How Does Overtime Work at MSC?

In Service Military Sealift Command
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First of all, my apologies if this question has already been answered, I searched all though the relevant forums and I couldn’t find anything.

My understanding is that you work 8 hours a day, and any longer than that is OT. I was also informed by an MSC recruiter that working at all on weekends or holidays counted as OT. My main question is can you work more than 8 hours a day if you choose to? What if I wanted to work 12 hour days 7 days a week? The same recruiter recounted a story of someone whose salary was around $40k, but with all the OT he put in it was closer to $100k. Is this at all possible?

Thank you in advance for any helpful replies.

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2

Try using google.

for example search for -

msc overtime site:gcaptain.com

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I can’t give specifics for your situation but yes you will probably get tons of OT depending on your rating and what vessel you’re on.

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[QUOTE=sasquatch122389;168579]First of all, my apologies if this question has already been answered, I searched all though the relevant forums and I couldn’t find anything.

My understanding is that you work 8 hours a day, and any longer than that is OT. I was also informed by an MSC recruiter that working at all on weekends or holidays counted as OT. My main question is can you work more than 8 hours a day if you choose to? What if I wanted to work 12 hour days 7 days a week? The same recruiter recounted a story of someone whose salary was around $40k, but with all the OT he put in it was closer to $100k. Is this at all possible?

Thank you in advance for any helpful replies.[/QUOTE]

There are two kinds of OT, controlled and uncontrolled. Examples of uncontrolled OT are watch-standers working on weekends and holidays, this OT is routine and does not need to be authorized. Controlled OT has to be authorized by a supervisor. Often a certain number of hours a day is authorized, for example watch-standers might get two to four hours a day or for a limited number of days a week depending on operations, how much work to be done and the budget and is subject to change. There is also mandatory OT. Mandatory OT is for operations, for example calling all hands for mooring and unmooring. How much there is depends on the vessels schedule.

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[QUOTE=Kennebec Captain;168599]There are two kinds of OT, controlled and uncontrolled. Examples of uncontrolled OT are watch-standers working on weekends and holidays, this OT is routine and does not need to be authorized. Controlled OT has to be authorized by a supervisor. Often a certain number of hours a day is authorized, for example watch-standers might get two to four hours a day or for a limited number of days a week depending on operations, how much work to be done and the budget and is subject to change. There is also mandatory OT. Mandatory OT is for operations, for example calling all hands for mooring and unmooring. How much there is depends on the vessels schedule.[/QUOTE]

Thanks for the info! I’m trying to decide if working for MSC is something I want to do.

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I am doing the same with the added thought of whether I can do so financially long enough to do a couple of upgrades. The base salary and overtime hourly rates are very easy to find. Getting an answer on an actual average yearly salary isn’t such.

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It varies greatly mission to mission, boat to boat and Captain to Captain.

You CAN make huge OT $.

or not…

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A reasonable rule of thumb is you will earn on average OT equal to your base wage. So if your base pay is $40k a year you will make $40k in OT. This will vary wildly and is totally beyond your ability to control.

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http://civmar.sealiftcommand.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/2015-West-Coast-Pay-Charts-13-MAY-15.xlsx

Here’s a link for pay schedules. I think this is a year old, so add 1% to both annual salary and overtime hourly. You can get a rough idea how much you’ll get paid, just multiply overtime hourly number by 16 (8 hour days Saturday & Sunday); then add that to the base salary. Remember though, that number is for working on that ship for the whole year, so divide that final number by 12 (months in a year) and then multiply by how many months you want to work that year. That’ll give you a rough estimate, albeit on the low end. You can count on a few hours extra OT (depends on department/position), misc pay (ammo, penalty, shortened meal hours) and vacation pay.

PS all ships pay roughly the same base/ OT hourly, with the exception of tug and salvage ships.

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[QUOTE=Navy2MSC;168623]http://civmar.sealiftcommand.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/2015-West-Coast-Pay-Charts-13-MAY-15.xlsx

Here’s a link for pay schedules. I think this is a year old, so add 1% to both annual salary and overtime hourly. You can get a rough idea how much you’ll get paid, just multiply overtime hourly number by 16 (8 hour days Saturday & Sunday); then add that to the base salary. Remember though, that number is for working on that ship for the whole year, so divide that final number by 12 (months in a year) and then multiply by how many months you want to work that year. That’ll give you a rough estimate, albeit on the low end. You can count on a few hours extra OT (depends on department/position), misc pay (ammo, penalty, shortened meal hours) and vacation pay.

PS all ships pay roughly the same base/ OT hourly, with the exception of tug and salvage ships.[/QUOTE]

Its starting to look like MSC doesn’t pay quite as much as they say they do, unless you’re willing to spend all of your time aboard ship. I know some ships in which an OS from SIU can make $5k a month.

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Mostly because with MSC you’ll be working almost all year long instead of half a year, like many other Mariners enjoy.

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[QUOTE=LI_Domer;168647]Mostly because with MSC you’ll be working almost all year long instead of half a year, like many other Mariners enjoy.[/QUOTE]

It seems like the whole MSC package makes it worthwhile, though, benefits and all. That being said, the story of the guy making $40k but bringing in close to $100k seems like a stretch and not something that happens often. The 3rd Officer’s base isn’t even $60k!

Oh well. At least the lack of personal expenses will result in more money put away.

EDIT: I revised my calculations with the assumption that I work 12-hour days. The money is actually pretty good. Again, that’s assuming, like the OP asked, that you work 12-hour days every day. This is what I’d hope for also (its what I do now).

