Hello everyone!
I am new to the Merchant Mariner scene and was looking for a bit of guidance. I am coming from a DOD civilian contractor background so being out in theater and away from family life is nothing new to me.
A bit about myself… I am from South Florida so I grew up on the water, but currently reside in Jacksonville, Fl. I am 43, with no kids or wife… plaid it safe and been a bachelor all my life, lol. I have circumnavigated the world, more times than I can recall and simply put, I love an adventure. I was never made to sit in one place, for too long.
I have obtained my TWIC and MMC creds so I am now looking for an outfit that offers excellent training. I heard that the SIU is the major player, but they treat their students like slaves and run it like the Russian military, and have had a few class action lawsuits, but the training is FREE. Are there any other outfits that offer the same as the SIU, but with a better reputation?
Thanks gents!
A very amusing, and perhaps even accurate description of the SIU program.
You sound like a good fit for the MSC, and companies that operate vessels on contract to the military. Especially, if you already have a security clearance.
There are plenty of Mariners around Jacksonville. It should not be too hard to meet some. There is even a SIU hall. It might be worth talking to Smith Towing in Green Cove Springs.
Russian military…ha ha ha…except you can walk away, and nobody will come after you with Kalashnikov.
Yeah, what tug said, MSC might be a good option but entry level is competitive so you might want to hit the SIU hall and join up. Your clearance is good 2 years after your last cleared job (they can bring it back very quickly) so you could be useful to one of the MSC contract operators. But they are just about all union staffed. So dress warm for your trip to Siberia.
[QUOTE=Sea Note;163989]Hello everyone!
I am new to the Merchant Mariner scene and was looking for a bit of guidance. I am coming from a DOD civilian contractor background so being out in theater and away from family life is nothing new to me.
A bit about myself… I am from South Florida so I grew up on the water, but currently reside in Jacksonville, Fl. I am 43, with no kids or wife… plaid it safe and been a bachelor all my life, lol. I have circumnavigated the world, more times than I can recall and simply put, I love an adventure. I was never made to sit in one place, for too long.
I have obtained my TWIC and MMC creds so I am now looking for an outfit that offers excellent training. I heard that the SIU is the major player, but they treat their students like slaves and run it like the Russian military, and have had a few class action lawsuits, but the training is FREE. Are there any other outfits that offer the same as the SIU, but with a better reputation?
Thanks gents![/QUOTE]
I would not exactly call SiU training “free”. However the good part is there is training that you will need as you hawsepipe that training is quite expensive unless you are in something like SiU. There are pro and cons. remember the uscg is adding more and more