It would be nice to have a salary comparison tool similar to glassdoor on gcaptain so that people can submit their annual compensation anonymously.
Its great that you guys slate everyone. At my company, the engineers are exactly the same as the marine countetpart, all the way up to ce and capt being the same across the board. With their total compensation around 280k a year plus taxes in country paid for. Maybe you guys should just stop all your moaning about respect and just do your jobs, collect your pay and shut up. The engineers on my rig touch nothing of drilling, hydraulics, cranes and so one. They deal with the normal marine and hull issues. The ce pretty much keeps the pm system up to date, keeps the budget in mind, and coordinates maint with all departments. Never see him in coveralls. Every department other than drilling and subsea is seen as a necessary evil and is treated as, so if you dont like it work somewhere else.
[QUOTE=PDCMATE;80910]Its great that you guys slate everyone. At my company, the engineers are exactly the same as the marine countetpart, all the way up to ce and capt being the same across the board. With their total compensation around 280k a year plus taxes in country paid for. Maybe you guys should just stop all your moaning about respect and just do your jobs, collect your pay and shut up. The engineers on my rig touch nothing of drilling, hydraulics, cranes and so one. They deal with the normal marine and hull issues. The ce pretty much keeps the pm system up to date, keeps the budget in mind, and coordinates maint with all departments. Never see him in coveralls. Every department other than drilling and subsea is seen as a necessary evil and is treated as, so if you dont like it work somewhere else.[/QUOTE]
Hmmn??? where did the number 280k come from,and all taxes paid???
Funny there have been about 10 or 15 conversations on here the past 2 years, about how great being a DPO is and how much money they make. Hell to hear most of you guys talk, being a DPO is more glamourous than being a porn stud. Most of yall would not trade places with Steven Tyler or Hugh Hefner, it is so great being a DPO. Then the engine room crew tries to have a calm intelligent conversation about pay, benefits, working conditions, and yes respect from different companies, then we get told to SHUT UP AND GET BACK TO WORK OR GO TO WORK ELSE WHERE if we don’t like it?
First I thought that was the main purpose of this site, is for professional’s to share information.
Second you personally told me about 6 months ago that the chief had to know about everything drilling and everything subsea or you could not even get hired, now you say that it is not necessary, which is it?
Third I know on any ABS or DNV class vessel the Chief is responsible for the cranes. It is a piece of machinery that is welded to the ship and a permanent part of the machinery. I personally had to go to crane school to get certifited, to sign off on the maintenance. ABS and DNV both want to see all the documantion on the crane at every inspection, and they will come to the chief for that. If your ship has not got caught yet, doing it another way you have been lucky so far.
You’re a lazy over paid piece of shit until something breaks. It’s amazing how important you become at 0400 when they are pounding on your door. I’d be willing to bet if the whole operation was shut down with their backs to the wall the chief and 1st would be called in for a consult.
[QUOTE=Fraqrat;80958]You’re a lazy over paid piece of shit until something breaks. It’s amazing how important you become at 0400 when they are pounding on your door. I’d be willing to bet if the whole operation was shut down with their backs to the wall the chief and 1st would be called in for a consult.[/QUOTE]
I have never personally heard anyone on the rig say that an engineer was lazy in anyway. The pay has nothing to do with the people on the rigs. The pay comes from way higher on the food chain and is all about supply and demand. Current industry needs. I have to admit that it is not fair that the counter parts on the bridge often have a higher salary for someone with an equal engineering license. The thing is these guys are not really getting paid for their license. They are getting paid for that DP certificate complimented by their license. I hate it, but can not do anything to change it. The money difference creates a lot of tension between the bridge and the engine room on rigs. That is unfortunate.
Retention bonuses are company specific and position specific. Not everyone gets them and most companies are not even doing them now. I would like to see them come back myself and I think they work. I know several people that stayed on just to get their retention. After receiving it they had already stayed so long why not just hang in there, and they do.
Having licensed engineers is all about minimum manning. My vessel requires licensed engineers, but I have seen other flags that only require a dishwasher in the engine room while on location. Ridiculous requirements like underway for more than 24 hours would requires different manning. 72 hours would requires another set of manning requirements. A dynamically positioned rig is always underway in my opinion. Maybe not making way, but definitely underway. Everyone knows these guys, ero’s, mechanics and engineers keep the rig running.
I can tell you that once the engine room operators make mechanic level, assistant chief or chief that the money is much better. You do not hear many assistant chief’s or chief’s complaining about money. It is pretty much in line at this point. The jump from DPO to Chief Mate is not much of a pay difference and a heck of a lot more work. The chief mate on a rig works hard, well a good one does.
