Recent changes in the needs of the military have caused the U.S. Navy to spend more time out to sea. Longer deployments limit the time available for performing maintenance and for training their technicians. The Navy is also steadily reducing the number of sailors manning each vessel, therefore requiring more automated systems to keep the ships at sea and in total readiness. To meet this need, industrial automation systems are being investigated as replacements and upgrades for the military systems that have been used for years in warship designs. This will require ship repair partners, both military and civilian, to work with unfamiliar equipment (in the current trades mix) that was not designed for installation in such a harsh environment. Although the industrial automation industry has been using these systems for years, there is a shortage of technicians in the maritime industry that understand mechatronics systems. Hence, there is a need to better prepare technicians to install and repair these systems since it is a complete change to the previous design of warship systems. This paper will present an overview of competencies related to one such career, and overview the relation between mechatronics engineering and marine engineering. It will also present the current state of the different educational levels, starting from high school and continuing onto technician and undergraduate education and programs. ; Comment: 9 pages