Thanks, but its apparent that nobody will be able to vote because it would be far too tough and complex for any man to accuratly formulate an opinion…
Ok, lets start over. Why do you ask about Subsea, if you want to sail and be a mariner, instead of a glorified mechanic, and calling Subsea Engineers, engineers, is a disgrace to all engineers. Again off topic, sorry.
So, you are USCG- lets knock out Subsea.
Do you want long hitches or short?
Is money important or not?
Is movement/promotion important or not?
Do you want to travel and see the world, or does it not matter to you?
How do you feel about BS and paperwork?
Would you prefer to be on vessels with 200+ people or smaller crews?
Lets start with these.
I’ll toss in this question:
How much effort are you willing to invest? There was no giveaways to a guy coming out the USCG with a 3rd mate’s ticket even with two master’s degrees. As mentioned before, for seagoing positons companies really don’t care about degrees, they care about license and experience. Every route will take effort but the bigger unlimited tonnage jobs will take much more time and effort on your part to rise to the top. I would say 10+ years more that a limited tonnage route and there are no guarantees in this business. A UL master’s license does not get you a master’s position by any means.
I just hope you aren’t expecting things to be really easy for you when you do start working commercial. The smaller the tonnage the easier it is and you can still make a good living with a 500ton license.
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commtuna
I can help you with your answer in regards to the tug/barge industry.
If you have a 200GT/AB/STCW/Passport you would be golden to start as a deckhand like everyone else in this industry does. Very few if any start in the wheelhouse because there is so much to learn. If you have a 500GT or bigger license, serve as a deckhand for 30 days, and get your TOAR signed off you can technically be allowed to stand a mate/master watch, however you cannot learn all of the various aspects of tugboats in 30 days or even a year. The different tug industrys all have different aspects to learn: ship docking, hawser towing, wire towing, notch towing, ATB pushing, inland towboating, and some do all of the above.
Depending on the company you work for you will have to fight your way up the ladder or perhaps if the company takes a shine to you, you will have it easy. Some companies are superbly organized, some couldnt pour pee out of a boot with instructions written into the heel. Some are family run, others are but a small cog in the wheel of a corporate super company. Some are union some arent.
Im not sure but except for the towing aspects you could say the same thing about the OSV boats, but I have never worked on anything but tugs and a few dinner boats so I dont know.
So back the train up…
You worked on wall street… and left for what ever reason.
You joined the coast guard, and will be getting out soon. May we ask why?
You plan on spending th next 5 years in school to get your 2 degrees…
How in the hell did you get to wallstreet without some sort of education other than the school of hard knocks?
All I can say is from the surface of it, no matter what you do, I think you will find the novelty of the marine industry short lived.
Best of luck.
Here we go…
[QUOTE=PDCMATE;66952]
Do you want long hitches or short? [B]30-30 would be preferable, as I do 60-60 now.[/B]
Is money important or not? [B]Somewhat, but its not a deal breaker.[/B]
Is movement/promotion important or not? [B]In the aspect of training, yes.[/B]
Do you want to travel and see the world, or does it not matter to you? [B]I enjoy going different places and doing different things. So yes, moving around is good[/B]
How do you feel about BS and paperwork? [B]I deal with both now, so I have no problem with it.[/B]
Would you prefer to be on vessels with 200+ people or smaller crews? [B]Smaller[/B]
Lets start with these.[/QUOTE]
[QUOTE=c.captain;66955]I’ll toss in this question:
How much effort are you willing to invest? There was no giveaways to a guy coming out the USCG with a 3rd mate’s ticket even with two master’s degrees. As mentioned before, for seagoing positons companies really don’t cares about degree, they care about license and experience. Every route will take effort but the bigger unlimited tonnage jobs will take much more time and effort on your part to rrise to the top. I would say 10+ years more that a limited tonnage route and there are no guarantees in this business. A UL master’s license does not get you a master’s position by any means. [B]As much as it takes[/B]
I just hope you aren’t expecting things to be really easy for you when you do start working commercial. The smaller the tonnage the easier it is but you can still make a good living with a 500ton license.[B] Im not expecting any hand outs.[/B] [/QUOTE]
[QUOTE=Clear Solution;66962]So back the train up…
You worked on wall street… and left for what ever reason. [B]Yea, I hated it. Its that simple.[/B]
You joined the coast guard, and will be getting out soon. May we ask why? [B]I have my reasons. I wont discuss then on an open forum.[/B]
You plan on spending th next 5 years in school to get your 2 degrees… [B]Not quite, I will have my first while Im in the service followed by one after.[/B]
How in the hell did you get to wallstreet without some sort of education other than the school of hard knocks? [B]Finance degree + Internship = Job[/B][/QUOTE]
I won’t delve into my personal life more than I already have.
With your answers, I would suggest: OSV, DSV, Anchor Handlers, maybe research vessels, maybe salvage vessels. Possibly getting your foot in the door to DP would be a good option. Since you want the smaller type crewed vessels, a drilling rig may not be the way to go, and most tend to stay in the same area and never leave. The DP route is a very good route to go, it opens up so many doors and options for a mariner, the pay is great, the schedule is usually even time, the opportunities are out there, the training and advancement is there. DP=Options
Thanks for the info. The next boat im going to has DP so i will have 2 years of some experience working with it.
Will they be sending you to your DP basic course? Do you know what DP Class the vessel is? If you have to pay for your DP Basic, I would do that. What will be your position on the new vessel?
No. I was gonna go on my own but theres several factors that are preventing me from going before i report to the boat in alaska. Its only DP1. JOOD/OOD, deck supervisor, rigger.
How much effort are you willing to invest?.. As much as it takes
a pretty flippant answer imo.
If you’re willing to do “as much as it takes” then get reading thru 6+ years of threads here and after you have, then come back to us with informed and pertinent questions from what you take away in your studies. Again, there are no giveaways in this industry which starts right here and now.
JOOD/OOD, deck supervisor, rigger.
Ok, now this isn’r making any sense here. Are you an officer or enlisted? A JOOD/OOD indicates you are an officer. Deck supervisor, rigger indicates you are a boatswain’s mate. Which is correct?
CWO’s (bosun) can be JOOD/OOD’s.
Im a boatswains mate. I will be able to be OOD at my next unit, but probably not the first year.
Why not stay in the CG? You have a degree why not go to OCS and become an officer? You would be making very good money and the perks you would get as an officer would be better than pretty much anything you could get as a merchant mariner short of being a Master on a full sized ship.