I recently discovered the Seamanship program at the Tongue Point Job Corps center. I’m intrigued by the amount of training and endorsements one receives after completion, but I’m not without hesitation.
My concerns are that I can either go through Job Corps without a base pay and come out with experience and multiple credentials, or I can attempt to find employment as an OS at the beginning of 2016 and know diddly-squat.
Do you all think a QMED, AB Special, STCW BST, likely other endorsements, and experience on the water is worth 18+ months without pay?
Job corps is a good way to build a resume in the maritime industry. If your motivated to achieve a goal, it looks like a good path to take. There is also US Navy, the Seafarers International Unions’ Paul Hall Center apprentice program and of course a greenhorn OS job if you can find one. Me, I’d start with training and then go from there. Keep moving forward the best you can and God bless.
I’m familiar with the program. They have (or at least did when I lived in Astoria) a tug boat and the guys spend four days a week doing class room work/dock work and one day a week on the Columbia River with weekends off. Twice during the 18-24 months you are there you will go cadet shipping (they call it work based learning) for about two months at a time. So you’ll have all the class room time, the one day a week on the river and the 4 months of actual sea time. And while it’s true you didn’t get paid… you also did not have to pay for your housing, food, education, etc. while you’re in the program.
I agree with you there Ctony… If your young, no bills to pay, then by all means jump on it!! Even if your young and can get rid of the bills, then jump on it… I would if I could turn back time…
18 months? That’ll be the first of 2017, so yes that’ll be worth it… It’s gonna come back just no time soon… In my opinion, it’ll be 2017 when it does boom… Nothing will happen next year due to the presidential vote, nothing obviously will happen this year. But when that new budget hits in 2017 I believe it’s gonna bust wide open… So that may be the perfect thing to do until then…
I recently had a cadet from the Tongue Point program on the tug I was on for a week. He was a young man but had obviously learned a lot from the program. He said they have an old USCG bouy tender and a couple other vessels they train on. They spend more time on board and underway than in the classroom gaining some real hands on experience. They even have to do a rotation cooking for the class, so they come out quite ready to get a job. The financial question only you can answer, but from what I observed, I would highly recommend this course. Good luck.
I’ve taken courses and trained with some from Tongue Point, some take the training seriously and others…less so. Not difficult to differentiate between the two.
If the program was available when I was eligible for it ( it was not ), knowing what I know now, I would have signed up in a heartbeat…instead of taking the long route via USN.