Ok, so where do I start to persue this merchant marine career? I honestly have no experience on ships or vessels, but I am a young guy who is ready to work hard and enjoy the open waters. What documents will I need? TWIC? SWTC? Z Card? MMD? MMC? All these things confuse the hell outta me! Do I have to attend schools to start work? How long will requiring all the neccessary documents take and how much will it cost? I’m sooo lost!!!
If any of you fellas could give me some helpful input, it would be much appreciated. Thank you
[quote=kyleholliday87;16654]Ok, so where do I start to persue this merchant marine career? I honestly have no experience on ships or vessels, but I am a young guy who is ready to work hard and enjoy the open waters. What documents will I need? TWIC? SWTC? Z Card? MMD? MMC? All these things confuse the hell outta me! Do I have to attend schools to start work? How long will requiring all the neccessary documents take and how much will it cost? I’m sooo lost!!!
If any of you fellas could give me some helpful input, it would be much appreciated. Thank you[/quote]
Your message is a start but amount of information is directly proportional to amount of research. If you are already “sooo lost” that you are depending on others to do your research for you then you will possibly remain in that condition because the Merchant Marine Motto is “acta non verba”. Depending on where you live there are facilities out there, i.e. Maritime Schools, Maritime Unions, typing in words into search boxes on the internet such as STCW. Try Fletcher Community College in Houma, La.
Kyle-
If you want to get to work you should look for companies that only have 100 ton boats. Most of those companies do not require an MMD. You do need a TWIC card. You can pre-enroll online for it <cite>:
[/B]There you can find the closest twic office and schedule an appointment. Make sure you check to see what all documentation you nneed to bring with you. You want to come prepared. There are a lot of companies that will hire a guy with out a MMD, but having the MMD increases your options. You will have to pay upfront to a doctr for a physical and DOT drug screen plus 145 bucks for the application to the Coast Guard. To get it you can request a package from the Coast Guard here:
Having a MMD does not guarantee employment, but will increase your odds of getting hired. You are going to have to knock on some doors. I would suggest going to school. See if Obama will send you to a maritime academy. If my son was wanting a career at sea the first thing I would do is slap him across his face…then I would send him to school. Probably SUNY or Texas A & M. So many things are changing and an education is something no one can take away from you.
Anyway, check into it some and see what you think.
</cite>
I started out lost as well. Best bet is to keep clicking on the internet. Read all the old posts you can find on this site. You will find that even well meaning folks often times give you wrong information. I have a theory that for every bit of advice in the gulf there are at least 30 conflicting versions. Long story short you will be far better off getting all this information your self. You will be much better prepared and won’t suffer set backs. I have heard stories of guys wasting months even years on bad advice. When you need clarification on something specific you can post here and you will find the a lot of helpful people.
By the way, it never stops being very confusing. But if you can figure most of it out yourself by researching you will probably be able to work your way up to being an officer. The process in it’s self tends to thin the herd. If not, you will have a bright future in cleaning toilets, chipping, painting, etc. No disrespect intended, but it’s a cruel world out there. Good luck.
step one, get a twic.(link already given). cost: 132.50IIRC
step two, get a mmc.(link already given) cost: capt lee says 145. i dont remember what my initial was, but my renewal was 95 last month. plus of course the physical and whiz quiz. make sure you get all three endorsements(ordinary seaman, wiper, steward).
step three: get in line. there arent many entry level jobs out there. they do exist, but they are somewhat scarce. i spent 10 months and 1500 bucks to get my job and the only reason i got it is because im a medic also. sign on with a head hunter( i HIGHLY reccomend kelly sweeny) and they will eventually find you a job. kelly had my file for like 6 months before he found me something and like i said, being a medic got me the job. so it wont be an overnight process.
now thats all if you want to start at the very very bottom and claw your way up to the daylight. if you want to go the other way, apply to every maritime academy in the country. spend four years there, have a degree and graduate with a license.
all in all its not a bad life. i started five years ago, but didnt do much work and then got sucked into the black hole that is the emergency medical industry. im just getting back into it and am pretty happy. in a few months i’ll be sitting for my first upgrade and once thats all done, i’ll actually be able to start making things happen.