CultusIn this article we have put forward everything one needs to know about marine engineering, including future career scope for marine science engineers, educational details, list of colleges offering this course, present hiring and salary trends in the market.
Engineering is a lucrative career choice for most students nowadays, as the employees in this field are most highly paid and also job roles are very interesting. Especially when it comes to the subject of marine engineering, one can easily imagine the thrills and excitement that will be offered to an individual in this field.
What do marine engineers do?
A marine engineer is basically an individual skilled in designing, constructing and maintaining vehicles and other structures used in, on or around water bodies. The subject mainly teaches about the technology and theories required to build cruise ships, harbors, oil platforms, navy ships, submarines, piers, cargo ships etc. and their maintenance.
Academic requisition for marine engineers
All aspiring students of marine engineering need to have completed an extensive study in fields of science, technology, as well as engineering to obtain a degree in this subject. Marine engineering and science degrees are available at both undergraduate (UG) as well as graduate level and post-graduation can also be done in related fields.  The bachelor’s degree program includes the following topics, which provide a basic introduction to the student’s in this field:
- the concepts of marine propulsion;
- basics of fluid dynamics;
- ship designing fundamentals.
In post-graduate programs of Master’s and doctoral degrees, more advanced topics are covered, such as:
- study of material sciences;
- lessons in electrical power systems;
- skills needed to manage engineering projects.
Various other advanced technical degrees can further enhance the skill-set of a marine engineer thus, making him/her more employable. Â A MBA degree (Master of Business Administration) can help students get a better executive or managerial position in shipping, architectural, naval or off-shore oil exploration jobs. Many marine engineers take advantage of their technical education and experience in acquiring a Doctor of Jurisprudence degree (JD) which mostly concentrates on maritime and engineering laws.
Basic eligibility criteria for studying marine engineering
In order to study a bachelor’s degree in subjects of marine engineering and nautical sciences an individual must have qualified 10+2 or equivalent level exam from a recognized board, with subjects like physics, chemistry, biology, mathematics and English. The course duration is of four years.
After the completion of this course a bachelors’ degree is awarded to the individual like B.E or B.Tech.  The admission to most reputable colleges is made through an entrance examination that is held in the month of May every year at various centers all over the country. Once an individual qualifies this exam he/she has to go through interviews and counseling to get admission in a college. The personal interviews are aimed at understanding the students’ alertness and understanding of his/her external environment and their suitability for a career in this subject.
Career prospects
It has been predicted that employment opportunities for marine engineers is expected to increase in upcoming years of 2008-2018 by an average of 6%. This was shown by a recent study made by the U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Although it seems to be growing at a much slower rate than other engineering fields but a large number of senior marine engineers are retiring which will open large number of job prospects for students and freshers. Marine engineering can be stated as a specialty field which employs a limited number of practitioners only, about 9000 individuals to be precise.
Major industries employing engineers in this subject are the marine equipment and boat building organizations. But a marine engineer can also find jobs at various government agencies, agricultural firms and companies concerned with marine concentrated manufacturing.
Salary information for marine engineers
The earnings of a marine engineer reflect their high level of educational and technical knowledge. According to the BLS reports of 2008, it stated that marine engineers earned a median salary of 74,140 USD. And marine engineers with sufficient knowledge and expertise made as much as 118,630 USD in salary in May 2008. It was also said according to reports by the BLS that more than 77% marine engineers made set salary earnings rather that getting hourly wages.
One of the challenging fields; marine engineering offers ample career options. If you want to walk in off the beaten path, a career in Marine Engineering can be turn out to be a good option.
Author’s bio:
Swati Srivastava is an avid writer and a blogger who loves to share her knowledge and ideas on a wide range of educational and career related topics. Her articles are published on various reputed websites like Shiksha.com. Follow her on Google+