Navy · HT
Navy Hull Maintenance Technicians keep ships watertight and functioning—welding, pipefitting, plumbing, and metal fabrication. That transfers directly to the civilian welding, pipefitting, sheet-metal, and industrial-maintenance trades.
These are the civilian jobs the U.S. Department of Labor maps to HT, plus the roles most closely related to them—ordered from the closest match. Think of them as a floor, not a ceiling: see what each role involves and pays, start where your Hull Maintenance Technician experience already fits, and build toward the rest.
$48,480/yr mediantypical $36k–$67k~58K U.S. jobs
Typical entry: High-school diploma plus short on-the-job training
Fabricate, position, align, and fit parts of structural metal products.
Why it fits: A direct Department of Labor match—your Hull Maintenance Technician work maps straight onto the manufacturing & production side of this role.
$61,550/yr mediantypical $39k–$103k~436K U.S. jobs
★ Bright Outlook — Rapid growth
Typical entry: Associate degree, apprenticeship, or vocational training
Assemble, install, alter, and repair pipelines or pipe systems that carry water, steam, air, or other liquids or gases.
Why it fits: A direct Department of Labor match—your Hull Maintenance Technician work maps straight onto the construction & skilled trades side of this role.
$62,760/yr mediantypical $41k–$105k~64K U.S. jobs
Typical entry: High-school diploma plus short on-the-job training
Raise, place, and unite iron or steel girders, columns, and other structural members to form completed structures or structural frameworks.
Why it fits: Closely related to your Hull Maintenance Technician occupations on the construction & skilled trades side—a natural next step.
$62,270/yr mediantypical $41k–$79k~7K U.S. jobs
Typical entry: High-school diploma plus short on-the-job training
Lay out reference points and dimensions on metal or plastic stock or workpieces, such as sheets, plates, tubes, structural shapes, castings, or machine parts, for further processing.
Why it fits: Closely related to your Hull Maintenance Technician occupations on the manufacturing & production side—a natural next step.
$61,240/yr mediantypical $40k–$93k~30K U.S. jobs
Typical entry: High-school diploma plus short on-the-job training
Assemble, fit, fasten, and install parts of airplanes, space vehicles, or missiles, such as tails, wings, fuselage, bulkheads, stabilizers, landing gear, rigging and control equipment, or heating…
Why it fits: Closely related to your Hull Maintenance Technician occupations on the manufacturing & production side—a natural next step.
$58,780/yr mediantypical $37k–$101k~116K U.S. jobs
Typical entry: High-school diploma plus short on-the-job training
Fabricate, assemble, install, and repair sheet metal products and equipment, such as ducts, control boxes, drainpipes, and furnace casings.
Why it fits: Closely related to your Hull Maintenance Technician occupations on the construction & skilled trades side—a natural next step.
$45,350/yr mediantypical $35k–$63k~33K U.S. jobs
Typical entry: High-school diploma plus short on-the-job training
Set up, operate, or tend welding, soldering, or brazing machines or robots that weld, braze, solder, or heat treat metal products, components, or assemblies.
Why it fits: Closely related to your Hull Maintenance Technician occupations on the manufacturing & production side—a natural next step.
$48,940/yr mediantypical $37k–$73k~422K U.S. jobs
Typical entry: High-school diploma plus short on-the-job training
Use hand-welding, flame-cutting, hand-soldering, or brazing equipment to weld or join metal components or to fill holes, indentations, or seams of fabricated metal products.
Why it fits: Closely related to your Hull Maintenance Technician occupations on the manufacturing & production side—a natural next step.
Source: O*NET / DMDC Military Crosswalk and O*NET related-occupations data, August 2024. Pay is BLS OEWS (May 2023).
Adjacent and stretch fields where your experience gives you a credible starting point.
$48,940/yr medianWelders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers (representative)
Why it fits: Shipboard welding and fabrication transfer directly.
What it takes: AWS welding certification.
Explore this route →$61,550/yr medianPlumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters (representative)
Why it fits: Piping-system installation and repair map to the pipefitting and plumbing trades.
What it takes: Apprenticeship and state licensing.
Explore this route →Why it fits: Metal fabrication and fitting fit sheet-metal roles.
What it takes: Apprenticeship; trade certification.
Explore this route →$58,970/yr medianBus and Truck Mechanics and Diesel Engine Specialists (representative)
Why it fits: Shipboard systems maintenance transfers to marine and industrial maintenance.
What it takes: OEM training; document systems.
Explore this route →$57,300/yr medianHeating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installers (representative)
Why it fits: Systems and piping experience support HVAC/mechanical roles.
What it takes: EPA 608; trade training.
Explore this route →Why it fits: Documented trades experience supports WG trades series.
What it takes: Trade tests may apply.
Explore this route →Use the level that reflects what you actually did—not rank alone. Two people with the same code and very different experience should not submit the same résumé.
Lead with hands-on tasks, tools, equipment, qualifications, safety discipline, and the conditions in which you performed. Do not inflate supervisory scope.
Add team leadership, training, inspections, work allocation, quality control, readiness, and the people or assets you directly supervised.
Emphasize multi-team operations, schedules, resource forecasting, safety systems, policy enforcement, advising leaders, and organization-level results.
A translated title isn't enough. These four moves turn Hull Maintenance Technician experience into evidence a civilian hiring manager can act on.
List the systems, vehicles, equipment, and tools you personally operated as Hull Maintenance Technician—plus qualifications, certifications, and the recurring high-stakes tasks you owned.
Sailors led, dollar value of equipment you were accountable for, workload, readiness rates, and safety or quality outcomes. Scope beats adjectives.
For any target role, name the license, degree, or software it requires and start now—your GI Bill and credentialing assistance can cover most of it.
Recruiters rarely search “HT.” Search job boards by the equipment, skills, and outcomes above as much as by “Hull Maintenance Technician.”
You don't have to make this jump alone. These programs exist specifically to move service members into civilian careers—most are free, and several pay you while you train.
Train or intern with a civilian employer during your last ~180 days on active duty—at full military pay.
Earn a paycheck while you train for a trade or technical role; USMAP can credit the military training you already have.
Corporate fellowships and hiring events that place transitioning service members and military spouses.
Free career training and nationally recognized certifications for service members, veterans, and spouses.
VA-funded high-tech training (IT, cyber, data, software) that does not touch your GI Bill entitlement.
Free local career centers plus certification and state-by-state license finders for any field.
Registered apprenticeships in the skilled trades—your discipline is the prerequisite.
Maintenance, logistics, and operations pathways that actively recruit veterans.
How to use this: Treat these as targets, not limits. Your exact duties depend on your assignments, so lead with what you actually did—and remember that regulated careers require their own license, certification, or degree.