SALARY DATA — SOC 17-2121
Marine Engineers and Naval Architects
17-0000 Architecture and Engineering Occupations
The 90/10 ratio for Marine Engineers and Naval Architects is 2.09× — the national median is $112,230 but top decile earns $173,330. The spread exists; it's concentrated in geography, specialization, and industry sector. Knowing which end of the band you're on is the whole negotiation.
BLS OEWS reference period: May 2025. Employment: 8,250.
Wage distribution — the receipts
National OEWS annual wage percentiles. "vs. median" column shows each percentile relative to the occupation's own national median — this is where your position in the band lives. Source and series IDs: methodology page.
| Percentile | Annual wage | vs. median | Hourly (est.) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10th pct — bottom decile | $83,010 | -26% | ~$40 |
| 25th pct — lower quartile | $99,250 | -12% | ~$48 |
| Median — 50th pct | $112,230 | — | $53.96/hr |
| Mean — average | $124,180 | +11% | $59.70/hr |
| 75th pct — upper quartile | $137,690 | +23% | ~$66 |
| 90th pct — top decile | $173,330 | +54% | ~$83 |
Source: BLS OEWS national estimates. Annual wage ÷ 2,080 hrs = hourly estimate. Hourly-median is direct from OEWS when available; others are estimates only.
About this page
This page reports national wage data for Marine Engineers and Naval Architects (SOC 17-2121) from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey. OEWS is the federal government's primary source for occupational wage data — a nationally representative survey of employers conducted annually, covering approximately 1.1 million establishments. All figures reflect the most recent May reference period available via the BLS public API.
The headline number is the annual median wage — the wage at which half of all workers in this occupation earn more and half earn less. The median is the right benchmark for most workers because it is not inflated by the top earners the way the mean (average) is. The 90/10 ratio compares the top decile (p90) to the bottom decile (p10): a ratio of 3.0 means workers at the 90th percentile earn three times those at the 10th percentile.
Marine Engineers and Naval Architects is classified under 17-0000 Architecture and Engineering Occupations, placing it alongside other occupations in that sector of the labor market. BLS estimates total national employment in this occupation at approximately 8,250 workers. The wage spread shown in the percentile table is the bargaining-surface map your employer operates from. Most employers know exactly where each of their workers sits in the band; most workers don't. That information asymmetry is what this page is designed to close.
The 90/10 ratio is used as an implicit "bargaining power metric" here, but it measures structural spread — not your individual leverage. High ratio occupations have wide bands and more room to negotiate; narrow-ratio occupations are often governed more by title and tenure than by individual negotiation. Methodology at /methodology#oews-salaries.
OEWS data does not include equity, bonuses, benefits, or total compensation — only base wages. The true compensation gap is wider than what these numbers show. These are the floor numbers, not the ceiling. Federal law in many states also prohibits employers from asking about your current salary during hiring; knowing the market rate is the countermeasure.
Methodology · About Office Blues · Meeting Tax Calculator · Daily Pulse
Raw JSON: /salaries/marine-engineers-and-naval-architects-17-2121.json · License: CC BY 4.0 · Source: BLS OEWS · Cite as: Office Blues OEWS Salary Data, Marine Engineers and Naval Architects, officeblues.net/salaries/marine-engineers-and-naval-architects-17-2121
The Salary Negotiation Script at /products/salary-negotiation-script uses frameworks like these to build a case — this is the data layer.