I want to work on a deep sea vess, but I'm totally clueless and don't know my chances

I know the process to become an OS, and want to do so. However, I have absolutely 0 experience, cannot get into a union, and have heard that for deep sea, your chances of getting a job over a Filipino are basically null. Let’s say I’m a desperate dreamer, and I still want to try. What are the best ways of increasing my chances? I live in southern california, what docks do I go to to kiss some boots and whose boots do I kiss? Should I give the SIU unlicensed apprentice program a try, or just get the requisite 30 days experience and get into SUP? Should I give up my hopes for a deep sea job entirely? I’d still love to work on the sea, so working a tug would be more than fine too.

If there are chances of getting a deep sea job, how long should I expect to be waiting for it? I’m in college right now and hope to finish the semester at least as I finish getting my training and TWIC and whatever else.

Thanks for whatever help you can provide.

How long have you been in school? If you’ve only put in a year or two and have knocked out some general ed stuff, it might be worth it to look into an academy.

I know this doesn’t really answer your question, but it offers an alternative.

[QUOTE=Denode;128718]I know the process to become an OS, and want to do so. However, I have absolutely 0 experience, cannot get into a union, and have heard that for deep sea, your chances of getting a job over a Filipino are basically null. Let’s say I’m a desperate dreamer, and I still want to try. What are the best ways of increasing my chances? I live in southern california, what docks do I go to to kiss some boots and whose boots do I kiss? Should I give the SIU unlicensed apprentice program a try, or just get the requisite 30 days experience and get into SUP? Should I give up my hopes for a deep sea job entirely? I’d still love to work on the sea, so working a tug would be more than fine too.

If there are chances of getting a deep sea job, how long should I expect to be waiting for it? I’m in college right now and hope to finish the semester at least as I finish getting my training and TWIC and whatever else.

Thanks for whatever help you can provide.[/QUOTE]

If you’re in college and want to go to sea why didn’t you just look into a maritime academy? There are 6 of them and while they are excellent educational institutions they’re hardly Harvard or Yale, the acceptance rates are fairly high. I’m sure you would have no problem getting into at least one of them. Was it the idea of the regiment that turned you off? If that’s the case then go to Maine Maritime and get your 1600-ton Mate in 4 years with no regiment at all. Don’t ever think that there’s no hope of starting a career in the maritime industry. Unless you’re decrepit and can’t pass a USCG physical then there is always a chance.

With this recent petroleum boom things are looking better every day and there are companies advertising for jobs all the time. You say you want to go “deep sea” so I assume you want to work on a big tanker or containership or something. I understand that desire but since there are only ~100 of those ships left in the American register, I would not rule out working on an ATB, which is the next best thing to an unlimited-tonnage tanker. Don’t forget that the gulf is always booming. It’s not deep-sea but it’s still a job and you can always move up or move out once you get your foot in the door. Claudette L. Pitre (A Chateau on the Bayou) just said the other day that Chouest is looking to hire 700 people in the near future.

[QUOTE=PaddyWest2012;128720]If you’re in college and want to go to sea why didn’t you just look into a maritime academy? There are 6 of them and while they are excellent educational institutions they’re hardly Harvard or Yale, the acceptance rates are fairly high. I’m sure you would have no problem getting into at least one of them. Was it the idea of the regiment that turned you off? If that’s the case then go to Maine Maritime and get your 1600-ton Mate in 4 years with no regiment at all. Don’t ever think that there’s no hope of starting a career in the maritime industry. Unless you’re decrepit and can’t pass a USCG physical then there is always a chance.

With this recent petroleum boom things are looking better every day and there are companies advertising for jobs all the time. You say you want to go “deep sea” so I assume you want to work on a big tanker or containership or something. I understand that desire but since there are only ~100 of those ships left in the American register, I would not rule out working on an ATB, which is the next best thing to an unlimited-tonnage tanker. Don’t forget that the gulf is always booming. It’s not deep-sea but it’s still a job and you can always move up or move out once you get your foot in the door. Claudette L. Pitre (A Chateau on the Bayou) just said the other day that Chouest is looking to hire 700 people in the near future.[/QUOTE]

I am still hesitant as to how far I am willing to take it. I understand I’m probably on the wrong forum for this sort of question, as by nature many people on here are going to be pursuing this as a career and a living, so I should better articulate my position.

