Here is a report showing A.B. seaman pay in the U.S. If you are an A.B. seaman looking for a job you can use the data as a starting point to determine what wages are like out there, and to compare between jobs.
The data was derived from the following sources: 1) applications to one particular company; 2) information self reported to the website Indeed.com; 3) the U.S. Census; 4) the Federal Bureau of Labor; 5) state bureaus of labor statistics. Most of the data is readily available on-line. The data gained from applications simply confirms the information gained elsewhere.
[U]Summary (tables follow):[/U]
- The [B]average [/B]A.B. seaman [I]looking for work [/I]in June 2016 has been making about $237/day, or upwards of $52,300/year for 220 days at sea.
- In Washington state, the Bureau of Labor Statistics puts the average wage of “sailors and marine oilers” at $48,730. Since this category would include entry-level seamen, too, we would expect this number to be lower than the average for strictly ABs, which it is. In Louisiana the average was $44,470 for the same cohort. So the figure in 1) seems valid.
- The annual income of an AB seems to hover near the U.S. Median Household income, which was $53,657 in 2014.
- The dollar amounts in the tables below are likely lower than the actuals in the industry. In bad times employers generally hang on to employees with the most seniority, and/or the best employees. These individuals would likely receive the highest wages. Therefore a given A.B. looking for work is likely to be, on average, less well paid than one steadily employed.
- How much does the average [I]captain[/I] make?A closely guarded secret in the industry, at least where I live. But if you were to take a a well-paid AB’s pay and double it you would be in the ballpark, more or less. That applies only to captain’s licenses of 1600 tons or below. Of course, people will happily inform me how I am wrong.
Notes on the tables below: This data is derived from applications. The A.B.s used in the study all, or nearly all, held an A.B. Unlimited. None reported having a Tankerman’s endorsement. Terminology: Mean=Average. Mode=figure most commonly encountered. “# ABs with good data” refers to the fact that far more ABs applied at this particular company than are shown, but their data was ambiguous for some reason, or was otherwise statistically suspect. However the data from the other applications all correlated well with those used in the study.
Persons Reporting a Daily Rate:
[B]Year[/B]
[B]# ABs with Good Data[/B]
[B]Mean[/B]
[B]Mode[/B]
[B]High[/B]
[B]Low[/B]
[B] % of ABs from the state of…[/B]
[B]LA TX FL WA AK OTHER[/B]
[B]2012[/B]
6
$278
$250
$350
$250
50%
0%
0%
0%
0%
50%
[B]2013[/B]
5
$293
$350
$260
40%
40%
0%
20%
0%
0%
[B]2014[/B]
5
$253
$310
$200
40%
20%
0%
20%
0%
20%
[B]2015[/B]
15
$288
$315
$355
$200
33%
13%
7%
20%
13%
20%
[B]2016[/B]
9
$237
$250
$297
$200
78%
11%
0%
0%
0%
11%
Persons Reporting an Annual Salary:
[B]Year[/B]
[B]# ABs with Good Data[/B]
[B]Mean[/B]
[B]High[/B]
[B]Low[/B]
[B]% of ABs from…[/B]
[B]LA TX FL WA AK OTHER[/B]
[B]2015[/B]
2
$61,500
$83,000
$40,000
50%
0%
0%
0%
0%
50%
[B]2016[/B]
3
$52,300
$60,000
$45,000
33%
33%
0%
0%
0%
33%
Daily vs. Salary: this table equates the average daily rates to the average reported salaries, to determine if the data is correct in each case. The number “Days to Make Average Salary” is an educated guess, meant to determine if both daily and salary figures are correct. In comparison with bureau of labor statistics, this appears to be the case.
[B]Year[/B]
[B]Average Daily[/B]
[B]Average Salary[/B]
[B]Days to Make Average Salary[/B]
[B]Average salary if AB sailed 180 days/year[/B]
[B]Average salary if AB sailed 200 days/year[/B]
[B]2012[/B]
$278
$50,040
$55,600
[B]2013[/B]
$293
$52,740
$58,600
[B]2014[/B]
$253
$45,540
$50,600
[B]2015[/B]
$288
$61,500
213
$51,840
$57,600
[B]2016[/B]
$237
$52,300
220
$42,660
$47,400