If I’m reading the (old) checklists correctly, it appears that the pre-requisites for Mate 500 are more involved than Master 500 (with the exception of sea service).
That said, does anyone ever sit the master 500 and mate 500 exams simultaneously? Possible? Advantageous?
All ill say is that under the “old” rules it’s less involved to go right to master 500/1600 than mate. Only issue is that you will not be able to get a 1600 mate/3rd mate without mate exams at some point. Depends what your goals are, but all of this is under the “old” rules as I understand them.
A 500 ton master would trump a 500 ton mate, so getting both would be futile I think.
I currently am approved to test for 500 ton master. I was originally going to go for 1600 ton mate also but ditched that when I discovered I would have to take five additional modules. As far as I know a 500 master can upgrade to 16 with just another yr of seatime still…but with all the changes that went down recently and what conditions allow the old rules for eval and such , research well before applying.
[QUOTE=Ctony;137355]A 500 ton master would trump a 500 ton mate, so getting both would be futile I think.
I currently am approved to test for 500 ton master. I was originally going to go for 1600 ton mate also but ditched that when I discovered I would have to take five additional modules. As far as I know a 500 master can upgrade to 16 with just another yr of seatime still…but with all the changes that went down recently and what conditions allow the old rules for eval and such , research well before applying.[/QUOTE]
I suggest that you might want to think about going ahead and taking the other five modules.
You’ll have to take all the modules for one exam before you can take the other exam. You only need to take 3 modules (I think) a day, So you can spread it out into the next week if you want to. Most of the modules for both exams will be the same questions but just with different module numbers. The 70% modules are pretty easy (lots of room for errors). They probably won’t make you take Rules twice, but so what if they do. You either know them or you don’t. The T-Nav and celestial modules are most difficult, There is some difference between them, but not too much. The chart plots will be similar.
Even if you fail one or two modules on each exam, you have three months to restudy and go back and retake them. I think you can retake them twice, if necessary. If you take the extra five modules, its unlikely that you would fail anything other than T-Nav and C-Nav. Going back a few weeks later to take two modules should be easy enough.
After your you get your license, your next new job will probably be sailing mate, not master. Although you can get master 500 (3000 I.T.C.), you might be slightly more employable with mate 1600 (3000) because you will be able to sail on vessels that are between 500 and 1600 GRT but that do not have an I.T.C. tonnage, or that are not OSVs. Also, some employers simply prefer a 1600 ton license.
There is no good reason not to take the other five modules and get it over with. There are many good reasons to take them all.
[QUOTE=txh2oman;137348]If I’m reading the (old) checklists correctly, it appears that the pre-requisites for Mate 500 are more involved than Master 500 (with the exception of sea service).
That said, does anyone ever sit the master 500 and mate 500 exams simultaneously? Possible? Advantageous?[/QUOTE]
If you plan to go to 3rd Mate in the future, it might be advantageous. If you go for Master 500 only, you will test for 3rd Mate. If you go for Mate 500 and Master 500 now, there would be quite a few more test modules now, but none for 3rd Mate. You may find it easier to study a little more now to avoid testing in the future. If it were my call (but, of course, it’;s not…), I’d go for both now.
Be prepared to be insistent with NMC on this. They probably will not have had anyone ask for this before, and unless you explain, the benefits to doing so may not be apparent to them.
[QUOTE=Ctony;137355]A 500 ton master would trump a 500 ton mate, so getting both would be futile I think…[/QUOTE]
Not if you are planning to go an unlimited license (3rd Mate) in the future, if so, getting both now may be more advantageous (I’d do it if it were my choice…)
Thanks, Mr. Cavo. That was my thought, too, that if I’m all studied-up I might as well sit both and be done through 1600 Master and 3M AGT. Just wasn’t sure if it was a done thing or possible. You’ve answered my question.
I just took my test…this is a little off topic but if You prepped using hawespipe be ready to be a little lost. I passed but there were 30% Nav gen questions from the the test that I had never seen on the hawespipe prep. I eeked by with a 70 on that luckily.The deck general and deck/enviro safety was off quite a bit too. Just be forewarned and use some other things to prep with. Might check out lapware with it for a bit!
Some good points made and lots of options for those more ambitious than me. For me, taking all those extra modules just won’t work. I am doing 14 and 7 and it’s a pain in the arse getting extra time off where I’m at. I currently am working in the engine room so I am concentrating on that more so…
Plus, for stcw purposes, that whole OICNW assessment is a fiasco. My evaluator wouldn’t bend, insisting arpaa is a requirement to get OICNW. Spending another grand on that course wasn’t an option, which was another reason why I stuck with just getting the 500 master.
Also, fyi, according to my evaluator, the 3000 itc osv endorsement will only get issued now to someone holding a 500 ton master BEFORE march 24th.