We all sign on for a certain pay. Believe me all of you educated engineers out their that took 2 semester of quantum physics will pay off when you get to the Chief spot. Your expertise and opinion will matter most then when you are in a position to make changes and support your guys.
PS I absolutely hate the fact that engineers or anyone has to clean out the toilet system. It sucks. It is a crappy job. I have tried and tried to educate people about what they can and can not put down the toilet. I have made laser engraved signs. Posted them and every toilet on the rig. It still happens. I appreciate the job you do. I know it doesn’t mean much.
[QUOTE=ChiefRob;80939]Hmmn??? where did the number 280k come from,and all taxes paid???
Third I know on any ABS or DNV class vessel the Chief is responsible for the cranes. It is a piece of machinery that is welded to the ship and a permanent part of the machinery. I personally had to go to crane school to get certifited, to sign off on the maintenance. ABS and DNV both want to see all the documantion on the crane at every inspection, and they will come to the chief for that. If your ship has not got caught yet, doing it another way you have been lucky so far.[/QUOTE]
Cranes and Class are an interesting item. Technically, they are independent of any Class requirement or certificate. Most Class Societies WILL review the design, installation, etc. and issue a Cargo Gear Register that has Annual and Quadrennial inspection requirements. These are carried out by the Class Surveyor, certificates issued and the Register endorsed. Other entities can also issue Cargo Gear Registers (National Cargo Bureau comes to mind), but these are usually restricted to cargo vessels. Now, for offshore, thre IS the API RP-2D inspection and testing requirements. As a Class Surveyor, I would carry out the same inspection that I would for a Cargo Gear Register, but would only issue a Statement of Fact report addressing the items examined, finding and test results (where required). Again, Class does not exclusively carry out the RP-2D exam. I have seen instances where the NCB has issued much the same paperwork. I wouldn’t always go to the Chief for the information. If there IS a Cargo Gear Register, it is generally with all of the other international documentation in the Captain’s office.
[QUOTE=Capt. Lee;81029]
PS I absolutely hate the fact that engineers or anyone has to clean out the toilet system. [/QUOTE]
Well… It’s not always the engineers that get this duty. On many overseas MODU’s domestic sanitation falls directly under the supervision of the Chief Mate. And don’t get me started about being responsible for toilet maintenance in a 3rd world country with poor sanitary customs where heads are ment to stand on.
As such, I have a low tolerance for an engineer’s poor attitude about sanitation problems, it’s just part of the job, deal with it… but I have an even lower tolerance for that one DPO who flushed half a box of kleenex down his toilets then demanded the engineer fix it immediately.
In the end respect has to flow in both directions. As crappy as being chief toilet guru on an indian modu was - literally - I’d take it again over some other , much worse, jobs I’ve had as a deckie like mucking out a vlcc, being medical officer after shore leave near a red light district and, worse of all, that year I spent glued to a computer screen for 12 hours a day, every day, fielding absurd phone calls while watching equipment go down at the same moment a squall line appears on the radar.
P.S. How did I get promoted to Chief Mate after being DPO for less than a year? Well after a year of being cooped up in DP and nearly loosing my mind (the DP room of that drillship was mounted in a steel, windowless, box directly above the engines… and the DPO worked alone 
) I began each day by asking the Captain if I could be relieved to spend time on deck. Each day I was denied until one day the old man told me the deck department was helping the motormen muck out the sh!t tanks and then, with an ugly smirk, asked me if I’d still like to help. I spent the day shoveling sh!t with the sun shine on my back and a big smile on my face… the next week I got promoted.
Sure many DPO’s don’t share my affinity for mud and dirt and no rig (or ship) runs without the occasional petty squabble but the best ones work [I][B]without resentment[/B][/I] over pay, job descriptions or titles. The very best ones have - truly delicious - southern home cooking served-up every day in the galley not because that particular ship has a larger food budget or a star chef but because, on that ship, the galley hands are given the same level of respect as the toolpusher. I’m not saying they have the same level of authority, privilege or pay… just the same level of respect. Unfortunately, these ships are few and far between.
P.P.S. Another reason I got the Chief Mate job was the fact that many of the DPO’s, at least the ones with licenses, resented the fact that the chief mate worked harder than the DPO and (on that ship) had responsibilities over them but (at that time) got paid less than most of the Senior DPOs. I took it because I’ve never seen the use in being resentful over a corporate pay policy that’s driven by market forces, is created at the highest levels of the company and is completely out of the control of anyone I work with (or for) directly.
