# Will marine engineers be replaced by AI? Updated October 2026 Marine engineers score 46 out of 100 for AI exposure. AI helps with 70% of their task time, and they stay in charge. AI can do another 6%. 24% needs a person. - **6%** AI can do it - **70%** AI helps - **24%** Needs a person Moderate exposure Higher than 65% of the 923 jobs we scored. ## Task by task We graded 30 tasks, most exposed first. AI can do 2 of them, helps with 21 and leaves 7 to people. | Task | AI exposure | | --- | --- | | Maintain records of engineering department activities, including expense records and details of equipment maintenance and repairs. Logging expenses and maintenance records is routine digital work. | 75% AI can do it | | Prepare technical reports for use by engineering, management, or sales personnel. Drafting technical reports from data suits LLMs well. | 72% AI can do it | | Prepare, or direct the preparation of, product or system layouts and detailed drawings and schematics. CAD and AI drafting produce drawings; engineer reviews and approves. | 58% AI helps | | Prepare plans, estimates, design and construction schedules, and contract specifications, including any special provisions. Drafting specs and schedules is quick; estimates need checking. | 58% AI helps | | Conduct analyses of ships, such as stability, structural, weight, and vibration analyses. Simulation software runs analyses; engineer interprets and validates results. | 55% AI helps | ## How marine engineers compare All jobs (923) Architecture and engineering (56) The dark line is **marine engineers, at 46**. Each dot is a score, and darker dots mean more jobs share it. The short marks are the averages, 37 for all jobs and 47 for architecture and engineering. ## Pay and outlook in the US Median pay $112,230 a year, May 2025 People employed 8,250 in the US, May 2025 Projected change in jobs +6.7% from 2024 to 2034 ## Skills to build - Check MATLAB stability and vibration results before sign-off - Review AutoCAD and Rhinoceros 3D drawings before approval - Check estimates and schedules built in Microsoft Project - Witness sea trials and shakedown cruises in person - Inspect machinery on site and write job specifications - Hold a flag-state marine engineer certificate of competency ## Safer roles nearby 5 related jobs with lower scores. - [Ship engineers23 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/ship-engineers/) - [Aerospace technicians35 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/aerospace-technicians/) - [Electrical engineering technicians45 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/electrical-engineering-technicians/) - [Civil engineers45 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/civil-engineers/) - [Marine mechanics15 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/marine-mechanics/) ## Questions about marine engineers and AI Will AI replace marine engineers? Partly. About 4 in 10 working hours go to tasks AI can already do, mostly keeping expense and maintenance records and drafting technical reports. Work that stays with people includes sea trials, machinery inspection, and crew training for emergencies. Which marine engineer tasks will AI take over? Maintaining expense and equipment repair records comes first, with an exposure score of 75. Logging them is routine digital work. Preparing technical reports follows at 72, since drafting from engineering data suits language models well. Stability and structural analyses score 55, but simulation software runs them and the engineer still interprets the results. Which marine engineer tasks stay human? Acceptance testing and shakedown cruises stay human because they need physical presence and judgment aboard the vessel. Inspecting machinery to write work requests also needs hands-on presence on site. Supervising crew and training them for emergency duties needs in-person leadership. How can marine engineers stay valuable on the job? Move your time toward review, testing, and crew leadership. Check every AutoCAD and Rhinoceros 3D drawing before approval, and verify MATLAB stability results against your calculations. Attend sea trials and machinery inspections in person, and keep your certificate of competency current. ## Related jobs - [Aerospace engineers51 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/aerospace-engineers/) - [Mechanical engineering technicians49 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/mechanical-engineering-technicians/) - [Mechanical engineers47 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/mechanical-engineers/) - [Industrial engineers55 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/industrial-engineers/) ## Next steps for marine engineers - ### Check your job Your job title is a rough guide. Your tasks decide your score. Paste your job description or CV to see which tasks AI can do. [Check your job](https://www.aigentcy.com/tools/ai-exposure-checker/) [Check your CV](https://www.aigentcy.com/tools/cv-checker/) - ### Estimate team savings The score is per person. Add headcount and salary to see the hours AI can take on in a team of marine engineers, and what they cost. [Estimate what AI saves a team of marine engineers](https://www.aigentcy.com/tools/team-ai-audit/?role=marine-engineers) [Work out the return on automation](https://www.aigentcy.com/tools/ai-savings-calculator/) ### Check which roles in your team AI can take on We map your team's tasks, show what AI can do today and build the automations that pay back first. [Book an AI audit](https://www.aigentcy.com/audit/) ## Related topics - [**Jobs AI can't replace**Roustabouts score lowest, at 6.](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/jobs-ai-cant-replace/) - [**Jobs most at risk from AI**Proofreaders score highest, at 76.](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/jobs-most-exposed-to-ai/) - [**High-paying jobs with low AI exposure**Pediatric surgeons earn a median $559,030 and score 29.](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/high-paying-jobs-low-ai-exposure/) - [**Entry-level jobs with low AI exposure**Roustabouts need little prior training and score 6.](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/entry-level-jobs-low-ai-exposure/) - [**Jobs AI speeds up the most**AI helps with 98% of the task time for health informatics specialists.](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/jobs-ai-speeds-up/) - [**AI and jobs in Malta**15 iGaming roles graded task by task.](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/malta/) - [**Skills that keep work human**The skills to build in the jobs AI changes least.](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/skills/) - [**Jobs A to Z**Every job we score, by first letter.](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/jobs/) - [**AI exposure by industry**Average scores for 22 job groups.](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/industries/) - [**Write a CV screening software can read**How applicant tracking systems read a CV, and what to change.](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/cv-screening-guide/) - [**AI for businesses**The tasks to automate first in each team and industry.](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-for/) - [**How we score AI exposure**The grading, the weights and every source.](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/methodology/) Sources and licences Occupation data from the O\*NET 30.3 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under [CC BY 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) and modified by Aigentcy. O\*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. Wage, employment and projection data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. EU occupation names from ESCO, European Commission. AI usage signals from the Anthropic Economic Index (CC BY) and Microsoft Research (CC BY 4.0). [Methodology and sources](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/methodology/). Scores © Aigentcy. Quote them with a link to the page.