matrose
Matroses are members of the deck department of an inland water transportship. They may work on the helm, on the deck, in the cargo hold and in the engine room. They may be called on to use emergency, lifesaving, damage control, and safety equipment. They perform all operations connected with the launching of lifesaving equipment and are expected to be able to operate deck machinery, mooring and anchoring equipment.
matrose matroses are members of the deck department of an inland water transportship. They may work on the helm, on the deck, in the cargo hold and in the engine room. They may be called on to use emergency, lifesaving, damage control, and safety equipment. The role shows moderate AI exposure (0.50 on a 0-1 scale) — some tasks are being automated but the role adapts. The most in-demand skills for the role include types of cargo, international regulations for cargo handling, inland waterway police regulations, influence of winds and currents in the steering of ships, national regulations on handling cargo.
Pay in the UK
UK: median £39,358 a year for Marine and waterways transport operatives (ONS ASHE 2025, full-time)
UK jobs are grouped differently; this is the closest UK occupation group (ONS SOC 2020 8232). ONS rates this estimate acceptable: it rests on a small sample, so treat it as a rough guide. 2025 provisional figures; ONS revises them a year later. Source: ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (Open Government Licence)
Pay in India (occupation group)
Average monthly earnings of salaried employees in the occupation group “Plant and machine operators and assemblers” in India, from the Government of India's Periodic Labour Force Survey (January–December 2025). It covers everyone in this group, not only matrose, and it is not US pay converted to rupees.
Source: MoSPI (Government of India), Periodic Labour Force Survey Annual Report 2025, Table 51 — average wage/salary earnings of regular wage/salaried employees, NCO-2015 division 8. Official India data gives one average per occupation group: there are no official India figures for single careers, experience levels or cities. Read the report
Top skills
Knowledge you'll build
- Public Safety and Security
- Transportation
- Mechanical
- Education and Training
- Administration and Management
- English Language
- Mathematics
- Customer and Personal Service
What you'd actually do
- Tie barges together into tow units for tugboats to handle, inspecting barges periodically during voyages and disconnecting them when destinations are reached.
- Attach hoses and operate pumps to transfer substances to and from liquid cargo tanks.
- Handle lines to moor vessels to wharfs, to tie up vessels to other vessels, or to rig towing lines.
- Read pressure and temperature gauges or displays and record data in engineering logs.
- Stand watch in ships' bows or bridge wings to look for obstructions in a ship's path or to locate navigational aids, such as buoys or lighthouses.
- Maintain government-issued certifications, as required.
Tools & technology you'd use
Frequently asked questions
What does matrose do?
Matroses are members of the deck department of an inland water transportship. They may work on the helm, on the deck, in the cargo hold and in the engine room. They may be called on to use emergency, lifesaving, damage control, and safety equipment. They perform all operations connected with the launching of lifesaving equipment and are expected to be able to operate deck machinery, mooring and anchoring equipment.
What skills does matrose need?
The most in-demand skills for this role include types of cargo, international regulations for cargo handling, inland waterway police regulations, influence of winds and currents in the steering of ships, national regulations on handling cargo, european classification of inland waterways. These are the skills O*NET identifies as most important for competent performance.
Will AI replace matrose?
Our AI-durability model gives matrose a score of 0.50 on a 0-1 scale (higher = more exposure). That places it at moderate AI exposure — some tasks are being automated but the role adapts. Learning to work with AI tools rather than against them is the path forward.