Greetings,
I recently obtained my A/E unlimited MMC. I have been working on OSV’s, and not yatchs. After the last few years as a QMED, I am excited to continue working and save some money. That said, I am always looking to learn more. I am wondering what your opinions are about ABYC certificates??
Are these certificates actually worth anything? or is it another for profit education scam?
thanks for your input
On OSVs it is not going to be worth much if anything to be “ABYC Certified”. They can be worth something for people who work in marinas and small yards that only work on yachts and pleasure craft. You may find some good information in the classes but the “certification” IMHO only has value in the yacht/boat world.
There are some folks on this board that can give you more more information than I. Steamer comes to mind, if he is around you may wish to PM him.
I worked very briefly on yachts over 45 years ago and found it to be an insular group. I enjoyed my time though.
I also know some very well qualified mariners who tried to get jobs on yachts in the last few years. None had good luck. One crewing agency told a friend of mine who has over 20 years sailing all over the world on everything from ships to research vessels, has a USCG Master license, unlimited DP certs as well as owning a sizeable sailing vessel that commercial officers do not usually adapt to the yacht world so the chances of getting a job were small. Personally I would not bother with ABYC certification unless offered a job first.
I’m told it’s best to have a British, South African or Australian accent when applying. It seems to charm the newly rich. 
i was a member of ABYC for about 15 years. They provide nothing as to technical support other than their manual. That being said, the USCG looks to ABYC for technical information and sends many of its people to ABYC Courses. So the Codes and in my day the manual were good references, and are used on commercial vessels as “guidelines” THEY ARE NOT THE LAW OR CFR TITLE 46 NFPA 302 is of much more benefit and mirror what you get with ABYC. The ABYC courses are boring, test is open book, held on weekdays for the convenience of the instructor. this limits the number of mariners that attend (surveyors) because week day are days when most surveyors for instance are trying to make money. Unfortunately ABYC doesn’t understand this and doesn’t care.
they do go off chasing windmills in their experimentation. don’t know how much it cost and how many vessels they burned up trying to add catalytic converters to yachts. NFPA is more bang for the buck and offers a wider diverse set of guidelines for all aspects of maritime work not just floating. commercial wharf’s and marinas et al are part of their library.
so unless you just want a patch on your sleeve that says ABYC, dont bother