It’s called “S&Q” Subsistance and Quarters Allowance. It’s $38 for subsistance (food) and $40 a day for quarters (hotel room), the room is provided so the $40 isn’t paid. The way I understand it is that as mariners we eat and live on the ship free, when we are ashore at the direction of the employer (MSC) they pay S&Q to make up for the mariner having to be away from home and not on a ship.
And you should be able to write the difference between the $38 paid and the $66 M&IE rate for norfolk off your taxes.
Thank you very much for your answers. I have my passport and TWIC card. I am working on submitting my paperwork to get my QMED credentials. Do you have any idea how hard it would be to promote to 3rd Assistant Engineer? Thanks again.
Well after 7 LONG months of waiting I finally got the call for SU. It’s about time !!! Lol
[QUOTE=Mike23;82890]Well after 7 LONG months of waiting I finally got the call for SU. It’s about time !!! Lol[/QUOTE]
Hey man that is great!!! I am sorry I have not been on here very much. I have been out at sea. Currently I am in Souda Bay Crete (Greece) and really enjoying it. Once you are assigned to a ship, I recommend figuring out what job you would like to pursue and have at it! With MSC, your career path is entirely up to you! Welcome aboard shipmate and will see you out here!
Martilyo
Thanks bro. And yeah I can’t wait to get out there on the water even though I got a long way to go before i get on my 1st ship lol. I’m planning on getting into that wiper advancement program A.S.A.P.
Martilyo - As a career Active Duty U.S. Navy Sailor who is looking into employment with MSC, I would like to thank you for posting what became your story. I found this thread today and read it like a book. You have asked the questions I want to ask, and the group has been very complete with their answers.
I too was an Electricians Mate for five years, however the last 11 years has been as a Master At Arms. I am looking at retirement in two years and I am doing my research. I plan to go to Blackhawk Tech in Wisconsin to study HVAC for a year, then apply for both Refrigeration Engineer and 2nd Electrician. My wife will remain in Japan for family reasons when I retire, so request for transfer to the west coast will be in short order.
Forum - thank you for being supportive of each other.
Tom Dary
U.S. Navy, Active
Good luck to you Tom and thank you for your kind words. I have been sailing with MSC as a second electrician for almost a year now. I just recently passed the 3rd Assistant Engineer exams and have been issued my license. I hope to sail as a third very soon. Might I suggest sailing as a second electrician first and talk to the refrigeration engineer on board ship to see if you would like being a “reefer” instead of going to school for a whole year. Just a thought. I spent 3 years in Yokosuka Japan and loved it! Best regards.
Martilyo
“The only thing stopping you, is you…”
Great thread guys. Lots of good information! Im new to the site, and have used search etc. This is more a question of being some “qualified” Im currently a planner/trainer with a trucking company, and have been thinking more and more about trying to sign on with MSC. I wanted to join the Navy, but I have too many bills now!
Anyways, Ive got a CDL A with over 350,000 safe miles , 4 years as a machinery mechanic with Reynolds(Alcoa) and a year of HVAC, and some other supervisor stuff. Would these things, along with a BST class(taking it once I get my MMC) be worth anything vs someone else with no ship experience? I’d like to think yes, but the more I read about the maritime industry, the more confused I get as to what they like and don’t like!!
Thanks in advance, sorry if this is the wrong thread!
Thanks for the Great info Martilyo, I read the whole thread.
Mike “Kai”
First, Thank you Martilyo for asking a lot of questions I, as well as some others, had. I started on here October 8th, 2011, asking questions about Military Sealift and if should I even attempt to start a career at sea at age 47. Well I waited over a year for the Wiper Advancement Program to open. It opened December 28th, 2012 and closed January 14th, 2013. It was only open for 2 weeks. I applied and wrote the hell out of some KSA’s per the advice I received on this thread. Almost 5 months later to the day, I got the call. I was so happy to get that call as I have read where others on here are quite happy to finally get a call to be hired.
I submitted the e-Quip and spoke with security personnel often. I signed up with Equifax credit monitoring almost a year ago to try and prevent what happened to another individual on here. I just attached my 28 page credit report and sent it to the security team. It definitely mitigated a lot of questions they had and I think helped a lot. The best $19.95 per month I have spent!
