A.) I love the job and I love the pay!
B.) I tolerate the job but love the pay.
C.) I hate the job but love the pay.
D.) I love the job but hate the pay.
F.) I tolerate the job and the pay is ok.
G.) I hate the job and the pay sucks!
– What’s your rank and how many years have you been working as a mariner?
– All else being equal (including pay), would you have prefered another occupation, or are you glad you chose to become a mariner?
– Overall has the choice to become a mariner had a positive or negative impact on your life? (pay aside) How has it affected your physical, mental and emotional well being?
– Are you happy with the location and culture where you’re compelled to work and live?
– Jobs in the maritime industry are predicted to grow 20% faster than most other occupations in the next decade and beyond. Barring swift technological advances and new, unforseen modes of transportation (assume you’ll be working for Captain Nemo, not Captain Kirk), do you agree with this projection? Why or why not?
[QUOTE=oregonblitzkrieg;118188]How would you rate your job and your pay?
A.) I love the job and I love the pay!
B.) I tolerate the job but love the pay.
C.) I hate the job but love the pay.
D.) I love the job but hate the pay.
F.) I tolerate the job and the pay is ok.
G.) I hate the job and the pay sucks!
– What’s your rank and how many years have you been working as a mariner?
– All else being equal (including pay), would you have prefered another occupation, or are you glad you chose to become a mariner?
– Overall has the choice to become a mariner had a positive or negative impact on your life? (pay aside) How has it affected your physical, mental and emotional well being?
– Are you happy with the location and culture where you’re compelled to work and live?
– Jobs in the maritime industry are predicted to grow 20% faster than most other occupations in the next decade and beyond. Barring swift technological advances and new, unforseen modes of transportation (assume you’ll be working for Captain Nemo, not Captain Kirk), do you agree with this projection? Why or why not?[/QUOTE]
Are you still on the fence about all this??? Too many questions to answer in your post for most of us Gcaptain guys.
I just had dinner with a fellow Seattle Maritime Academy classmate of mine the other day and we started to talk about our fellow classmates.
Out of our class of 16 at least 13 of us are working as oilers/wipers/reefer engineers, etc. Three people from my class and 1 from last years class are making $70k+++ a year with even time off working for oil companies.
A few others are making around $70k with even time on dredges. Some are working with NOAA and some with Crowley making decent money ($60+ a year)
Some others are probably making around $90k a year while working for the unions. Don’t know the exact locations of some of the guys, just know they are working.
So after a year of school, an internship, a short job or two after that, and then getting in the oil field for even time and great money is it worth it???
My two gripes with my current position is the amount of people that dip. I’m not super sensitive or anything, but dipping has got to be the most disgusting habit in the World. And the second gripe is that the oil companies don’t value or respect mariners as much as they should. We are a necessary evil to them and the amount of times I have heard “What does an engineer do? because we had mechanics on my last rig and they do all the maintenance” or the ever popular “Whats a mate?”.
Very satisfied with my offshore career over 6 years in my twenties as a mate. Then it started wearing on me as I wanted to be around the wife more and start raising kids. Didn’t want to miss any of it.
Became a pilot and enjoyed that since. Still with same wife and my kids love me… So on a personal level it’s been great.
I’ve never had to worry about money on any serious level since I graduated school.
The only negative aspect of my career that I am starting to quantify is the wear and tear on my mind from so many years of night and day shift work. Research coming out lately is debating the effects of “chronic tiredness” ,“fatigue”, “depression”, “struggle to focus”… Etc… … I have worked 12 hour nights for 7 days, 12 hour days for 7 days, then a week off for over 20 years… With having to come in during my off 12 hours when needed. I like the schedule. But I feel that I’m paying a price with my mental health. And if some of this research is correct, I am paying a physical price as well.
There is just something so natural about waking up with the sunrise and going to sleep after sunset. I have never known that life.
22 years NAVY retiring as CPO
4 years Mate with KSEA
3+ years DoD Pilot at Kings Bay
I fucking LOVE how it turned out!
More money is always fun to think about but pretty sure I couldn’t conform well enough to make it happen
Health is better off the boats, I’m 30+ lbs lighter, relationship with my family and community is MUCH better.
Got my Z card in Dec '69 at 16. Worked my first 15 years in some pretty good adventures, some good pay and some not. Worked with and learned from some great seamen. Made it to Chief Motor in mid 80’s. Worked 24 years on SIU contracts with cap off pension and retired at 56. The only mistake I made was not retiring at 55! When I started sailing SIU jobs, I followed my Dad’s advise to NOT live on my overtime. I invested my vacation pay and half my overtime.
