Why did you attend a maritime school to begin with either you are a mariner or you are not. Maybe that should be your question at this point.
Maybe the question is to work on tugs or go with MSC
Ok so you work on a tug, you don’t intend to sail as a 2nd Mate, so are you saying that you only want to sail as a 3rd Mate for a career, right now you are qualified to advance to captain on the tug boats if you stay. Otherwise go for the former.
If MSC is offering you a job as 3rd mate and have a start date for you, go with them. Tugs are fun but they’ll always be fun. Long hitches in exotic ports are fun when you’re young with not as many responsibilities. As you get older being away from home for so long might not be as enticing. The money is probably better with MSC at least compared to harbor assist.
I’m making pretty decent money but one of the main perks with MSC is the pay for sure
Roger that. Thank u
You can always go back to Tugs, you will find it much harder to go back to ships/MSC if your license recency requirements don’t match up for the renewal process. Or if perhaps you change your mind down the road again. Protect that license, as best you can. Make a few bucks in the meantime, and save it for your future. Sounds like retirement age is quite a ways off for you… Think about that scenario now, better than later. I wish you well, from a tug guy.
I appreciate all of the comments from you. I have decided to go with MSC. Thanks for your input
Good for you sir. As a few others have suggested,don’t leave that tug job until you have a firm date on a billet/committment with MSC. I think you made the “most correct” choice.
I have been given a date for NEO so hopefully that’s firm enough. Not sure if that means I have the job officially or not
Coming from someone who has been with MSC many years I’d say to remember this: fast sea time on unlimited tonnage; pay is good; you get a security clearance which can be useful elsewhere; you are a cog in the wheel and mean nothing to them.
The last part is important. Use them. Take advantage of them for every drop of training you can. Advance your license as fast as possible. Promote to 2M and CM as soon as you can and do not worry if you have the experience. When it’s time to move on to greener pastures just do it. Life is too short to trap yourself with MSC.
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MSC is supposed to have many jobs because mariners are restricted to the vessel due to COVID-19 & people quit to be able to go ashore. Also, take the tug until you report to work. A short time ago, they were paying academy grads to quit.
Three years ago there were too many third mates and third engineers. MSC had overhired during the 2014-2015 GoM oil downturn. By 2017 not enough had quit so MSC offered resignation incentives. Any 3M or 3AE, academy or hawsepipe, could accept the deal.
I don’t know if anyone has quit to go ashore lately. Fake illness and family emergency, yes, but not quit. Who’s going to quit in this jobs environment? People are livid and upset but at least they still have jobs.
Yup.
I have to digress, MSC is not a trap. You went there for whatever reason.I do agree they pay for an immense amount of training. Not a bad thing in this day and time. Can’t have the cake and walk away. Those that do, hope you eat squirrrel down the road and pay for your own upgrades. How about those taters?
No, it is ridiculous that they can’t manage to get people reliefs in reasonable amounts of time. The whole system is rigged for failure. There’s no reason the ‘pool’ system should exist.
AMO, all the towing companies, and all the work boat companies manage to get workers out to vessels in timely manners routinely. And none of them have a pool where Mariners are paid a base rate to wait around! All they have to do is incentivise actually getting onto vessels by cutting the pools and only paying people when they’re onboard!
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MSC was paying academy grads to quit? That doesn’t make any sense whatsoever
This is a difficult time for all mariners involved. I find it hard to believe grads are being paid to quit. They are willing and ready to work.Perhaps with this gangway up shit is a problem, but not that those young people want to board a vessel. Nor the crew that want’s to be relieved.
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That was 3 years ago. I don’t believe it’s currently happening.
MSC treats mariners poorly so yeah, people take them for training and then bail. Them taters taste just fine.
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Another example off civmars gaming the system. Good for you or who? Is MSC perfect? Hell no, does it offer opportunities? Hell yes. The bennies alone are better than what most company’s offer in this time and day. Sad that they have a gangway up now, but they are trying to protect their assets. They invest many millions for their seafarers to stay qualified, some juice it and leave,thats fine. But don’t be a bitch when you leave, they did right by you, did you do right by them?