Does anyone have experience working as an OS/AB for King County Water Taxi and/or Washington State Ferries? What are the pros and cons?
I was recently in Seattle and both seem like great gigs. I took the WSF to Bainbridge and Bremerton and spoke to one of the ABs. He told me to go QMED. Great benefits, although I think pay is lower than King County Water Taxi.
King County Water Taxi seems preferable to me. I took it to Vashon and West Seattle. They have 3 man crews and the captains need a 100 ton license. They seem to prefer hiring ABs, but their application says they accept OS too. Good starting pay (although Seattle is pricier) as well as great benefits.
There’s also the Kitsap Fast Ferry that goes to Bremerton. I think there are plans for expansion for Kitsap and King County.
Biggest cons are being on-call and the uncertain hours. Once you’re in, you can make it a nice career.
Biggest pros would be the scenery, climate, benefits, nice pay and stability once you’re full time.
Thanks for the feedback! I have 1 job offer and 1 pending application. WSF can take up to 3 yrs to get a regular full time schedule. I’ll have to inquire about King County’s.
I am on of the port engineers at Kitsap fast ferries and we plan on hiring in the coming months for our Kingston to Seattle run. If king county doesn’t take over the operations it is a great place to work with expansion on the horizon.
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