Maine Maritime Academy - IBL

Hello, currently a senior in high school and just got accepted into the international business and logistics program at Maine Maritime Academy. I was wondering if it is worth going to a maritime school for this major, and what sort of jobs can I expect if I end up pursuing this major?

You have no interest in acquiring a 3rd mate or 3rd engineer license while there attending?

Nope. Unless you’re going license track I see no reason to forfeit a normal college experience.

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You would be much better off going to the U of Maine, or any better school, for a fully accredited regular business degree.

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I would research the kind of jobs you would expect before committing to a specific major. Talk to current students and recent graduates. Not exactly sure about International Business but Logistics-wise there are a ton of jobs. I think you should have an ease getting a decent paying entry job with logistics rather than obtaining a regular business degree. Personally, if I were younger and going to attend Maine Maritime I would choose the Power Engineering Degree 1st or the Marine Engineering 2nd. Do not choose “deck,” I see a lot of Maritime Academy deck graduates struggling to find employment year after year.

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Deck is less in as high demand for engineers. I was a deckie, told my son to go engine at KP. Went deck and logistics anyway, made out quite well. Cool with that, was his choice,not mine. I wish you well sir, whatever choice you make, just be happy in your employment later on. Research fully your opportunities at many schools in your desired occupation.

I suggest not paying any money or “attending” any school until Covid is well under control, and colleges are operating like normal.

You can take excellent courses at top name schools through Coursera online for peanuts. No reason to pay big bucks for online courses at Podunk U.

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Covid is a bear. Tugsailor has a good suggestion.

If you want to go deck and sail I think it’s still out there. But, if you want to go shoreside quickly engineering is a lot better. Lots of different avenues to choose from.

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Isn’t that what they’re doing by posting here?

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Correct sir. Perhaps they (The young folks) think our opinions are worth considering. Ok with that.

If I were the OP, or any other prospective student, I wouldn’t take any class unless I was getting credit that was transferable. Still very good advice, but don’t waste your time unless it shortens your course load or time at MMA. Make sure you get an agreement in writing from your school approving the class in advance. Good classes to clear out before attending are English, history, humanities and math. You could easily shed 30+ credits from your course load at MMA. This would free you up to concentrate on the classes that you are really there and also allow you to take advantage of any electives that you may be interested in. You maybe be able to shorten your time at MMA by 1 or 2 semesters with careful planning and save yourself a bunch of money in the process. Careful planning and consultation with the academic Dean would really benefit the OP or any student considering one of the state maritime academies.

He posted about being accepted into a non-license track business degree program at MMA

Maine Maritime’s International Business Logistics degree program is not AACSB accredited.

If I were going to an International Business logistics Program, I’d first make sure that it is fully AACSB accredited, and secondly, located in a major port city with good access to Logistics internships and jobs.

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The same advice would apply to any school. Do your core classes at a community college where credits transfer to whatever school they choose to go to, regardless if its a maritime school or not for a fraction of another schools tuition. I would not bother taking a class where I did not receive college credit for it while pursuing a degree. Afterwards, sure, but otherwise it is a waster of your time. Your initial advice was on taking coursera classes, and unless specifically accepted by the college, may not be transferable. Just because Coursera says you get credit doesn’t mean it actually will.

Coursera classes are to acquire knowledge and skills, not necessarily for transfer credit. They are really cheap as non-credit classes. They are also available at higher fees as for-credit classes from major fully accredited universities. No guarantee as to how that may transfer.

If one learns, for example, to be proficient at using Excel spreadsheets for basic financial analysis, that is a valuable and useful skill, regardless of whether it carries any transfer credit.

I sure as hell would not pay full college tuition at any school to merely take online courses due to Covid. It would be better to work, study, or travel, and defer college for another year.

My son spent freshman year there then got sick missed his cruise then lost interest in the whole thing. Cost over 30 thousand dollars because he was out of state. When asked about getting certificates for fire fighting and BST training Since we paid for them. The lady basically hung up on us.

IBL is not a license program. There is no cruise, BST, etc

No, all those maritime ‘degrees’ are faux.

If I were him I would take advantage of transferable credits that will allow him to finish school quicker and get me in a position to take advantage of the job market when the economy finally rebounds. And that is for a license or non-license degree at any school anywhere. And yes, if you get approval, in writing, from the school you wish to attend, those transfer credits are guaranteed. That’s literally how it works. And it will save a lot of money, and time.

You could also learn excel or most anything of that nature watching a YouTube video in a matter of a couple hours and be proficient in a matter of days. traveling during COVID is full of delays and endless testing and constantly changing restrictions, not to mention health risks. Not sure how that is a good idea either.

Right now, Coursera is offering 21 online courses for free, and an annual subscription for a lot more courses is something like $249

Kahn Academy has lots of good online courses, particularly math, available for free.

Doulingo offers foreign language courses for free. That’s something that can be very useful today’s multicultural workforce, and it fairy easy to test out of language course at many schools. Satisfies some of the Humanities requirements too.

Yale is offering a mostly online RN program. It has some on campus requirements and internships in hospitals. It’s not cheap, but a degree from Yale is quite valuable, and so is an RN.

There is a lot of short hitch, 13 week, and “per diem “ work for RNs. This would nicely compliment going to sea. It pays about the same. I hear that male nurses have very busy social schedules.