I came here looking to do this as a temporary job. I’m wrapping up my transferable credits in community college right now, and need a temporary job to both save up for college and support my widowed mom. The pay for a job as an OS looked decent, but most of all it appeared to be an incredibly interesting job, despite whatever regiment or manual labor is required.

I’m naive in regards to this, if you cannot tell. I’m in my early 20s, I have years to spare, and was hoping to spend a couple of them doing something exciting without much lifetime commitment, earning some money to put towards college and my family in the meantime.

I was just hoping some folks with relevant knowledge would be able to tell me the best way to get started in that regard. If somewhere along the line, pursuing it as a career does become my primary commitment, I would have my transferable credits still, and would apply to CSUM.

Alright well my original intention was to get a job this summer or shortly after, but it appears that it is nearly impossible to get a job as an OS with 0 experience (I live in California and don’t have the time or the money to go back and forth to the Gulf constantly unless I’m sure I can get a job quickly), and to be competitive apparently you need to take a training course beyond SCTW and BST that last at minimum 7 months. This is rather disheartening, because my intentions were only for this to be a temporary job to get money for college/family, not a full investment. I’d like to at least get one small opportunity working on a ship to see if it’s something that I’d like to pursue further, as opposed to jumping into an extended training program blind and head first, but it appears you need to do so in order to get that first job, and that’s something I’m hesitant to do. I’ll keep my ears open in regards to Gulf jobs I suppose.

Or work on the lakes. The ships will start to fit out end of March. May not be exactly what you want to do, but it’s experience and sea time towards your AB ticket.

That is true, it’s not what you want exactly but we all need to crawl before we sprint. I think you might be looking to go to the olympics before you really even know how to walk yet, let alone run. What you really need to do is go get a nice day job or a ferry or something. Maybe try working for a small cruise line in New England or Alaska (Blount, American Cruise Lines, National Geographic, there are a few more I can’t think of at the moment). Right now as far as the industry is concerned you barely even know port from starboard or bow from stern. Maybe you do know a few things, but it doesn’t matter because you have no real experience. You shouldn’t consider this a roadblock however, you simply need to reconsider your plan of attack. You need to start by getting in with a small operation that doesn’t care about your level of experience (small ferries, small cruise lines, maybe even a fishing boat) so that you can start build real skills and a portfolio and/or resume that you can present to a tug or deep sea company.

Don’t give up hope, there’s always a way into the industry, it’s just about opening the right doors. You need to focus on starting small and working your way up, that’s how 95% of the rest of us did it. You’ll get there, I’m quite sure that you will, but you need to do it the right way. Jumping right in with a big company is not the right way.

So let’s say I wanted to shoot for an institutional training, do I wait another year to apply for CSUM or go straight for Maine Maritime which is still accepting apps until March 1? Does the institution matter as much as in academic pursuits, or is it just a matter of whether or not you can get your certs? If I were to go to MM, what’s the difference between the Marine Transportation Operations and Vessel Operations & Technology majors (MTO results in 3rd made unlimited tonnage and VOT can result in 1600-ton near coastal mate) and which would be best?

[QUOTE=Denode;128798]So let’s say I wanted to shoot for an institutional training, do I wait another year to apply for CSUM or go straight for Maine Maritime which is still accepting apps until March 1? Does the institution matter as much as in academic pursuits, or is it just a matter of whether or not you can get your certs? If I were to go to MM, what’s the difference between the Marine Transportation Operations and Vessel Operations & Technology majors (MTO results in 3rd made unlimited tonnage and VOT can result in 1600-ton near coastal mate) and which would be best?[/QUOTE]

It really doesn’t matter where you go. Like many said, if you are currently attending college, but want to go to sea, go to maritime academy.
You’ll probably get a lot of crap from people on here about being some snot nosed academy punk. BUT, 4yrs from now you could have an accredited 4yr BS and an unlimited license vs the very expensive, very bureaucratic hawsepipe route that would take you as long or longer. The latter route will mean nothing but work and classes for years. However, there are tons of job opps with 1600t mate/master.

Biggest decision you have to make is how much a degree matters to you. Not having a degree wouldn’t have changed my work history one bit, but I probably couldn’t say that if I had ever tried shoreside work.

Don’t make any assumptions about transferring credits; they are very restrictive in that regard.

