You love boats. You’re mechanically inclined. You’re ready for a new career. But you’re wondering how hard it is to get a marine mechanic degree and start your next chapter with a postsecondary voyage.

Don’t worry! We know how hard it can be to take the leap, but we’ve also seen time and again how much going back to school can help students pursue their passions and create a new career.

As a student in a marine mechanic diploma, certificate, or associate degree program, you can learn the skills you’ll need to work on motorboats, sailboats, sport fishing boats, and more. Those skills include a thorough knowledge and understanding of fuel, lubrication, and electrical systems, transmissions, propulsion technology, and diesel technology—and maybe even some brand-specific products and components.

Marine mechanics programs generally focus training students to efficiently service and maintain, repair, rebuild, and diagnose problems in small engines and other marine technology systems. Students can learn both basic skills, such as disassembling engine components, and more advanced skills, like performing a complete engine overhaul. That’s knowledge you can put to use in a variety of marine environments.

Graduates of marine mechanics programs often find work with dealerships, repair shops, marinas, and other operations in the marine industry. These are spaces that may be noisy or in poor weather conditions, and as a mechanical job will certainly include use of hand tools, some cramped positions, and some fluctuating hours.

The need for marine mechanics can vary by season and location, with many marine mechanics seeing much heavier workloads during the spring and summer—when the weather is warmer—or in certain areas of the country. While you may find job opportunities nationwide for motorboat mechanics and service technicians, naturally there are more of these jobs (and higher concentrations of them) in states near water. For this reason, Alaska, California, Florida, and Texas are popular states for marine mechanics—as are the New England area (including New York and Maryland) and states near the Great Lakes (such as Wisconsin and Michigan)—according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Training programs can be completed in less than a year, meaning that pursuing a new career as a marine mechanic could be just months away.

Are you ready to find the perfect marine mechanics program near you? The Imagine America Foundation has a robust network of schools that offer the hands-on training you need to become a marine mechanic and start your new career. IAF is proud to work with partner institutions like Universal Technical Institute, who offers training programs in a variety of technical fields—including marine mechanics.