Good info. Yeah, the OICNW assessments are the sticking point on doing both.
When you say evaluator, do you mean at NMC? That’s worrisome. Surely he or she is mistaken about the date … I thought the NVIC was pretty clear about training and sea service commencing before March 24. 500GRT by itself isn’t very helpful these days …
[QUOTE=txh2oman;137396]Good info. Yeah, the OICNW assessments are the sticking point on doing both.
When you say evaluator, do you mean at NMC? That’s worrisome. Surely he or she is mistaken about the date … I thought the NVIC was pretty clear about training and sea service commencing before March 24. 500GRT by itself isn’t very helpful these days …[/QUOTE]
Yes the NMC. No matter how well I have researched something, they excel at poking holes through my interpretations and seatime lol. Another thing that you asked in your initial post, there are more courses for a mates license, and the modules have more questions…except rules is the same.
[QUOTE=Ctony;137377]Also, fyi, according to my evaluator, the 3000 itc osv endorsement will only get issued now to someone holding a 500 ton master BEFORE march 24th.[/QUOTE]
I submitted for testing for mine in February. I only held a 100 ton master prior. They have informed me that I will get mine issued this week. I will know for sure in the next few days as I am patiently awaiting mine in the mail!
[QUOTE=ShawnYoungblood;137405]I submitted for testing for mine in February. I only held a 100 ton master prior. They have informed me that I will get mine issued this week. I will know for sure in the next few days as I am patiently awaiting mine in the mail![/QUOTE]
So you are getting master osv 3k? I turned in my app in feb also, and got my approval to test last month. I was told master of osvs less than 1600 tons is what the license is called now, and my seatime didn’t allow for me to get it.
A friend of mine that got his 500 master before mar 24 turned in an app after mar 24 for master osv 3k and got it issued with no drama. I was told by my evaluator that thats because his 500 master was issued before mar 24.
All I can say is this: since I have a career as an engineer gaining fruition now, is that if I knew upgrading my deck license would create this much grief, I wouldn’t have bothered. I honestly feel that a lot of it is the luck of the draw with who you get as an evaluator.
I used the hawsepipe software to study for my 500 masters exam and the software was pretty much spot on to the exams I had. I just depends on the test they give you
As long as you write on your app that you want the 3000 ITC master, you will get it but you have to be getting a masters not a mates license.
Oo ya and there is an additional class they just added that you have to have if you submitted after march 24. Some leadership and managerial skills class…yet another useless class.
Will I still be able to auto-upgrade my 500 master to 1600 or will I have hoops to jump through? I have the time I was just hoping to take celestial soon and do the upgrades all at once.
[QUOTE=Bayrunner;137414]Will I still be able to auto-upgrade my 500 master to 1600 or will I have hoops to jump through? I have the time I was just hoping to take celestial soon and do the upgrades all at once.[/QUOTE]
Yes, you qualify under the old rules, and can upgrade to Master 1600 with 720 days of sea time and no additional classes. You can also take your oceans now for your Master 500, and it will upgrade to Master 1600, too.
Consider getting ARPA and GMDSS if you don’t have them yet.
[QUOTE=Bayrunner;137414]Will I still be able to auto-upgrade my 500 master to 1600 or will I have hoops to jump through? I have the time I was just hoping to take celestial soon and do the upgrades all at once.[/QUOTE]
Master 500 to Master 1600 is sea time only, under both old and new rules, even if you got Master 500 under the old rules and aren’t upgrading until after the new rules are in effect for everyone.
A year ago I applied to upgrade my 500 ton 3000 ITC master to 1600 ton 3000 ITC master. At the time I had over 1440 days documented sea time. I paid the fee, but by the time my application got to the evaluator she told me that I would have to completely retest because I originally tested for my 500 ton in 1998. All the way up until then everyone with whom I spoke from the NMC and even at the REC told me that it was pretty much a slam dunk to get the raise in grade. Apparently at the time it wasn’t. Have the rules changed since last February?
[QUOTE=Fla-cracker;137431]A year ago I applied to upgrade my 500 ton 3000 ITC master to 1600 ton 3000 ITC master. At the time I had over 1440 days documented sea time. I paid the fee, but by the time my application got to the evaluator she told me that I would have to completely retest because I originally tested for my 500 ton in 1998. All the way up until then everyone with whom I spoke from the NMC and even at the REC told me that it was pretty much a slam dunk to get the raise in grade. Apparently at the time it wasn’t. Have the rules changed since last February?[/QUOTE]
IIRC, the rule changed in 2002 or so. If you tested Master 500 after that date, you only need sea time. Tried finding an old checklist on my hard drive, but was unable to.
Not surprised about the NMC responses. A lot of the evaluators have no idea what an Ocean Operator is, either.