Suggestions… look at schools that waive out of state tuition for license program students.
OR, if you are not too old for Kings Point, go there and have CCaptain foot most of the tuition.

[QUOTE=Johnny Canal;128803]It really doesn’t matter where you go. Like many said, if you are currently attending college, but want to go to sea, go to maritime academy.
You’ll probably get a lot of crap from people on here about being some snot nosed academy punk. BUT, 4yrs from now you could have an accredited 4yr BS and an unlimited license vs the very expensive, very bureaucratic hawsepipe route that would take you as long or longer. The latter route will mean nothing but work and classes for years. However, there are tons of job opps with 1600t mate/master.

Biggest decision you have to make is how much a degree matters to you. Not having a degree wouldn’t have changed my work history one bit, but I probably couldn’t say that if I had ever tried shoreside work.

Don’t make any assumptions about transferring credits; they are very restrictive in that regard.

Suggestions… look at schools that waive out of state tuition for license program students.
OR, if you are not too old for Kings Point, go there and have CCaptain foot most of the tuition.[/QUOTE]

How old is “too old” for Kings Point?

[QUOTE=Skipjack;130222]How old is “too old” for Kings Point?[/QUOTE]

How do you find a job on a Great Lakes vessel? I’ve followed the videos of one guy who did that, but it seems he knew someone to to place him in his first job. I don’t see a lot of posts on this forum about lakers, the ones I’ve seen are old and vague. One guy IRL told me he “knew someone”. He didn’t even have an MMC.

Send copies of your documents and a filled out job application to: Interlake, Great Lakes fleet, central marine logistics, and Grand river navigation. Call them weekly starting mid March as they are starting to fit out the boats then.

Thanks, when do they actually start moving?

Locks open back up March 25th.

Denode I recommend finding a wealthy widow or desperately homely heir to a major fortune…My thoughts about finding a wealthy widow or … well they should probably be deleted, but…
No one has offered the possibility of Brown Water boats to Maria W or our California wanna-be, Denode. (what kinda name is denode?)
Brown water = inland waterway and rivers. Okay, not as cool and glamorous as what we do near coastal & offshore, but it’s still a job. Try the bible of the Inland Waterways where huge agricultural corporations big muddy river push-boat companies place employment ad’s. Might be just the right fit for you. Good luck and Mark Twain. --authors pen name & river depth sounding.Good gigs for new deckhands and cooks. Best Wishes, Ebb Tide
http://www.waterwaysjournal.net/

Denode- you cold try american marine corp. (www.amarinecorp.com) They have a dock in fish harbor (terminal island-long beach) and run a handful of crew boats in the harbor. They also crew three tugs out of the same office- the tugs do west coast dredge work and ocean contract towing. Meagan Keane is the lady to talk to and they always seem to be looking for OS (and AB).

[QUOTE=EbbTide;130300]Denode I recommend finding a wealthy widow or desperately homely heir to a major fortune…My thoughts about finding a wealthy widow or … well they should probably be deleted, but…
No one has offered the possibility of Brown Water boats to Maria W or our California wanna-be, Denode. (what kinda name is denode?)
Brown water = inland waterway and rivers. Okay, not as cool and glamorous as what we do near coastal & offshore, but it’s still a job. Try the bible of the Inland Waterways where huge agricultural corporations big muddy river push-boat companies place employment ad’s. Might be just the right fit for you. Good luck and Mark Twain. --authors pen name & river depth sounding.Good gigs for new deckhands and cooks. Best Wishes, Ebb Tide
http://www.waterwaysjournal.net/[/QUOTE]

Thanks.
Funny, I didn’t see your link and searched for the bible of the Inland Waterways (knowing that wasn’t the official name) and I found this: http://www.waterwaysjournal.net/Advertise/Classifieds/ViewThisWeek’sClassifieds.aspx Lots of pilot jobs.

In inland towing Pilot is similar to Mate offshore. Basically they’re looking for boat drivers.

You got good advice here. There are almost NO US Deep Sea jobs that aren’t Union, or require thousands of dollars in training to even be considered. Try the tug fleet, either inland or coastal. Much more opportunity and possibility for advancement than deep sea.

My best advice: Stay the fuck in school get a degree in just about anything (other than art or history) and stay the hell off the water. It’s a hard life, it’s hard on families, its hard on your humility, and above all its hard to keep a marriage together. Just sayin’!