Did you happen to work as an SIU electrician or reefer? If so, do you recommend it to start out? Does there seem to be a high demand for these positions with the SIU? I’ve been told some guys walk out of school into some very well paying jobs going this route.[/QUOTE]
No, I had one SIU job and it was as an AB. But I do work deep sea and I see a lot of electricians. I can’t speak for MFOW but our permanent SIU electro often has a difficult time getting a relief, so that tells me you should be able to get jobs pretty easily.
[QUOTE=awulfclark;126754] our permanent SIU electro often has a difficult time getting a relief, so that tells me you should be able to get jobs pretty easily.
[/QUOTE]
[QUOTE=awulfclark;126754]No, I had one SIU job and it was as an AB. But I do work deep sea and I see a lot of electricians. I can’t speak for MFOW but our permanent SIU electro often has a difficult time getting a relief, so that tells me you should be able to get jobs pretty easily.
Either way, best of luck![/QUOTE]
Thanks. I appreciate the info.
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[QUOTE=RichM;126762]Stop and think about this.[/QUOTE]
In a good or bad way. I would think the good would be the pay and overtime and that the position is in high demand. The bad is that the position is in high demand because it’s not an easy job, you’re away for vast periods of time. That’s what I’m guessing.
WTF?
I got more than that to do electrical work with no kind of official rating in the early 1990s!
[QUOTE=catherder;126645]I am a QMED junior and electr. Don’t work for the agency I mentioned in my previous post. Day rate is[B] 118 bucks[/B]. I’m leaving. Not enough money.[/QUOTE]
Cat, I would pepper every large OSV company with diesel electric and specialty boats (HOS, Harvey, Candies, Chouest) and all the drill ship companies with resumes and calls/door knocking. You should be making over 3x that at the big boat companies. Not sure about ETO or QMED pay on drillships.
It really depends from ship to ship. Know one old seafarer that had to live with 5 other cadets in a container on the poop deck of the ship he was a cadet on.
Here are answers to your questions for ships I’ve worked on recently.
how much sleep do you end up getting on average when you’re on the vessel? [B]If working 4 hours on 8 off normally get 7ish hours sleep in one go. If working 6 hours on/off normally get 8 hours sleep in 2 go. 7 hours in one go is the far better option.[/B]
Can you get a full 8 hours? [B]Rarely[/B]
Are the quarters comfortable/quiet enough to manage it? [B]Yes normally, on older or poorly constructed vessels fittings can tend to rattle a lot through engine vibration or when the ship is rolling about in heavy seas. If your vessel is fitted with bowthrusters then having a cabin lower down in the vessel sucks as you get more affected by their noise[/B]
Can you bring a fan on board to block out outside noise? [B]Yes[/B]
Do you have your own room or do you share with a roommate? [B]On small ships yeah. Bigger ships no. Thankfully never had to do it.[/B]
Got a window? If so, can you block out the sunlight?[B] Some cabins have portholes, some not. Cabin’s with portholes normally have deadlights which are good at blocking out sunlight.[/B]
What size are the beds?[B] Almost always single[/B]
Are the mattresses thick or are they thin/cheap crap that’s hard to sleep on? [B]Mostly seen thick mattresses, but the ones that have that kind of plastic surface so they last longer and are more hygienic. [/B]
Got a comfortable chair to sit on in your room? [B]Yes leather recliners[/B]
Can you eat your meals in your room instead of in the cafeteria if you like some peace and quiet when you eat? [B]It’s called a messroom not a cafeteria. It would probably be bad practice to eat in your cabin instead. Make you look anti-social.[/B]
Can you take showers whenever you want when you’re off duty? [B]Yes. As many as you want.[/B]
How about laundry. How does that work?[B] Normally got separate washing machines and tumble dryers for working gear and normal clothes, washing powder provided for free.[/B]
Some more newb questions. Trying to get a sense if the industry is really for me. I understand every boat is different etc but just looking for some generalizations, I’m in the dark.
How common are 28/14 schedules? Would you say half the mariners out there work that? or is it a small minority? I could do the 28/14 for a few years but not really looking to do that for 30 years.
How common is it to stick with the same boat or schedule for years? I would imagine tug schedules are pretty predictable but I talked to one Mariner and he told me he never worked anywhere longer than a few months. He seemed squared away so I don’t think it was because he was a flake or was fired a bunch. And he wasn’t complaining about a lack of work. Is this typical? I kind of like the idea of changing jobs a lot.
What would you say is the rough breakdown of the types of vessels mariners work on? i.e. what percent work on tugs, in the oil industry, MSC? bulk carriers are almost all foreign I am presuming? What am I missing?