NOAA Questions

In Service NOAA
1

Hello gcaptain members!

These questions are specifically directed to any current or former NOAA members, trying to get some inside info here. Bunch of questions, thanks for your help.

I am looking at the possibility of joining NOAA in the near future should some job renouncement open up. I am currently an OS, almost have enough sea time for AB. I have worked on boats and ships in commercial fishing and in the GOM oil industry.

Please help me out with these as I’m very curious and none of these are really addressed on the NOAA website or in the previous threads.

  1. How many AB’s and OS’s on an average NOAA ship? Do some of the deck dept only stand watch and some only do deck work? How many crew in all?

  2. The General Vessel Assistants: Are they mostly working on Deck, Engine or working as a supply or steward? How does this count towards sea time? Is this considered a position [I]below[/I] the OS and WI? And I haven’t seen OS or Wiper billets being announced on usajobs.com. Is NOAA hiring GVA’s and just using them in the place of OS’s and WI’s as like an all-purpose all-around swab?

  3. Indoctrination and Training: How long is training? Is it paid? Do they put you up in a hotel? Norfolk?

  4. Advancement: How easy is it to advance to the better job once you have the requirements? Like if I came in as a GVA or OS, would it be a hassle to advance to AB, do you have to wait for job announcements and apply or do they just sort of streamline you?

  5. Do you get to choose which coast you work out of or which port? My “home of record” is Montana, but I hang out on the West Coast a lot, so that would be ideal. Esp. Newport :slight_smile:

  6. Does NOAA promote AB’s to 3M when they get their license or do they only use NOAA Corps as officers? Is AB pretty much a dead-end job unless you want to go off to “boot camp”?

  7. These NOAA Corps “deck officers”, how are they? They typically don’t even have a 3/M do they? Are there any USCG licensed people on the ship? What do you call them? Mate?

  8. You earn paid leave. What if you want to take more time off than the, say, two weeks of paid leave you’ve accrued? Can you take unpaid time off? Will they hassle you to return (if you’re not permanently attached to a ship).

Thanks, good sailing friends!

2

Those are good questions, hopefully someone will help soon. I have one myself;

I am applying for the Oiler position which closes out on Jan 31. I have BST but I won’t have RFPEW until mid Feb.

Do you think they’ll reject my application? I am applying anyway and I’ve mentioned what I am doing in my resume.

Thanks folks.

3

Worked there 04-06 as a GVA. Anyone takes a trip off, everyoner under him/her moves up for trip and they call GVA’s to fill in from bottom. Not a bad program really. Should’ve never left. Pay is low when you compare it to the rest of the industry. Fed benefits USED to be great, not sure now. Its all what you make of it. Just, what happens on the boat stays on the boat! Midway Atoll was awesome!!

4

Anyone?..Anyone?..Anyone?..Bueller?..Bueller?

5

I worked there a couple of years after I left the Coast Guard. It was ok. Low pressure, low pay. Interesting work. Lot of young people. No place for me to advance. I am still in touch with some of the people I met there.

Most of the ships have facebook pages. You can get a sense of what it like going there.

K.C.

6

CATMGUNJUNKIE: Working as a GVA, how was your time mostly spent? Are you doing galley, steward, food server duties much? How many ABs and OSs are usually on a ship? Did you get a preference what ship or port you would be out of or did they just send you wherever?

7

Every NOAA ship has different staffing levels but most deck departments have 7 people, usually 5 AB’s which include the Chief Bosun and Bosun Group Leader, then one or two GVA’s. GVA’s can be assigned to deck, engine or stewards department, usually only in deck or engineering though. GVA’s are NOAA’s version of OS and Wiper.

Underway, AB’s usually are the watch standers unless the GVA has an AB ticket or STOS endorsement from the USCG, that said, GVA’s are on day work (that is the way on most ships, but not all)

Training is usually 1-2 weeks. There is a 1 week orientation and the second week is STCW Basic Safety for those who need it. It is paid for, they put you in a hotel, and pay you to attend in Norfolk.

Advancement: It is easy to advance of your a good worker and fast learner. If your a GVA and get your AB ticket, simply apply to internal openings and if your a good worker you will get promoted rather quickly.

When you are hired you select your “duty station” which is a NOAA port location. You can select Newport if you want and work on ships based out of there.

It is very difficult to go from AB to 3M with NOAA. You are competing with NOAA Corps officers and they don’t give much preference to hiring civilian mates, they prefer using NOAA corps officers, but we do have a handful of civilian mates sprinkled around the fleet. Years ago they had a AB to 3rd mate program that seemed to pick those most likely to fail, and most did. If your an AB you can progress to Boatswain Group Leader (a “junior bosun” position) or Chief Boatswain. A BGL makes around $80,000 a year and a Chief makes around $100,000 per year.

