If you had to do it all over again?

I’m twice divorced and got my DWI BEFORE I chose to go to sea. Figured I’d get it all out of the way! :slight_smile:

Ryan

My advice would be to go with whatever job you can get. These days you can’t afford to be picky.

Over the 5 contracts I did on the MS Saga Rose as an entertainer I decided to become a Mariner, but had to decide deck or engine.

I always really enjoyed working on cars, machines, etc. Then I got to talking in the officers bar with the deck guys and engineers about there jobs. Most of the deck guys said there days were boring or just the same old stuff, they never seemed like they enjoyed it. The engineers always had something going on and seemed to be slightly happier.

One day not long after this I was walking by the engine room on the way to dinner and they were loading in a turbo cartridge and the Staff Captain was watching. The Staff Captain left and I watched them continue to load this thing in and look at the other parts the ship picked up in port. Now this ship had 2 Sulzer RD68 main engines, 3 story tall, 9cyl 2 strokes, with a 680mm bore, this turbo cartridge was ~2.5ft across, big stuff. The Staff Captain comes back and says you have to do the engineering side cause you’ve been watching this for a half hour and you’re actually enjoying it. So that confirmed my thoughts for me.

Decide what you’ll enjoy, don’t let the money decide for you.

[QUOTE=RDEagan;25064]I’m twice divorced and got my DWI BEFORE I chose to go to sea. Figured I’d get it all out of the way! :slight_smile:

Ryan[/QUOTE]

You’re in the right career field.

I’ve served on a full spectrum of deep-sea ships and to this day, there is nothing better than the old fashioned boom ship (break-bulk) although I guess today, they all use cranes. For interesting ports, go to a mid-size bulk carrier (you may have to go foreign flag though which means the money won’t be as good). I sailed three years foreign flag coming out of KP (no jobs in the US industry). I didn’t earn much but learned a hell of a lot, the biggest lesson being that the US doesn’t have the lock on professionalism at sea! There are a HELL of a lot of very professional mariners sailing under other flags! But as much as that, I had FUN!

Someone needs a random drug test!! :stuck_out_tongue:

Drill ships. I envision myself as OIM on a new generation rig if I started there 17 years ago, and that is without doubt, the best opportunities as far as compensation now, and in the foreseeable future. I do like my boat handling though, particularly the large anchor handlers, and I would have hated to miss out on that.

Actually world travel is one of the main reasons I like working aboard drillships. I’ve seen many more places than any of my AMO friends and can pick jobs in any country that has oil or shipyards. True, most of the big oil countries you don’t want to visit but the offshore companies are flexible with your travel requests… so you can easily negotiate layovers anywhere in the world.

Hell no! I have never once questioned my decision to go deck-side… even considering that I now find the workings of the dungeon very interesting.

EMILLS; great to see you finally found gCaptain… and registered!!

Actually I see the new OOCL containerships being built in Korea and envy the crew. They are small, fast and simple! I’d give up the drillship BS in a second if it wasn’t for the benefits (outrageous pay, short hitches, free phones/internet…). It’s not that drillship jobs are hard work (some are) but it is certainly a lot of work and much of it is BS.

Robert, just stay away from marine related retail locations in the desert :eek:(sorry guys, an inside joke with Emills)

[QUOTE=john;25456]EMILLS; great to see you finally found gCaptain… and registered!!

Actually I see the new OOCL containerships being built in Korea and envy the crew. They are small, fast and simple! I’d give up the drillship BS in a second if it wasn’t for the benefits (outrageous pay, short hitches, free phones/internet…). It’s not that drillship jobs are hard work (some are) but it is certainly a lot of work and much of it is BS.

Robert, just stay away from marine related retail locations in the desert :eek:(sorry guys, an inside joke with Emills)[/QUOTE]

Hmmm. inside joke? Whenever I was in the middle of the desert buying anything it wasn’t retail, it was hosale.

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That is exactly right. One has to look inside themselves to determine what they want out of life. Sometimes the most personally rewarding, or fun things are not the most financially rewarding.

Case in point, I love to take pictures of race cars. I have a side business and am very busy from February through November in my spare time from my day job (which I also enjoy) that lets me afford to do what I want. Do I make much money as a photographer? Well, I hope to cover expenses this year, and I might. But I can tell you that there are very few things more satisfying than opening a national publication and seeing one of your pictures.

Oh, and I agree with the rest of your assesments. My favorite times at sea were on the stick ships, back in the late 70s. My time with ABS all the way through my job now has shown me the truth of your latter statement, too.