Only one thing I agree with in your post regarding an engineer. You can bail out and perhaps get a decent shore job. In this day and time, Academys are worth it in the long run, no matter which one. Most of the instructors, not all, are very well aware of their students needs.Hawsepiping is much more difficult than decades ago.
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In this economy, Iâd rather have a trade school background than dump 4yrs and $x thousand invested in a âuniversityâ education. Like it or not, maritime schools are trade schools; hands in, get dirty, learn-the-job stuff.
Never been unemployed in 28yrs since I finished GLMA and worked a lot of different, and very well paying jobs⌠loved it all, well, most of it! (But definitely the paycheck)
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Totally agree but does is seem that way.
GLMA 500 per credit hour, 4 yrs 120 credits. Do the math.
There is no associate program there. Fin aid / SSO is another animal.
You making my point. You paid for your sacrifice not your skills for the most part.
At trade schools, welders are paid for their welding,
RFPNWâs are paid for their wheeling and for staying away from their family, mopping, hosing, cleaning and being cloistered in their STATEROOMS⌠lol⌠the latter did not require trade schools and were called MERIMAIDS.
I am not saying that academyâs are not worth it. So is a job at the post office. It is worth it.
I was looking at the proportionality of what you think the school and the profession offers for your long term goals.
Prior to graduating, during your 4 yrs, you treated like you a moron and think little and allowed to speak even less⌠just a facet of being low down both on board and elsewhere. You surrounded by a bunch of GPA2 and I do not mean mariners alone⌠lol. You did not and still on some boats without internet do not have the op to connect with people of similar interests. The op is just not there. This is where this job is different and I call it a SACRIFICE.
Once you graduate, you have the unions to handle and a dwindling fleet.
I recently ran into a guy with seven yrs under his belt in the navy, joining GLMA for a four year course. Why I asked? His answer, a captain makes 400000 USD. I hope to be a cap soon. I wished him the very best in keeping with social policy to let him figure it out.
You figure.
FYI, it was an Associate program when I went thereâŚand I already had that degree plus other credits. The GI Bill, reserve weekend pay, tending bar, and other odd jobs got me out of school with zero debt. Hence, trade school. Most of us were in our 20s, no one talked down to us or treated us like idiots, even during our sea projectsâŚshow up, mouth shut, eyes and ears open to LEARN THE JOB.
Not everyone could/did do it the way I did, but I have had a great career. I spent most of my money on strippers, fly rods, duck hunting gear, and good scotchâŚI wasted the rest
That the maritime academies require a 4yr program/degree is pretty silly. But itâs the tradition.
Iâd argue that the quality of education at maritime academies has really diminished in the last 20 years. And yes, I have inside experience with this.
Which one of your siblings or parents went to an academyâŚor you started but it didnât work out.
The lack of quality is from the instructors and terrible administration, not the students. The MEBA school model was more appropriate to produce well skilled USCG licensed marine engineers.
While unlikely in your lifetime, one day you will realize there are folks out there with more experience, that are better educated, smarter, and more intelligent than yourself. But boomers gonna boom.
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Dude, Hawsepiping is nothing to be ashamed of, though it seems to have put a chip on your shoulder.
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Near the end of my career, I realized I was faced with competing against Academy grads and their degrees. (Not their experience in the craft, although some were pretty good) Was not fond of that, but reality set in for this Hawsepiper⌠Advised son to NOT go hawsepiper route if he wanted to sail. Worked out well. Now Lt such and such is still in Navy Reserves, earned his MBA, and offered a mid-level management position at the largest alternative energy company in the world. Was interviewed prior to his last two sailing trips delivering crucial cargo to Europe. A degree and sailing experience enabled him to do what a lot of mariners wantâŚTo come home and make a decent salary⌠Wasnât and isnât easy, and even harder for hawsepipers. Take the academy route if at all possible. I do have experience on both sides of the coin.
Nobody at sea cares about any degree.
Like, at all.
You obviously donât. Perhaps you donât have one. Nice to have in your back pocket for down the road, would you disagree with that?
Perhaps. But a senior level engineer should have a solid grasp of thermodynamics, fluid dynamics, instrumentation, electricity, basic machine design, and maybe even calculus (but the last one is mostly wishful thinkingâŚIâm sure boomer chiefs canât understand the importance of calculus). And I donât think many people will study this stuff on their own free time unless required by a curriculum.
As for looking out the windowâŚlol degree?
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A good âdegreeâ rarely hurts on a job resume.
Youâre right, I donât.
But I have 2.
Good for you sir. Gonna use them or be a lifer like the rest of us poor souls?
In general, the trades are a better pathway to good pay and possibly job security, but the big difference between the trades and white collar work is one features physical danger and stress, and the other doesnât. I worked IT desk jobs for 20 years before sailing as an engineer and got RSI in my mousing wrist once; in only 3 years sailing, bones and joints I didnât even know I had creak and squeak. The puninshingly bad mattresses the company lays out are part of the problem (not to mention the huge fat guy that squashed the thing flat on the rotation before you).
LOL, it happens. A decent company will resolve that perhaps in a not timely enough wayâŚ
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Itâs amazing how flat a US merchant mariner can squash a mattress. Donât think I ever had one that wasnât wallowed out. Little known fact of life when going to sea as an American.
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