My final voyage 4 years ago, the VP of operations asked me if I really wanted to retire so young. I said I wanted to retire young enough to enjoy it. I was 1 year his younger and he died 1 1/2 years ago of a heart attack.
On another note, I quit smoking 22 years ago and started an aggressive fund with the coin I was spending. It’s amazing how much it has amassed.
[QUOTE=Kingrobby;118231]Are you still on the fence about all this???[/QUOTE]
It’s an industry with well paid workers with a bright future. Great opportunities to rise in rank and in pay. I’m really on the fence about how best to go about doing it if I do it. I could go up to Seattle and fill out some applications. One company sails from Seattle to Alaska and back, 24 days each trip. Sounds like a good place to start, but they don’t have many boats so I’m sure the competition is stiff. I was thinking about putting on my application that I’d work the first trip for free if they hired me. Or I could go to Louisiana and try my luck there. Or I could register for the SIU apprenticeship. One concern I have is that SIU will not accept you if you have any experience. If I find work in one of these places and it turns out to be temporary or seasonal, and I haven’t earned enough time as a wiper to advance to a QMED (I want to go the engine room route) I would be turned down by SIU and would be cemented into the hawsepipe route unless I want to pay $20K to go to an academy. The free SIU schooling is attractive, but if I could be earning money and rank at the same time, that would be even better.
$20k!! What Academy is that? GLMA is $100k. Granted that’s based on living on campus the whole time, it’s still a chunk of change. Between grants and scholarships and working a part time job the whole time I’ve been here I’m still looking at $45k.
If I would do it over I would go out and get a entry level job and get some experience and start socking some cash away. Get your QMED on your own. Once you have that and the RFPEW and some experience, finding a job won’t be so hard.
We had a guy at GLMA that worked as a wiper for a few years and got his QMED and decided to come to the Academy to get his 3AE and a degree. Having some experience and the QMED got him plenty of good paying relief jobs when school was not in session.
Good luck in your endeavors wherever they lead you.
[QUOTE=GLMASailor;118299]$20k!! What Academy is that? GLMA is $100k. Granted that’s based on living on campus the whole time, it’s still a chunk of change. Between grants and scholarships and working a part time job the whole time I’ve been here I’m still looking at $45k.
If I would do it over I would go out and get a entry level job and get some experience and start socking some cash away. Get your QMED on your own. Once you have that and the RFPEW and some experience, finding a job won’t be so hard.
We had a guy at GLMA that worked as a wiper for a few years and got his QMED and decided to come to the Academy to get his 3AE and a degree. Having some experience and the QMED got him plenty of good paying relief jobs when school was not in session.
Good luck in your endeavors wherever they lead you.[/QUOTE]
Thanks. I was referring to the one year program at Seattle Maritime Academy for out-of-state students. I’ve got a question: why did that guy work as a wiper for a few years instead of just 6 months to a year? He could have become a QMED and got higher pay during that time, couldn’t he have?
He was working out of the hall and spent a lot of time waiting for jobs. If your only sailing 120 days a year it’s going to take a little while to upgrade.
SMA. You could pay off those loans in your first year of sailings as a QMED and I would assume based on your username you would also be close to home while you attend. Driving home during breaks is really nice to catch Up with friends and family and take a break from studying. Everything I have read about the program sounds really good.
[QUOTE=GLMASailor;118302]He was working out of the hall and spent a lot of time waiting for jobs. If your only sailing 120 days a year it’s going to take a little while to upgrade.
SMA. You could pay off those loans in your first year of sailings as a QMED and I would assume based on your username you would also be close to home while you attend. Driving home during breaks is really nice to catch Up with friends and family and take a break from studying. Everything I have read about the program sounds really good.[/QUOTE]
Yeah that’s true but if I can get a job without paying for school I’d probably do it. BTW do you happen to know if most of the firms in Louisiana require you to live in the area or is it ok to jet in and out between shifts?
Biggest mistake I ever made was to quit sailing after 13 years back in '97. Found my way back a couple of years ago and couldn’t be happier. Sounds like you are a kid. Go to school and learn as much as you possibly can and get a degree. Screw the cost, you’ll easily pay it off. You have plenty of years ahead of you to worry about the best paying jobs and best companies. Suck it up and just worry about getting experience. Plenty of kids join the military for shit pay, possible bodily harm or death just to get the opportunity to go to school at 22. Hell, join the Navy, you’ll get paid and free training and get to see some of the world.