Is it normal to have to report to Virginia for the physical? I understand that NEO and Training are in dedicated locations but I would have thought that the physical could be done closer to one’s home.
People being fast tracked go to VA for their physical and stating the security check process. Then start NEO the following week and on salary.
Normal processing people will be sent to a clinic close to their home and do the equip from home, then wait 2-3 months for NEO and going on salary.
[QUOTE=samat3;162573]People being fast tracked go to VA for their physical and stating the security check process. Then start NEO the following week and on salary.
Normal processing people will be sent to a clinic close to their home and do the equip from home, then wait 2-3 months for NEO and going on salary.[/QUOTE]
Thank you for your info. I had to call someone to get the details. All my paperwork said was report to VA for physical, didn’t mention that I would be staying in VA after that. This whole fast track thing is pretty nice, everything has gone a lot faster than anticipated based on everything I have read.
I was offered a gig as an OS today with MSC. I applied close to six months ago for that position. At that time my credentials were as follows: 50 ton nc master, BST, Lifeboatmen PSC, AB Special, and Radar Unlimited, and over 1400 days on the water, small boats, tours and commercial fishing, and the like. I don’t hold RFPNW, but its on the list of classes to pay for this winter. Hope that lets others know where they stand potentially.
I have since upgraded my license to a 200 nc. and will most likely be able to test for my 500 master in a little over a year given my present job as a master on a vessel slightly below 100 tons. At that time I will be about 180 days short of a 1600 mate.
Should I take this job? I am leaning towards declining it at this time as it is the high season for where I work, they have been good to me in the short time I have been employed with them, and I have potential to upgrade to the credentials that I stated above. If I go MSC, I would for sure be trying to upgrade to a 3rd mates position, and it would take some time as only a small fraction of my present sea time is over 100 tons. According to the NMC checklists, all sea time must be over 100 tons for 3rd mates position. it would also be a pay cut to slightly under half (base OS pay, assuming no OT earned) what my yearly salary is at my present company, and of course i would be away from my wife for months at a time. we have discussed this and we are comfortable with it, as we have lived and worked apart for 3 to 6 months in the past.
So what say ye, fellow mariners? should I take the OS job and earn time for unlimited tonnage 3rd mate, with the potential to make less money and be gone from home? or should I stay on my present course and earn the 500 master, 1600 ton mate? Am I being short sighted by rejecting the OS offer, in favor of the money I make now and potential for upgrades to my masters ticket? Looks like I have the weekend to decide.
Even with all your certs and small license you will still be a OS and at the bottom of the totem pole.
Ask that they reconsider you for an AB billet. Your sea knowledge and training qualifies you way above many ABs I’ve sailed with at MSC. As far as RFPNW goes, if you have the $$ you can do all the assessments in a Maritime School simulator in one day, depending on class size. I’d use that as a bargaining chip.
Question - has the relief situation in MSC improved at all? If not, what exactly is the source of the issue here? I can’t imagine it being a matter of lacking CIVMARs.
I’m planning on re-applying to MSC next year, this time for the AB position.
[QUOTE=TheShipCantSink;162845]Question - has the relief situation in MSC improved at all? If not, what exactly is the source of the issue here? I can’t imagine it being a matter of lacking CIVMARs.
I’m planning on re-applying to MSC next year, this time for the AB position.[/QUOTE]
I just talked to a new hire who came over from MSC and he said he was regularly held over as long as 90 days past his rotation date.
The source of the issue with MSC seems to be that government bean counters are in charge who, with no knowledge of going to sea, think its exactly like shoreside work, and you should only get two or three weeks off a year, JUST LIKE any other working stiff on land. Makes perfect sense right?
This is the response I have been given from several different longtime MSC officers. Just anecdotal information but I could see the gears turning exactly in this fashion inside a gubment bean counter’s head.
[QUOTE=catherder;162852]I just talked to a new hire who came over from MSC and he said he was regularly held over as long as 90 days past his rotation date.[/QUOTE]
Where do you work now?
So if a typical rotation is 120 days, then he was at sea for seven months? Brutal.
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[QUOTE=Slick Cam;162856]The source of the issue with MSC seems to be that government bean counters are in charge who, with no knowledge of going to sea, think its exactly like shoreside work, and you should only get two or three weeks off a year, JUST LIKE any other working stiff on land. Makes perfect sense right?
This is the response I have been given from several different longtime MSC officers. Just anecdotal information but I could see the gears turning exactly in this fashion inside a gubment bean counter’s head.[/QUOTE]
They’ve got to have some idea that this system of theirs isn’t working. I’m sure retention isn’t very good due to the relief situation. Being a federal employee (a civilian employee of the Navy, at that) is a major selling point for me, but I don’t know. Maybe unions are the way to go…
These days it depends on the rate. A chief mate may be months late being relieved. Maybe some speciality (SAR, high speed endorsement). Otherwise people generally get relieved on time.
