While i’m waiting for my Medical certificate i was looking at the MSC job posting for the OS to AB program, and it mentioned that it all had to be done in about 4 years, and in order to make AB you need 1080 days of sea which is 3 years of sailing, now do STCW classes count towards that seatime or no?
STCW courses do not give sea time, they are a separate requirement.
You may want to ask MSC if that program has changed. The Coast Guard’s required sea time for AB endorsements was recently lowered. Note that only the sea time for national endorsements for AB was lowered. The requirements for STCW endorsements for Rating Forming Part of a Navigational Watch (RFPNW) and Able-Seafarer-Deck (AS-D) were not changed. If it has not, you may be abkse to get to AB and AS-D faster outisde of the program.
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Good grief. Got my AB ticket in two years working my ass off and testing on my own. Have these complicated newer rules for licensing trickled down into the AB stuff?
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And we had to have a commitment letter from an employer just to get a Z-Card back then!
True civmar.
You sign up for msc. They call you back in 6 months to start. Then you live on a ship year round and become institutionalized. Then after 180 days at sea they send you to take RFPNW class. Then more sea days and you go to AB class. Then later or at the same time you take Able Seafarer class. Another hitch or two and you are unlimited AB. Then you say i am only doing this for a couple more years but you do it forever because you forgot how to live and work like a normal flat lander. You now like being at sea and stacking coin. Now you got shawty prego in Germany, but dont want your partner in Jacksonville to find out. Finally you make bonsun and are the oldest on the crew and are studying to one day upgrade to mate. Not everyones journey is the same though im sure you will be different. 
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Perfect explanation! No more need be said.
Thank you all for the information!
Hey brother, just call up an msc recruiter and make an appointment, have your questions ready and they will explain the process.
When I took my AB class many years ago it was myself and another tugboat guy and 8 or so MSC guys. We had to help teach the class to the MSC guys, they were unable to understand rules of the road, splicing, knot tying, or anything else really. They did have brand new cars with shiny rims and wore the freshest of fashions, so they had that going for them at least.