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First off, you don’t get to pick and choose how much OT you will be allowed to have. That’s up to your department head and the budget. Let’s say a bunch of Maintenance and Repair (M & R) projects gets authorized by the powers that be. the Mate tells the bos’n to allow the dayworkers four hours per night. Let’s say we are in a great liberty port and most of the dayworkers go to town instead of working. Then the watchstanders are asked if they want to work the OT. If you are a shorehound and turn down OT in port, you can bet that you’ll be sitting in your room at sea with minimal OT.
And yeah, you CAN double your base wages with OT, just don’t count on it. And figure you WILL have to work about ten months per year. Bottom line, if you want to make the cash, don’t turn down OT. Ever. Expect to do long hitches and short vacations. As long as you follow those basic rules, you’ll make the money.

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[QUOTE=seadog6608;168684]First off, you don’t get to pick and choose how much OT you will be allowed to have. That’s up to your department head and the budget. Let’s say a bunch of Maintenance and Repair (M & R) projects gets authorized by the powers that be. the Mate tells the bos’n to allow the dayworkers four hours per night. Let’s say we are in a great liberty port and most of the dayworkers go to town instead of working. Then the watchstanders are asked if they want to work the OT. If you are a shorehound and turn down OT in port, you can bet that you’ll be sitting in your room at sea with minimal OT.
And yeah, you CAN double your base wages with OT, just don’t count on it. And figure you WILL have to work about ten months per year. Bottom line, if you want to make the cash, don’t turn down OT. Ever. Expect to do long hitches and short vacations. As long as you follow those basic rules, you’ll make the money.[/QUOTE]

That makes sense. Are you still in MSC?

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The thing to remember is that MEBA/MMP represents officers at MSC, and SIU does represent the unlicensed, so I do think they have some say/input as far as the what pay gets negotiated at. That being said, when you break it down to a daily rate, I found the pay is lower than most union contracts, but within the same ballpark at least. But couple that with the fact that OT can be really good and you will most definitely be sailing more months than a union guy, you will make more money in a year at MSC.

The biggest difference I noticed from MSC and the commercial ships that I sailed as a cadet is pacing. When I sailed on the Great Lakes and a tanker in the Gulf, we were churning and burning at ports, trying to maximize our time at sea, minimizing our time in ports thus making max profits for the company. At MSC, like most government entities, there really is no bottom line. In fact, we will chill in a port when there is no mission because that saves the government money in fuel costs, it’s a lot like the Navy in that regard. The chill attitude is a double edge sword though, because some employees become extremely complacent and lazy and will take advantage of the system. Not all, though, despite the stereotype there are hardworkers at MSC. but there is a core group of sailors that are just here for the ride.

All in all, I think MSC is a good place for people in certain situations. I just graduated from the academy, and I’m still cutting my teeth here. My apartment lease ended when I graduated, so technically I’m homeless, so the long sailing times are a blessing for me because it allows me to save money by not paying rent anywhere. I also think this would be a good place for an unlicensed guy (not married/no kids) who desires to hawsepipe. You can rack up seadays here quickly, move up the ladder quickly (MSC promotes from within rather than hires out), and all training is paid for (reimbursed). And, a bit of a fringe benefit, you really can see the world at MSC, whereas most commercial ships you’ll see only a couple of stateside ports during a hitch.

MSC is not for everyone though. If you’re a mid career guy with a family/wife/kids/a life there’s definitely better options for work/life balance. But for the rest of us, there’s MSC.

2 Likes
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[QUOTE=Navy2MSC;168703]The thing to remember is that MEBA/MMP represents officers at MSC, and SIU does represent the unlicensed, so I do think they have some say/input as far as the what pay gets negotiated at. That being said, when you break it down to a daily rate, I found the pay is lower than most union contracts, but within the same ballpark at least. But couple that with the fact that OT can be really good and you will most definitely be sailing more months than a union guy, you will make more money in a year at MSC.

The biggest difference I noticed from MSC and the commercial ships that I sailed as a cadet is pacing. When I sailed on the Great Lakes and a tanker in the Gulf, we were churning and burning at ports, trying to maximize our time at sea, minimizing our time in ports thus making max profits for the company. At MSC, like most government entities, there really is no bottom line. In fact, we will chill in a port when there is no mission because that saves the government money in fuel costs, it’s a lot like the Navy in that regard. The chill attitude is a double edge sword though, because some employees become extremely complacent and lazy and will take advantage of the system. Not all, though, despite the stereotype there are hardworkers at MSC. but there is a core group of sailors that are just here for the ride.

All in all, I think MSC is a good place for people in certain situations. I just graduated from the academy, and I’m still cutting my teeth here. My apartment lease ended when I graduated, so technically I’m homeless, so the long sailing times are a blessing for me because it allows me to save money by not paying rent anywhere. I also think this would be a good place for an unlicensed guy (not married/no kids) who desires to hawsepipe. You can rack up seadays here quickly, move up the ladder quickly (MSC promotes from within rather than hires out), and all training is paid for (reimbursed). And, a bit of a fringe benefit, you really can see the world at MSC, whereas most commercial ships you’ll see only a couple of stateside ports during a hitch.

MSC is not for everyone though. If you’re a mid career guy with a family/wife/kids/a life there’s definitely better options for work/life balance. But for the rest of us, there’s MSC.[/QUOTE]

I’m definitely going to be putting in my application once I achieve AB. Based on what you said, I think it’ll be a great fit for me.

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SIU represents the unlicensed guys in name only. T hey are as toothless, gutless and powerless as our congress. EVERY time there was a paybeef, we lost. EVERY TIME. The MSC Bible is called the CMPI. When you find something in the CMPI that says OT will be paid in all cases when this happens, MSC comes back with, “CMPI paragraph so and so notwithstanding, CMPI paragraph this and that supercedes said paragraph and in no instance is OT payable in these cases.”.
And no, I left MSC quite a while ago. I still maintain very good friends there all these years later though.

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