NOAA Corps Deck Officers: The majority are unlicensed college types. They have generally have degrees related to oceanography or science however there are a few that have licenses. NOAA Corps invests a great deal of time in training their officers which is good to see. Like any group there are some folks that are questionable, but overall they are very professional and well trained. They use Navy Rank , Ensign, LT Junior Grade, LT, LT Commander, ect. As I said above we have a few ships with Civilian Masters which is a whole different world. Our civilian Masters are top notch without exception.

You can go on LWOP (Leave without Pay) without hassle. You can retain your position and full benefits for up to 364 days after being on LWOP. A few weeks here and there won’t be a big deal to NOAA or you can convert some of your overtime to “Comp Time” and save on taxes while getting plenty of time off. Relief is easy to come by overall. If you give a week or two notice you will be granted leave without issue in most cases.

If you show up with a “can do” attitude, work hard and show your willing to learn NOAA is a great place to work, learn and progress. If you become “the average government employee” then you won’t accomplish much here. In NOAA, the civilian sector interpretation of “Average Worker” is deemed above average, so it is easy to become exceptional…

I started with NOAA in 2010 as an AB and will retire from here. My military time counts towards my retirement so for me 16 years and I retire with a full Federal Pension. The government version of the 401k, called a “Thrift Savings Plan” is exceptional, best rate of return and government match. I work hard and NOAA has been very good to me, sending me to schools, awesome travel, great money, awesome food, spectacular benefits and I now make more than most AB’s in the industry working around 8 months a year on average.

8

It’s good as a stepping stone. I was an officer from 2007-2012. Got lots of sea time on an unlimited ship in the Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands. DP1 as well. They paid for all my STCW training up till April of 2011. Not sure what their training budget situation is right now. AB to mate program I heard was a joke. Very few takers. You’d have to spend all your time with the officer candidates at the US Coast Guard Academy. Thanks but no thanks. Actually, I don’t even know if they do it anymore. The job is somewhat interesting depending on what boat you go to. Fish boats you’ll be out on deck…fishing. Hydro boats you’ll be going out on the small launches. Don’t get me wrong, hydro is extremely important, but it’s the most boring shit I’ve ever done in my life. It’s more for folks that love sitting in front of computers processing data. What else…oh there are a couple oceanographic ships too. Good luck finding a boat that gives out decent overtime. Last I heard the Oscar Dyson was the most lucrative. Even there people complained about how few hours they were getting.

Anyway, to sum up, if you want shit pay and a shit schedule, by all means join NOAA. People are ok. A few weirdos that have been out at sea for too long. I personally couldn’t take it anymore and now I’m living the dream in the GOM running mate on an OSV. Good luck.

[QUOTE=Saltwater;95184]Hello gcaptain members!

These questions are specifically directed to any current or former NOAA members, trying to get some inside info here. Bunch of questions, thanks for your help.

I am looking at the possibility of joining NOAA in the near future should some job renouncement open up. I am currently an OS, almost have enough sea time for AB. I have worked on boats and ships in commercial fishing and in the GOM oil industry.

Please help me out with these as I’m very curious and none of these are really addressed on the NOAA website or in the previous threads.

  1. How many AB’s and OS’s on an average NOAA ship? Do some of the deck dept only stand watch and some only do deck work? How many crew in all?

  2. The General Vessel Assistants: Are they mostly working on Deck, Engine or working as a supply or steward? How does this count towards sea time? Is this considered a position [I]below[/I] the OS and WI? And I haven’t seen OS or Wiper billets being announced on usajobs.com. Is NOAA hiring GVA’s and just using them in the place of OS’s and WI’s as like an all-purpose all-around swab?

  3. Indoctrination and Training: How long is training? Is it paid? Do they put you up in a hotel? Norfolk?

  4. Advancement: How easy is it to advance to the better job once you have the requirements? Like if I came in as a GVA or OS, would it be a hassle to advance to AB, do you have to wait for job announcements and apply or do they just sort of streamline you?

  5. Do you get to choose which coast you work out of or which port? My “home of record” is Montana, but I hang out on the West Coast a lot, so that would be ideal. Esp. Newport :slight_smile:

  6. Does NOAA promote AB’s to 3M when they get their license or do they only use NOAA Corps as officers? Is AB pretty much a dead-end job unless you want to go off to “boot camp”?

  7. These NOAA Corps “deck officers”, how are they? They typically don’t even have a 3/M do they? Are there any USCG licensed people on the ship? What do you call them? Mate?

  8. You earn paid leave. What if you want to take more time off than the, say, two weeks of paid leave you’ve accrued? Can you take unpaid time off? Will they hassle you to return (if you’re not permanently attached to a ship).

