In Star Trek, what is the difference between the navigator and the helmsman? Generally, the helmsman seems to be much more important, or at least does much more manual work. Memory Alpha's descriptions seem to be pretty congruent in both its articles on helmsman and navigator. In the series, the navigators (Sulu, Tom Paris, Keyla Detmer, etc.) seem to have a much bigger and more important job (handling attitude, warp drive, etc.)
What is the difference between navigator and helmsman?