[QUOTE=DeckApe;162872]These days it depends on the rate. A chief mate may be months late being relieved. Maybe some speciality (SAR, high speed endorsement). Otherwise people generally get relieved on time.[/QUOTE]
So the problem is not a lack of people, its not a lot of highly-qualified people.
Are you currently sailing w/MSC? I ask because you’re the first bearer of good news on the matter. Maybe I will definitely apply to MSC next year!
I’m standing in the deck of an MSC hull right now. Important thing to remember is how drastically things change. It’s boom and bust here. One year some people can’t get relieved on time, the next year they can’t get a ship assignment because there are too many people.
I wouldn’t call that ‘good news.’ I would call it ‘right now.’
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[QUOTE=DeckApe;162887]I’m standing in the deck of an MSC hull right now. Important thing to remember is how drastically things change. It’s boom and bust here. One year some people can’t get relieved on time, the next year they can’t get a ship assignment because there are too many people.
I wouldn’t call that ‘good news.’ I would call it ‘right now.’[/QUOTE]
Oh well. I’ll take it; at least there’s somewhat of a pattern to it all.
Question - I applied to “Any Entry Level” last summer and was declared “Unsuitable/Disqualified.” I was never able to find out what the issue was. Assuming it wasn’t crime, drugs, or any other hiring “no-no” (I have no criminal record, nor have I ever used drugs), what could cause me to be declared “Unsuitable/Disqualified?” I’m particularly concerned that this will come up again the next time I apply to MSC and that they won’t even look at my submission.
@ TheShipCantSink,
How far did you make it through the process before finding out you were disqualified? Was it after your physical? After the phone interview?
[QUOTE=WiiFit4This;162931]@ TheShipCantSink,
How far did you make it through the process before finding out you were disqualified? Was it after your physical? After the phone interview?[/QUOTE]
After I submitted the application. I never got an interview. I applied, waited a few months, then checked my status. Its bothering the heck out of me, because I can’t think of a single thing in my record that would make me “Unsuitable/Disqualified” for an entry-level position. Its not like I had zero work experience in the field, either.
My hope is that this is merely a “bureaucratic broad brush.”
Hello, my name is Kevin Andrews; and am an applicant for Military Sealift Command. I have been selected and awaiting my Medical Screening and Physical, also my Drug Screening to be cleared. The Medical Screening was done on the 15th of this month, and the Drug Test and Physical were done on the 20th of this month. I have now been awaiting my exams to be cleared for 7 days. I have some questions concerning the drug screening first. First, on one of the blood tests at the Medical Screening; my results came back positive for Sickle Cell, so is that something that MSC will require me to get further testing for? Now, usually I would think that it would be something disqualifying; but the doctor said because of some of the other results on my tests that its highly unlikely that I have Sickle Cell. He said that my blood count was way to high for me to have Sickle Cell.
Another Question is, what is the range that they will turn you down; or “not fit for hire” in all of the other categories? Mainly the Diabetes/Blood Glucose Test? Next I would like to ask, when is the next NEO classes? If my stuff has been progressing as so:
-Submitted my application at the end of February
-MSC received my application in early March
-My info was forwarded on some days after
-And put under review at the Employment Division on March 10
-I was selected April 17th in which I had my call detailing my interview and my interview the week before both evens were on Friday of the subsequent week
-My EQIP cleared and I was scheduled for my Medical Screening on May 15th
-And then I did my Medical Physical and Drug Test on the same day at 2 different facilities on May 20th
-Also, I submitted my proof of residency for S&Q; also my Brown Passport Application some days after.
How long in the current day of the hiring process at MSC should it take from now or since May 20th to get deemed “Fit for hire” or “Not fit for hire?”
I know that the ships have an internet at MSC, especially the modern ones; so even though you more than likely don’t have a WiFi that you can browse the internet on, can you hook up other things that use the internet to their internet?
Thank you:D
Thanks to those that took the time to offer some advice and insight into the OS position. I have decided not to take it. My decision was based on the rotation. I was told that shipboard duty would be four to six months, 30 days in the pool, and then another four to six months aboard, unless I took leave. leave is accrued at 15 to 20 days per month on board. I also asked about the possibility of being reconsidered for an AB billet, and was told it wasn’t possible at this time. So for those you that are looking, there is at least one spot not yet filled. Thanks again.
[QUOTE=swab;163085]Thanks to those that took the time to offer some advice and insight into the OS position. I have decided not to take it. My decision was based on the rotation. I was told that shipboard duty would be four to six months, 30 days in the pool, and then another four to six months aboard, unless I took leave. leave is accrued at 15 to 20 days per month on board. I also asked about the possibility of being reconsidered for an AB billet, and was told it wasn’t possible at this time. So for those you that are looking, there is at least one spot not yet filled. Thanks again.[/QUOTE]
Question - did you ever apply as an AB? They’ve been hiring for that position since 01/05/15 (with periodic cut-offs).
Also, did they change the leave policy? According to the handbook available online, leave is accrued at four hours per bi-weekly pay period during the first years of employment, coming out to 13 days of leave accrued per year.
If what you’re saying is correct, then MSC doesn’t sound like such a bad deal!