Thanks, good sailing friends![/QUOTE]

9

Thanks capttarpon727 for the very thorough reply. You say “In NOAA, the civilian sector interpretation of “Average Worker” is deemed above average, so it is easy to become exceptional…”, does this mean the typical NOAA mariner is rather lazy and unexceptional? I did a short stint in MSC and found that the people (not all of them) were some of the most whiny and entitled scallywags I’ve ever been around. Totally institutionalized and always scheming ways to create drama for its own sake (Faking injuries, claims of sexual harassment, EOE, spreading gossip, forming cliques, forming plots to get back at the bureaucracy but never thinking about giving up their handsome government paycheck). In addition there are so called “pool-rats” who don’t actually work on ships but sit around the ‘pool’ receiving government paychecks and faking illnesses.

Please tell me NOAA isn’t like that.

You made it sound pretty good though, at least as a place to learn and gain seatime. I hear the pay isn’t that good? What is the (rough ballpark) pay that a GVA or AB would make in say eight months working an average amount of OT on an average ship?

Quimby, Were you a ‘civilian’ officer or a ensign? I take it you like doing the gulf rotation better and getting more $$$. Which company do you work for?

10

Quick MSC note…one of my favorite and most entertaining things is trying to put together a “call back / contact list” for the deck dept. the CivMars struggle to remember what address they are “staying” at and many can’t remember their address or phone number at all. Most have 3 or 4 cell phone numbers to choose from.

11

[QUOTE=UnRepKing;100482]Quick MSC note…one of my favorite and most entertaining things is trying to put together a “call back / contact list” for the deck dept. the CivMars struggle to remember what address they are “staying” at and many can’t remember their address or phone number at all. Most have 3 or 4 cell phone numbers to choose from.[/QUOTE]

Sometimes I cant remember this info either because being at sea and not really having any fixed abode, I will usually use friends addresses or my parents and will even list their phone numbers sometimes.

I see what your saying with regards to Civmars though. And a lot of the pool rats who do live in the Norfolk area will use other fake addresses so that they can get extra money.

But lets not make this an MSC thread; all this stuff has been discussed endlessly…

12

Friggin sequestration. NOAA was supposed to start calling people last week. My apps are all stuck in “review” limbo land. :frowning:

13

NOAA is a much smaller organization than MSC, I would say there are a handful of less than desirableness (any organization has a few). Overall it is full of above average to hard working outstanding wage mariners. There are few of the institutional sorts, but overall they are liberal with allowing you to take leave and augmenters are generally readily available to cover you while you are gone. The folks in the AUG pool tell me they stay as busy as they want to be, and NOAA doesn’t’ pay them to sit in a hotel like MSC does so they are much more motivated to stay working on the ships. We don’t have “pool rats” which is nice. NOAA is night and day different from what I hear of MSC, granted I have never worked for MSC and I am a glass half full kinda person.

A GVA working on a fisheries boat (12 hour days) will usually make $60,000 plus a year, closer to $80,000 for an AB on a fisheries boat. They get 4 hours per day OT during the week and 24 hours OT on the weekends so they make out well. The other ships differ on overtime depending on the ship. While underway you earn 32 hours a pay period (every two weeks) automatically, on some ships that is all to be had, others you can pickup more here and there. If your motivated to work the overtime, then chances are they will keep you busy because lots of the crew only works the required 32 hours OT.

As an AB on a non fisheries boat I made $70,000 working about 8 months of the year, that said I was motivated to work so the Bosun kept me busy because I was willing to work and did quality work efficiently.

14

I heard back from their recruiter today who said he expected no change in hiring. It is indeed a smaller organization as others have indicated and what I was told is they hire a few at a time.

15

Applied for GVA today. There are also open announcements for AB, Fisherman, Oiler, 1st and 3rd I believe, in case anyone is interested.

How long to hear back do you think?

16

Thanks for the info, some of the most usefull about NOAA I’ve seen here. I’m considering going to work for them as a fisherman to start. I have a 1600 ton masters license but I’m sixty years old and down in the GOM they won’t even talk to me, but NOAA will take anyone that can pass the physical (which I’ve already done, very easy) and has the skills they need for an open position.

17

I don’t know about the other positions, you can check on USAjobs, but the fisherman positions close on the 27th of each month until Sept., one each month. They told me this was to keep current applications to a managable amount. Also if you are not selected in one month your application rolls to the next months group and so on. Personally I found the application process and most of the people to be pleasant and easy to deal with, that being said NOAA is a government agency and thus subject to the same bureaucratic foolishness we see elsewhere, I intend to keep an open mind.

18

Does anybody have contact info for the recruiter or HR people?

19

The USAJOBS listings have a point of contact number and email, as I recall.

20

Are you still trying to get hired, catherder? Have you had any notifications?

So, I was just reading that on March 28th, NOAA announced a hiring freeze across the board. Yet on April 1st a bunch of job announcements opened up on USAJOBS. Does the freeze not include wage mariners or maybe they just wont actually make any selections till its over?

Very frustrating…Sick of land, spent all my money, drank all the booze in three counties. I just wanna splice something, I wanna cut something with my knife, I wanna needlegun some rails…yeaaaahhhh!!!

Really rusty rails…