Don’t plan on seeing any scenery, it’s all frozen tundra and mud. You’re thinking of the other Alaska…
Cell phone service isn’t terrible with the right carrier, I picked up a GCI card in Bethel and put it in my unlocked iPhone, just refilled when needed.I’d suggest ordering it before you ship out.
You will 100% want to get one, other service providers won’t work in some remote villages like GCI does.
As an AB you are the low man on the totem pole, unless there’s an OS of course.
While the Captain and Chief Mate sit in the galley talking trash about how lazy you are and writing up some BS negative evaluation on you you’ll be out on deck or standing header watch for 12 hours straight…if you’re a Tankerman, loading/DC the barge with a 2nd Mate (a knowledgeable one not fresh PMI grad… if fortunate enough), if the other crew are feeling nice they’ll relieve you so you can use the head or eat.
When you are off watch and thought you were going to get some much needed rest, chances are you’ll be woken up to drag the hose through the mud up the beach, roll up hoses or make/break tow…This is a regular occurrence and you’ll just have to get use to getting by with little rest, because you’ll sign a contract saying that you are opting out of overtime pay for a little extra per day.
And even with that…still, the base pay is low.
Don’t buy into the unemployment BS, It’s like 375/week and that’s only if you work 3/4 of the year in Alaska, otherwise you have to go through the state wherever you worked before (NY I guess), and you have to jump through hoops either way every week to qualify for it, it doesn’t just come.
You’ll be new, you won’t get that 2 weeks of vacation in the middle of the season because everyone wants it and you’re the last in. You may get it super early or super late, not the middle.
One good thing I’ll say, pretty much the only one…is that they offer some of the best benefits I’ve ever had at any company including food (no budget), 401k match, medical was stellar, training all paid for…even those ridiculous online courses they make you do you will get an hourly wage upon completion.
Plan on getting on the worst boat and barge being new, you’ll work from thaw til freeze, that can vary but around November you’ll be probably winterizing the boats (possibly multiple) and and crawling barge tanks cleaning them.
My advice, get your Tankerman ticket and learn to tank the barge, if you can’t find work somewhere else then sure, go to the edge of the world with all the rest of the wash-outs that can’t make it elsewhere.
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