Marine Mechanic Schools

Looking into marine mechanic schools? Do you enjoy working on boats, ships and love to work with your hands.

If you're considering attending marine mechanic school, then first of all: Congratulations. The fact of the matter is that few people even tend to get that far in their career ambitions. Second of all, good luck. Of course, in this day and age, most of us would like to make some sort of change for the better, to get a better career, make more money, but few of us actually have the direction and ambition to sign up. Although many boat mechanics receive training on the job, there are various certificate, degree and training programs are available through technical and trade programs, vocational schools, and two-year colleges. Areas of training include gasoline engine repair, diesel engines, marine electronics, marine transmissions, welding vessel systems, and more.

Marine Mechanic Training and Education

The marine mechanics field is focused not on general repairs and tuning and maintenance of engines, but specifically on the maintenance of marine engines. So this could mean boats, jet skis and things of that nature. Certainly, general mechanic skills will be a major help in getting the hang of what you're doing as a marine mechanic, but, there are car mechanics who don't know the first thing about repairing boat engines, and vice versa. Marine mechanic courses may include:

• Basic Engine Principles
• Four-Cycle Engine Service and Rebuilding
• Marine Electrical Systems
• Marine Engine Systems
• Marine Fuel Systems
• Marine Drive Systems

While there is some overlap, the two skill sets really are very different, so you can't expect to become a marine mechanic with little more than the skills you've picked up working on your car at home in your own garage.

Marine mechanic schools offer professional-technical schools and two-year programs. Most programs offer a combination of in-class instruction and hands-on practice. Two-year training programs usually lead to an associate’s degree but one can also opt for shorter certificate programs. On the other hand, marine engineering colleges may offer more advanced training in coursework that may lead to a bachelor degree.

Marine Mechanic Careers

If you're wondering what sort of work you can find as a marine mechanic, well, there's plenty out there to be found. For starters, you can work on a marine fleet. This tends to be good, steady work. This doesn't need to mean working on, say, ships, but rather, you could find work repairing racing boats, rental jet skis, rental boats, you could even go to the local amusement parks and see if anyone has some bumper boats they need a regular mechanic working on.

Trained marine mechanics are also responsible for mechanical and electrical equipment on boats and ships. They work on repairing the mechanical and electrical equipment of inboard and outboard boat engines which often happens in settings like boatyards, rigs, docks and marinas. The mechanics may work in parts like marine plumbing, propellers, steering mechanisms, etc.

There are a lot of places out there where you could find marine fleet work once you have graduate from marine mechanic schools. You could also simply find some general purpose work. For example, you could simply put an ad in the paper or up on bulletin boards where boaters tend to hang out. This could be around a lake or near the docks in a coastal town. Wherever you live, if there's a body of water nearby, then there should be some boaters around, as well.

Keep an eye out for any number of opportunities and don't feel married to any one or two choices. Perhaps a distributor needs someone to keep things in check, or maybe a factory needs another knowledgeable person on hand. Just keep your options open and see what's out there.

Estimated Income and Projected Career Outlook

While there has been a bit of a slump recently in pleasure boating due to the recession, the fact remains that boating and fishing are still popular hobbies in any economic climate. No matter how things are going, you can always expect there to be some work in marine engineering.

Of course, the economic downturn does mean that the field has gotten more competitive. This issue can be circumvented by simply keeping your options open and knowing where to look for more work. The United States Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) list marine mechanics under small engine mechanics. The mean hourly wage for marine mechanics in the United States is around $17.06 an hour and the mean annual wages are $35,490.

For 2010, the BLS reports the median annual wage of small engine mechanics was $31,790, with a range of $20,310 to $49,680. $35,600 was the median income for motorboat mechanics and service technicians. The employment of small engine mechanics is expected to grow 21% between 2010 and 2020. All in all, marine mechanic schools will prepare you for a career where you can earn a comfortable income.

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