Thank you for your response. This is great to hear. I have messaged you.
Thanks for your reply and detailed explanation. That helps me a lot and i very much appreciate it. I will think deep over it and vs my future plans and priorities.
Personally I think HawsePipeEngineer is going to be just fine. Listens, weighs opinions and is respectful. If I was still working I’d give him a shot
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@tengineer1
Thank you brother. I’m very young in the industry and i have just been “lucky” to be where i am now in less than a year joining the industry so i am appreciative and grateful of folks who have years of experience taking time from their busy life to give me advice and guide me without paying a dime.
I have less than 7 months sailing experience (only 188 days sea time on just one boat). I challenged the QMED Reefer/Electrician test and passed 3 weeks after my first hitch. Generally i have a long way to go and tons of things to learn from folks like you. If there’s anything that you think will help me become a better person in the industry please don’t hesitate because it is well welcomed. I am willing to continuously learn.
As others have said, I am sure whatever decision you make it will work out. I have been reluctant to add more of my 2 cents to avoid cluttering up the information you have been receiving. I spent most of my career as an engineer with the MEBA mostly sailing in the capacity as Chief. Anything I say will tend to have that perspective. My oldest son sails in the SIU. I pointed him in that direction many years ago when college wasn’t for him, and he was making minimum wage cleaning airport concourses in the middle of the night. Personally, I would like him to get his license (he has the smarts) and move up but that his decision to make. He likes sailing as a QMED.
There are several advantages of the SIU. If you have enough days (read the fine print) classes at their school as well as medical insurance is free. The school is a big plus particularly when it comes to upgrading and renewing requirements. You have the opportunity to sail on a wide range of ships and companies, some good and some not so good. The experience nonetheless is invaluable. If you decide to get you license, there are more opportunities such as joining AMO or MEBA. If I am not mistaken there is some pension portability or credit agreement between the SIU and AMO though I don’t know the details. (The AMO is an affiliate of the SIU.)
Both the MEBA and AMO are good organizations and the AMO has done much to get their house in order.
While I have never worked for ECO, I dealt with them and got to know a number of their people while working for Shell on some projects. They are one the 600lb gorillas within the GOM. The pay they are offering is worth consideration. If my numbers are correct it amounts to $90K/year not bad for a green QMED. They have their own training facilities to help renew and upgrade credentials. @jbtam99 can fill you in better than I on those opportunities. I have seen them treat their people exceptionally well on one hand. And have seen them restrict their crews to the ship/boat while in (US) port and shipyard for fear they would go out, get drunk, and screw up.
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UPDATE:
I have officially resigned from MSC and i’m going to ECO. I thank everyone for their advise, suggestions and opinions. I feel much better motivated and convinced to make this transition. I hope to sail with one of you guys one day. May us all have a wonderful week. I’ll be in New Orleans next to begin the journey.
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Thank you very much for the detailed response. You brought same great points that helped me to make my decision. I have a long way to get my license so i’ll stick with ECO for now then continue to assess other opportunities. My priority is growth and much hands on learning experience that will help me to get my DDE Unlimited & 3/AE and know what i’m doing and not just having the license.
We’ll good luck with Knowing what your doing and not just having your license with ECO. GOM supply boat company, your focus will be chip, paint, or clean. You may even from time to time get to line up some systems and pump.
How do I get hired for a Government vessel as an engineer (Chief licensed), I am not a ECO employee. I went to ECO years ago, was promised a new boat & was put on a neglected one in bad shape that had came back from Africa, I don’t want to do that again.
If you have a security clearance apply and be sure to mention your clearance.
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It’s my understanding that the clearance will only be issued if your employer requires it, hence a no win situation if ECO does not offer a position on a government vessel. Typically they save those spots for selected employees not a new hire.
@1Cheng
I don’t know about how ECO process people for clearance but i got mine from working with DoD & DON. However, i know a mate at ECO who was put on government vessel but he’s never had a federal job so i assume ECO did it for him.
So are you on a ECO govt. vessel? If so then you are set for a good while!
Yes that is what i asked to be on even before i accepted their offer and they are sending me to one.
I know numerous people who were sent to ECO government vessels as new hires because they already had clearances. Companies usually prefer to hire people who have existing clearances than pay for the process themselves. (Crowley does the same thing with their government vessels.)
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This. 
Unless you already have a clearance, you won’t be direct placed on a government contract vessel. In most cases you’ll be placed on one of the non-government vessels as a new hire and then will be vetted to see if you could obtain a clearance before they’ll even have you fill out the SF-86. I believe all of our boats require clearances top to bottom now, so there’s really no way around “doing your time” in the GOM first if you don’t already have the clearance.
Also, if your license is “OSV” then it’s not going to do the trick for the ships in government division. Aside from one, they’re all unlimited, Subchapter I vessels.
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