for the past 2 years i have been trying to start. here’s what i mean.
I received my MMC, TWIC, STCW while starting on a cruise ship as a waiter.
loved it but hated to work in the restaurant department. Only way to move with the deck was to join union (SIU), and spend approx. 12 months with them as an apprentice. that wasn’t gonna happen, however, considering you’re only 20, if i were you, I would consider that option.
recap so far: MMC, TWIC, STCW are absolute essentials to work on ships. (considering your chat with that other rather miserable dude, you are semi intelligent and capable of using google to get answers and figure out the instructions how to obtain those documents. And Obamacare isn’t completely useless.)
i quit the cruise. so i had all the essential documents to work on ships/tugs/OSV and, after checking it out and realizing the large amount of companies in Louisiana, I headed out there to get an entry level job. An absolute disaster, monetarily speaking: for 3 weeks i pounded the pavement. met some great people, kind people, who made it very clear they wouldn’t hire me. the closest i got was a recruiter asking me if i knew anyone in the company they were working for. i didn’t. still don’t.
recap, just because you have the paperwork to work on a ship/tug/osv doesn’t mean you’re gonna land it. first there’s a huge amount of applicants. on 2 occasions i met a gentleman who was a 1600 ton mate going for the same job i was, OS/deckhand. the funny thing to me is, neither of us got it (i’m sure after i went broke and left he must’ve found something)
so, being miserable and depressed, I had the option of saying i tried and leave this dream alone. Like hell.
I found a job in Miami, as a deckhand working for minimum wage. kept it long enough to accumulate sea time. worked in Alaska as a factory worker, 16-18 hours straight shifts. due to hard work i was invited to work with the deckhands on several occasions, as they knew i wanted to gain some experience. after i received enough sea time for an AB rating, I took the AB class, lifeboatman class (about $2000 from my pocket) and now have an MMC with an AB rating.
i will be heading back to LA and try to land a job once more.
you question was how to start. well, if you knew anyone who works in the field, you would have struck gold. considering you’re here, you probably don’t.
your other options are landing a deckhand job with a terrible inland company, small cruises (intracoastal cruises, casino boats). holding it long enough to accumulate sea time, have your captain/operations mngr fill in the sea time forms, go get all your classes (AB. STCW, LIFEBOATMAN, etc) and after you have an AB ticket, go out there and land an entry level position.
i will tell you this much, if you’re looking to get started, online applications are completely useless. Also, go through the gcaptain forum, the entire thing. there are some great tips by some good men that will give you plenty of creative ways to land a job.
also, when you land a job, very much like here, there will be good people who will teach you and help you, while other douches will sit and smoke and try to make your life miserable. when you make it, remember all this and treat the new guy how you think it’s appropriate.
