Can someone explain the salary breakdown and what to actually expect with overtime at MSC…especially the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Assistant positions? I see base salary for 1st Assistant from $82k to $127k. What would be a realistic actual yearly salary, and how does it work if you don’t have a relief when it is your time to be discharged? Thanks ahead of time!
Realistic for 1st A/E is Fed employee pay cap, varies but I would say 225k
2nd AE 200k, but probably working more hours for it
3rd AE 130k
10% bonus on all positions.
You will not have a relief when its time to be discharged (4 months later). You will stay onboard working at $25 per day premium that increases to $50 at day 50 (forget the exact number). Or you can 107, go Non-fit for duty and get off that way. The office will be pissed if you 107 a lot especially as a 1st/2nd.
Hello. Actually, base salary is just a starting point. Overtime can add a lot. To get a better idea of what to expect, use a paystub creator like https://www.paystubcreator.net/ input your base salary and any overtime hours to see a more accurate estimate of your earnings. As for not having relief when it’s your time to be discharged, check with your employer for their specific policies. Actually, it’s been a long time since you started this thread, so I’d like to know what updates you’ve had since then. Keep us updated.
So how does that work if you hit the cap and you’re still onboard? Keep on working for no additional pay??
It is very confusing but I believe this is how it works:
As a CIVMAR you cannot make more than (for 2022 limits) $226,300 a year. This cap is based on the federal pay Executive Schedule Level I limits. This is what Department Secretaries earn (Sec of State, Sec of Treasury, Sec of Defense, Chair of the Fed Reserve, etc…). If you are a 1st AE of Chief Mate and you are on a busy ship (and you stay there the whole year) making lots of OT there is a good chance you will be on track to make more than this in a year. Once it becomes apparent you are going to make $226,300 or more in the calendar year some of your extra pay (OT, PT, Haz Duty, S&Q, Rescue Swimmer) will start to get deferred and not be deposited. Eventually in Oct, Nov or Dec you will be all the way down to your base pay each pay period and all of your extra pay will be deferred. They slow the pay down so that on the last pay period of the year (pay period #26) your gross pay = $226,300. All of the extra money owed to you that was deferred will go in all at once on pay period #1 of the next year. It is possible you could gross $20,000 or $30,000 for that one two-week pay period depending on how much was deferred the last year. Hitting the pay cap generally only impacts Chief Mates, 1st AEs or 2nd AEs. You certainly can make a lot of $$$ at MSC if you are willing to stay on a ship for 12 months. Note that this rules does not apply to Captains or Chief Engineers…they make $226,300/year period. Their deferred pay does not go into the bank account until the retire or separate from federal service. So it may take them 20 years to finally get their $50/day shipyard food money from decades ago. Crazy system right?
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And they wonder why they can’t recruit and retain employees! lol Perhaps someone should propose to MSC a non-violent prisoner work release program to fill unlicensed ranks. Instead of the good ole taxpayer spending $70k/year to house prisoners, we give them jobs on MSC ships (floating jails)! Tongue in cheek of course!
It’s really not such a bad place to work, especially if you live in Hampton Roads or NE North Carolina. MSC is welfare with a chance of drowning, money for nothing. No one makes less than $75,000/year and the benefits are pretty good, your health insurance is practically free with tons of plans to choose from.
Nice to know my tax dollars aren’t going to waste…
And that’s just a drop in the bucket compared to the other black hole government expenditures. I’d rather be paying out for some unhireables in VA then lining executive’s pockets. At least the payroll expenses make their way into their communities back home.
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