Did the drug screen (those are easy to pass, don’t do drugs!!!), and faxed all of my immunization records. In 1966 some nurse just hand wrote the information on a little shot record and my mother, God bless her, still had it. The physical is next and I even bought a digital blood pressure monitoring machine just to make sure, as I am …older, haha.
I worked with MSC in 1988 and 1989 on the Truckee and did NOT have to do the many things necessary to get hired as I am having to do now. I was even issued a temporary “Z” card from MSC through the Coast Guard. None of my sea time counts as no one at MSC or National Archives even knows where the log book for the Truckee is.
Once again, thanks to Martilyo for starting this thread, and to everyone who took the time to answer. I look forward to sailing with y’all soon.
Murphy
Very good info and a lot of positive things about MSC on this thread.
I am hoping to be hired soon and looking forward to working for MSC.
If you are “fit for hire” (or not fit) after the medicals, do you get a letter or a call?
The 30 to 60 day hiring timeline as stated on the the MSC website, is that accurate or does it take longer?
[QUOTE=Madvac;111281]None of my sea time counts as no one at MSC or National Archives even knows where the log book for the Truckee is.[/QUOTE]
Probably in some officer’s home office. They love to take home mementos like that from ships.
Hello everyone,
I am new to this forum and I am also an aspiring CIVMAR for the MSC. In spite of all the horror stories I have read, I still feel as though this is where I want to be. I have nothing holding me back and the rewards are simply too good for me to pass up. I have spent my whole life working in less-than-desirable jobs in less-than-desirable organizations, so I am confident that I can handle whatever unpleasantness comes my way. I currently have my TWIC and my MMC status is showing “Approved to Print.”
Most of my other questions have been answered. The question I wanted to ask today is addressed to the old-timers of MSC (if such a thing even exists!): how frequently does MSC hire entry-level positions? It appears the last time they hired entry-level was back in September 2013. I am not hurting for a job at this time, but my hope is that too much time will not go by before I have a shot at getting hired.
Thank you.
[FONT=Times]Hello everyone,
I was going to start a brand-new thread, but I saw that there were plenty of existing ones, so I figured there was no use in re-inventing the wheel.
I am new to this forum and I am also an aspiring CIVMAR for the MSC. In spite of all the horror stories I have read, I still feel as though this is where I want to be. I have nothing holding me back and the rewards are simply too good for me to pass up. I have spent my whole life working in less-than-desirable jobs in less-than-desirable organizations, so I am confident that I can handle whatever unpleasantness comes my way. I currently have my TWIC and my MMC status is showing “Approved to Print.”
Most of my other questions have been answered. The question I wanted to ask today is addressed to the old-timers of MSC (if such a thing even exists!): how frequently does MSC hire entry-level positions? It appears the last time they hired entry-level was back in September 2013. I am not hurting for a job at this time, but my hope is that too much time will not go by before I have a shot at getting hired.
Thank you.
[/FONT]
Like most organizations, they hire only when their manning levels fall below a specific point (new jobs added plus people retiring/quitting/etc plus people being promoted out of the entry-level jobs). Best bet is to keep checking the website. I think they have an RSS feed that you can subscribe to as well.
You have to get on the USAJOBS site. That’s the only way to get hired anymore. Check the site once per week. Jobs open up and jobs close for seemingly mysterious reasons, but Bump has it about right. BTW, I have over 17 years with MSC. And NEVER call it “The MSC”. Best of luck.
[QUOTE=seadog6608;139424]You have to get on the USAJOBS site. That’s the only way to get hired anymore. Check the site once per week. Jobs open up and jobs close for seemingly mysterious reasons, but Bump has it about right. BTW, I have over 17 years with MSC. And NEVER call it “The MSC”. Best of luck.[/QUOTE]
Not for CIVMARS. He needs to consult the sealiftcommand.com website. There he can review the current positions and click to the application. The app has to be filled in, printed out, with copies of all the documents they ask for, and sent in hard copy to their office in Norfolk. That’s how they do it now.
He can also contact their recruiters and all those guys are listed on the website. Rob Gans, Gary Loy, etc.
USAJOBS is the portal for NOAA and ACOA mariners, and if he’s interested in one of those jobs the entire application is done on-line.
What is ACOA?
Army Corps of Engineers