanker captain duties and responsibilities

Lead a platoon that earn numerous awards for jamming opposition force artillery nets and conducting counterattacks on opposition electronic warfare platoons.
Measure crude oil in accordance with API measurement policy at the lease.
Wash, degrease motor, frame.acid wash all aluminum on the trucks, tanks.
End domp, belly dump, tac truck driver, hauling asphalt to and from job sites

Prepare your oil tanker captain resume

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

Choose From 10+ Customizable Oil Tanker Captain Resume templates

Build a professional Oil Tanker Captain 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 Oil Tanker Captain resume.

Apply for oil tanker captain jobs

Now it's time to start searching for an oil tanker captain 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