I will ask them, thanks!
I would imagine that a software engineer could live very very well as a digital nomad.
You can easily go get a job right now as a deckhand on a tugboat to see what it’s like.
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You’re so close to retirement and with high, stable income why would you want to do that to yourself and your family. I’d see about reducing hours at your current job and depending on where you live, work towards getting a part time job on the water to see how you like it and go from there. You can easily get a license and run boat at your age, but starting a new career path at this juncture doesn’t make sense unless you’re financially secure. Some dreams are meant to remain just those…
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Join AMO and take the GMDSS class then sail as radio operator. I’m my experience with radio operators they’re effectively the onboard IT person who also handles secure communications. The pay I’ve seen is about half way between second mate and chief mate.
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A license is a license. No company cares where you got it.
BTW, a lot of academy graduates start as ABs after they graduate also, especially on tugs.
Yes but there’s still a lot of mandatory classes you need to take. If you join SIU their school provides all the required classes to upgrade.
That’s why I love this line of work so much.
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MSC has jobs openings for people with your technical background. Now that you’re aware of their reputation, enter at your own peril.
If you show up to a union with a 3rd mate ticket or call one of the various non-union companies (like tanker companies, even without PIC), you will get a job right now. And probably in 1-2 years as well, but who knows what the future holds. I’m not sure why MITAGS says you won’t sail 3rd mate unlimited, but as mentioned, it’s probably because many go the tugboat path.
Don’t consider engine cause it’s very physical for jr officers, at least deep sea. And it probably won’t jive with your idea of work coming from IT world.
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Thank you for that! I’ve just fired off an email to AMO asking lots of questions.
Awhile ago I had applied for the MSC’s First Radio Electronics Technician (IAT) position. It was forwarded to their Employment Division for review and consideration awhile ago, but nothing else since. I suppose it’s a waiting game.
No telling what might have happened to your one application. You’re dealing with a government bureaucracy. I’d keep sending them in.
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Boat work was better as a hobby than an occupation, IMHO
I might be reading this wrong. You’re 57 with a good job (TS clearance means a good paycheck) and 2 dependents with significant health issues and you’re looking at changing careers and going to sea as a NUB*?
WTFO?
I get the mid-life crisis thing, I’m a bit younger than you and get bored & frustrated with my job. More physical, albeit lower paying, jobs with less mental gymnastics look good. While your daughter needs to figure out how to deal with her issues without you paying for them, your wife does not. Like it or not, you do have responsibilities. They come with age.
I just spent 2 weeks working on an MSC ship. It’s hard to explain how tough steel decks and ladders are on the body. Even pier side, ships move all the time. Your body compensates for it all the time. It eats knees and hips.
If you want a job change, look at NAVSEA or one of the NAVSEA supporting Beltway Bandits. A TS clearance will get you look. Since covid, many don’t require living in DC.
*Non Usable Body
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Absolutely, that’s why I’m asking a lot of questions. Health insurance is of paramount importance.
This is definitely of concern. When I ask about ages of folks going unlicensed deck, I always hear “all ages” and they know/have heard of people in their 60s/70s working on ships. Kind of hard to correlate that with things “eating knees and hips.” SO many unknowns.
I had not heard of NAVSEA, thanks so much for mentioning it!
Man oh Man,
All ages but they have 30 yrs seniority with the union behind them. That makes them a drag and non firable. They pick their work with their hands in their pockets. As a newbie, you will be carrying all the weight… and I mean literally. They will stand and direct like you are a moron and not to forget “CRITICIZE”. The last thing you want to be around is a bunch of old seaman. They are a PITA. Stories, stories and stories. STFU and work for Chrisss sake.
Read one of my earlier posts on my exp life at sea. Forget it Mr. Software engr with a clearance earning 100k min using your brains. I know life in a cube is agonizing as well since they took away happy hour from the 90’s boom.
If you really want to try it out, get an entry MMC and do a week as an OS (entry level) to experience the social aspect, life and work. Then enroll for a 60k tuition.
My two cents. But hey you control your own destiny.
As someone who has been at sea for the last 40 years I think this is a poor career choice for someone of your age. Either path “hawse pipe” or Academy it will be a poor return on investment and the risk to reward ratio is not in your favor. The institutions you have been reaching out to you have a legal obligation to welcome you but that does not mean that the after all your efforts the industry will welcome you aboard. As a newbie at your age you represent a liability more than an asset to the vessel. From the moment you join you will need to prove yourself otherwise.
Specifically:
Piney Point or the “hawse pipe” route is a long and enduring course. Along with the low wages for Apprentice & Ordinary Seaman it is mundane work that will not fulfill whatever romantic notions you have of going to sea. Seeing the world is no longer a part of going to sea. You are in and out of port in hours not days and your duties in port are more, not less. Any romantic notion of seeing the world aboard ships is minimal at best. The first advancement to AB Seaman in some cases will yield a living wage depending on how long you sail for and your standard of living. The next advancement, (count on it taking at least 5 years), to Third Mate is expensive. The STCW courses and living expenses in the vicinity of the upgrade school can run you north of $30000 and that is all before you begin to study for the exam. At this point you are mid 60’s and hoping to get your first Third Mate billet. All the while the USCG physical can take you off course or take you out of the industry permanently.
Texas Maritime Academy-Master’s Degree-This is a fantastic program and I had a Third Mate that graduated from the program and was excellent. But this gentleman is in his mid-30’s and that seems to be what the program is geared for. The program will cost you and you will have no revenue while your attending the Academy. Once again if all goes well you are hoping to get your first Third Mate in your mid 60’s. That will be tough and you will have invested a lot of time and money. Does any Master’s degree in any field make sense in your 60’s?
However, if your hell bent on the idea of going to sea I highly recommend the Steward’s Department. You can send an application into the USCG today and get a Food Handler MMC. With Fire fighting and Basic Safety Training & Safe Serve Cert you are instantly marketable. The industry is screaming for people to fill these billets. If you can cook industrial -cafeteria food than all the better, but it is not a show stopper if you only know how to boil water. The raise in grade to Steward is the fastest trajectory in the industry and the Steward pay is $10000 or more per month. And if there is one department that gets ashore in port it is the Stewards. It is not unusual to see late bloomers begin a career in the Steward’s Department. If you develop and refine your skills and do even an adequate job there is a sense of reverence you get from your shipmates that is a reward in itself.
Alternatively, there is the yacht and small boat world. Not the mega-yachts, they wouldn’t hire a green old duffer anyway. I would recommend kicking around the boatyards from Maine to Florida. There is plenty of sanding, scrapping, painting, polishing, varnishing, caulking to do, very similar to the OS work on ships. Once you have established a good reputation in the yards it is not hard to get onboard as crew making a delivery north or south. This won’t cost you a dime, you will make money and stands a much better chance of fulfilling your sense of sea-going romantism. Taking a schooner south is far more salty than chipping paint on the deck of a container vessel.
Lastly there is the seasonal fishing processer ships in Alaska. Tough work, but it is easy to get onboard, and the pay is adequate. It is hard to say how much longer they will be around, but I have known more than a few guys have cut their teeth on those vessels.
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I think I may have just found my retirement job. I think it would be a blast to go back to sea this way.
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Not terribly “romantic”, but what about starting as a deckhand on ferries or something local? Get your 360 days and write Master under 100gt and play with boats that way…beats weeks/months away from home and family, plus you get your work day in and can go home.
29 years on a license and I still love what I do, but no f’n way I would enter this job again in my mid 50s.
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