At the age of 39 I am leaving the world of finance/wealth management and pursuing a career in maritime.
I have a lot of experience on the water, I just passed my OUPV, have my STCW scheduled and have the hours for the AB Limited but will need to take the course.
I’m currently waiting on the TWIC card to process, once in hand, I will be submitting for my OUPV. This leads me to my first question: Will the OUPV act as my MCC documents?
It seems like union is the way to go, how do I get into the one of the Unions? They ones I am familiar with, you really “need to know someone”. Any help here would be a big help.
My goal is to become a mate, then captain, but it seems like I will be starting as an ABDH. I am hoping to find a 14/14 schedule with a monthly income or approximately $6,500. Is this a reasonable expectation? I live in Wilmington, NC but I will travel as needed anywhere on the East Coast or Gulf.
I would like to start working as soon as possible, but do not want to get locked into a low wage as I will not have my AB for a bit.
Any help with my questions above would be greatly appreciated. Any guidance as far as “If I were you, I would be doing XYZ” – would also be much appreciated.
You’re leaving finance/wealth management for the maritime world? Why? 6500/mo is about 465 per day. As a new AB (if you can get that endorsement) you probably won’t get that. But probably after a few years you might be there…
The reason for leaving wealth managment - there are multiple reasons. The industry has changed, there is a lot of red tape as far as making appropriate recommendations, building a suitable portfolio…etc.
Most people are over paying for cookie cutter financial advice. You could sit these same clients down at a computer, have them answer a few questions themselves - a portfolio will be built by an algorithm and it will perform just as well as one built by an advisor. There is no Alpha to be had.
The industry standard being “wrapped money” - where the client pay apx 1.5% AUM is nonsense. The clients are simply annuitizing their financial advisors income stream. And what does the client get, two 45 minute meetings a year?
Portfolios are rarely customer tailored to an individual client, hell the firms won’t even allow for it unless the client has 7 figure net worth.
Advisors cannot act in the capacity of a fiduciary while still making money in most cases.
I have a passion for investing/planning - but dole it out freely.
However, do not get me wrong. If a client has advanced planning needs, legacy planning requirements and has a substantial net worth - then a good advisor is worth their weight in gold.
The business is also over saturated with advisors, a lot of them are very bad at their job and are doing wrong by their clients left and right. The masses don’t exactly trust their advisors, it makes a lot of conversations harder than they should be.
I can go on and on, but the bottom line is the industry left a sour taste in my mouth after 18 years.
Also, going forward, I don’t want to spend my life behind a desk.
Trading one set of red tape for another. Go to the nmc (national maritime center) and read the checklist on how to obtain an MMC. It will walk you through the process. You’ll need 360 on vessels over 100t for your ab limited, and it can’t just be inland or western rivers, so nc or oceans. I don’t know what your seatime is like, but you’ll wanna check that. Will also need your lifeboatman.
I’d also start googling maritime unions. SIU, AMO, MMP and IBU are the ones I know of off the top of my head. There seems to be plenty of work across the board but if you’re looking at 14/14 work you’re probably going to be non union on the east coast. Typically, union work is longer hitches. I’ve worked almost exclusively non union and prefer it. No one is union in the gulf as far as I know. Good luck, if you search this forum this question has been answered plenty so you can find what you need. You are probably taking a pay cut for a while, but the industry needs people. Good luck.
You will not find 14/14 in the union. You will work 90-120 day trips starting out and will have half of that in time off, but they do have their own schools to put you through classes at no charge.
You can land that schedule on tugs or OSVs. I would suggest a company which also offers classes at no cost to you such as Edison chouest offshore which has their own school to get you into that officer setting. If you do obtain the AB you will start just shy of 400 a day.
I assume you mean Basic Training. STCW is not a singular thing. It’s a series of different endorsements at all levels from entry level to Master and Chief Engineer.
You will not be able to get the STCW equivalent to AB needed to work on larger vessels, not initially. You first need to get Rating Forming Part of a Navigational Watch, and only then can you start working on the STCW endorsement as Able Seafarer. You’ll probably also need a course for Security Awarenessand possibly Vessesl Security for Personnel with Designated Security Duties. You’d be well advised to learn about STCW and what you might need where you will work before investing any time and money.
Correct - by STCW I am referring to basic training. From my understanding I can apply for an AB Special as I have the required sea time. Would it a mistake to take the AB course combined with lifeboatsman? I understand I do not qualify for AB Seafarer.
I am open to the East Coast, anywhere and the Gulf. I have a lifetime of sea time in NY harbor and local waterways. I spent most of my life in Monmouth County, NJ - not that it makes a difference in this case.
Are there any “tricks” for getting into a union? If I were to apply for a job with Reinauer and it is Union, do I apply through Reinauer and join the union after? Or do I have to join the union first?
Different types of red tape… I couldn’t stomach providing recommendations that had the potential to destroy someone’s retirement when there are suitable products which would effectively mitigate various risks and allow for a stable financial future. The red tape I am speaking to is: compliance/suitability at large wealth management firms, its become a one size fits all industry.
You don’t need a course for AB All the courses do is substitute for taking an exam from the Coast Guard. You have the option of taking the exam from the Coast Guard Taking a lifeboatman course is a good idea Unless time and money are extremely tight, take the “full” course, not Lifeboatman Limited It will give you more options Make sure it’s also approved for STCW Proficiency in Survival Craft That will avoid the possibility of having to take another course if you later need that STCW endorsement.
Download the NVIC for STCW RFPNW and start working on getting the assessments signed off as soon as you start working.
Towboats are an option….they’re not blue water however. Not exactly sure what “experience” you are looking for, travel, views, etc.
Depending on how you apply yourself, and going 2/1 schedule….in five years you could be in the wheelhouse. Industies been good to me, again, it’s all in how you apply yourself, work hard, learn as much as you can, try to do the job of the position above you when experience permits……not a bad gig and only need a twic to start. Could earn $400 a day in 6months to a year moving from deckhand to tankerman. Good luck in your new adventure.
Most tug companies doing equal time are non-union. The maritime unions for crews, like SIU, suck and are filled with lazy and incompetent “untouchables”. SIU-Inland is a slightly different story however.
Get your AB in hand, STCW, Passport, and TWIC and apply to companies like McAllister, Moran, Dann Marine, Dann Ocean, Tradewinds, Vane Bros, Rose Cay, Centerline, Reinauer, etc.
If you can pass OUPV you can likely pass the AB exam at the REC, the AB course isn’t required. With AB Special you could find work on an OSV in the gulf or in the East Coast wind farm construction. Get your Ordinary Seaman if you want to start sooner.
try Atlantic Oceanic to work East Coast.