The Martime academies have the highest employment rate for all colleges in the country…last I heard.
Go to a shipping port city with ships, boat Marinas and the Martime industry. Smell the smells and observe the activity.
What area of interest because the academies have many options/degree choice. Engineering is a good choice.
The USN is a very good starting point as well. Many ex Navy go to maritime and many maritime grads join Navy as officers.
My maritime academy graduation class included prior graduates from Dartmouth, UC Berkeley and several other colleges. They were young and their prior degrees were worthless in their minds, so they started all over again to get a degree and licence in a field that was looking for a workforce, that died after I graduated. I ended up working on foreign flag ships (4) before getting a job on a US flag ship. And that was after spending a year working on a supply boat in the gulf of Mexico. Things haven’t changed that much. The maritime unions in NY, NJ are very questionable in my mind. The whole mafia corruption thing comes to mind at those halls. Boston halls have the same effect. It’s weird, kind of like a time Warp! Where if you grew up with or went to SUNY or MASS hole socialists, with a guy that now is a patrolling officer (patrollman) for a union (union police officer that not sure “harasses” union employee for dues)…and now after explanation, the SUNY guy can now get you a job because you paid your dues and you are a good friend of mine and fxxk all the others that h noave been watching for the awesome job!!! Union corrupt is silent but deep. How does a licenced offer get a job with Norwegian Cruise Lines? When the jobs turn over, however they are RARELY or never (dk job) posted on the job board at West coast/ Hawaii.
Total inside/Backdoor shipping is going on with this officer union.
One thing maybe worth considering (not sure if already mentioned) is that by SUNY and Mass may have new training ships in the near future. While still likely well after 2022 for the first one, depending upon when someone is looking to enroll that could be of interest.
The number is over 1000. Don’t know exactly, MARAD published it in June. 70-80% Engineers is definitely wrong. Texas has very few Engine grads, Maine has few Deck grads. I think it evens out more or less.
Usmma only graduates deck or engine unlimited licenses. Period. Starting with 3rd Mate or 3rd Engineer. The percentages of either field vary from year to year, due to market/employment opportunities. Bachelor of Science degree in your respective field accompanies that.
TO THE PARENTS/STUDENTS LOOKING TO CHOOSE A MARITIME ACADEMY
A critical part of one’s education is the exposure to, and understanding of, cultural differences and appreciation of ethics and social norms. I grew up in New York and live in California. I strongly recommend my Alma Mater, Maine Maritime Academy. The culture/ethics/social norms of Maine, and the small town of Castine where the Academy is located, are decidedly different, and in my opinion, far superior to that which is currently found in New York or California.
Francis J. Tepedino
Attorney at Law
San Diego, CA.
They’re too busy promoting the American Merchant Marine. We all know what a screaming success that has been. In case anyone on this forum does not already know this, MARAD is one of the most ineffectual agencies in the federal government, a notable if dubious accomplishment, in the face of long tradition and heavy competition.
Great Lakes Maritime Academy (more training, less BS, great lakes pilotage, you get one summer off b/c you cadet ship/ cruise one spring, National cherry festival)
Texas A&M Maritime Academy (heard its fun in Galveston, have a DP program heard bad cadet shipping program, only Academy in the south, US flagged fleet in your back yard)
California Maritime Academy (know to have a more laid back regiment, the only school on the west coast so prime access to networking for all those jobs, good cadet shipping program)
SUNNY Maritime Academy (all the Alum hate it, but its right near New York, bond through the universal pain of their regiment)
Maine Maritime Academy (if going non-reg bump this up a spot to #4, good tug program/ small vessel. Nice waterfront boats etc., rumors’ of fraud with some of the endorsement stuff/ license issues, isolated in the middle of nowhere, regiment run by ex-cops or desk drivers in the military)
Mass Maritime Academy (no social life, regimental hardos, everyone is in the regiment, you can’t live off campus, no usable waterfront, usable waterfront through town)
USMMA (if you want to have a college life don’t go here, no freedom of expression, historical bad reputation in industry, this is more for the military want to be that did not get into a military college)
I have formed such opinions through life in the robust (oops I mean subpar) US Merchant Marine, which is flooded with young chaps every year begging for a job. Its sad that the not only the state of the US fleet is diminishing but Academies have failed to adapt and change. I’m almost inclined to tell kids today to just hawsepipe and get a college degree online. No reason to march around pretending it WW2 burning through money. Might as well work your way up to a third mate/ 3AE. In 6 years time you can be there. With a whole lot more money and experience in your pocket. Most maritime grads are coming out working as ABs and QMEDs after graduation anyway.
The regiments pre-date the war; they go back to the very first days of the schools. Why does everyone associate them with the Second World War? If it was really that bad half of the whiners would have dropped out. The fact they look back after graduation to complain about it just shows they need some hobbies.
And hawsepiping is not cheap. Balancing work life with home life and classes for upgrades can be stressful, expensive and time consuming by itself. 6 years is optimistic at best and likely depends on your stars aligning at all the right times.