[QUOTE=cmakin;81050]Cranes and Class are an interesting item. Technically, they are independent of any Class requirement or certificate. Most Class Societies WILL review the design, installation, etc. and issue a Cargo Gear Register that has Annual and Quadrennial inspection requirements. These are carried out by the Class Surveyor, certificates issued and the Register endorsed. Other entities can also issue Cargo Gear Registers (National Cargo Bureau comes to mind), but these are usually restricted to cargo vessels. Now, for offshore, thre IS the API RP-2D inspection and testing requirements. As a Class Surveyor, I would carry out the same inspection that I would for a Cargo Gear Register, but would only issue a Statement of Fact report addressing the items examined, finding and test results (where required). Again, Class does not exclusively carry out the RP-2D exam. I have seen instances where the NCB has issued much the same paperwork. I wouldn’t always go to the Chief for the information. If there IS a Cargo Gear Register, it is generally with all of the other international documentation in the Captain’s office.[/QUOTE]
The issue we ran into on one of the big subsea construction boats, was the company had a guy designated as the deck supervisor. Under his authority was everything on the deck including winches and cranes. They had a maintenance program that was a NS-5 program that had the cranes into the program. The program did comply with API-2D for the quarterly, semi, annual and bi-annual inspections. The crane operators were doing the maintenance, and the deck supervisor was signing off on it. The problem was he was not a certified crane operator or certifiied to perform crane maintance. It was a ABS inspector that caught this during an annual inspection. The inspector wrote the company up for not having a certified crane maintenace person signing off on the maint. That is why they sent both of the chiefs on that boat to crane school to become certified crane operators and certified maintance personal on the hydraulic offshore knuckle boom cranes. I now have to keep all the paper work for the crane and the winch. We do hire third party inspectors to do the annual, and bi-annual inspections that are API-2D inspectors. ABS has asked to see the maintenace program on the crane every inspection, and alot of times wants to see the annual inspection paper work as well. I worked on a DNV class construction ship that was about the same with a 150 ton knuckle boom crane,and it was almost the same thing with DNV, they always wanted to see the maintance history.
The only time I have ever seen them get real involved in looking at certs, deflection readings, oil, and grease samples and such has been on new hire vetting or customer asking for the certs.
Before all this took place the captain did keep it all in his office, now all the crane stuff is in my office.
Waste handling matters are starting to get ugly again. The mis-adventures of the fictional ship-drill [I]Twisted Bitt [/I]may have to resurrected.
Interesting note there Chief on the crane maint. history and sign offs. I like it - a good lesson for everyone here.
[QUOTE=ChiefRob;80939]Hmmn??? where did the number 280k come from,and all taxes paid???
Funny there have been about 10 or 15 conversations on here the past 2 years, about how great being a DPO is and how much money they make. Hell to hear most of you guys talk, being a DPO is more glamourous than being a porn stud. Most of yall would not trade places with Steven Tyler or Hugh Hefner, it is so great being a DPO. Then the engine room crew tries to have a calm intelligent conversation about pay, benefits, working conditions, and yes respect from different companies, then we get told to SHUT UP AND GET BACK TO WORK OR GO TO WORK ELSE WHERE if we don’t like it?
First I thought that was the main purpose of this site, is for professional’s to share information.
Second you personally told me about 6 months ago that the chief had to know about everything drilling and everything subsea or you could not even get hired, now you say that it is not necessary, which is it?
Third I know on any ABS or DNV class vessel the Chief is responsible for the cranes. It is a piece of machinery that is welded to the ship and a permanent part of the machinery. I personally had to go to crane school to get certifited, to sign off on the maintenance. ABS and DNV both want to see all the documantion on the crane at every inspection, and they will come to the chief for that. If your ship has not got caught yet, doing it another way you have been lucky so far.[/QUOTE]
You need to read a little better on what I said, I said “engineers” referring to the 3rd-1st, they do nothing with anything drilling or crane related. The CE since he is the maint department head will oversee the work on drilling, subsea and cranes, because he has the subsea department, the mechanical department, the electrical department underneath himself, so therefore would be involved or at least in the know.
Second, I didn’t say all taxes paid, I said taxes in country paid, which could be 10%, 15%, 20% so on… depends on the country you work on.
Did anyone here become a subsea engineer or mechanic after sailing as a licensed marine engineer? On my rig it’s well known that mechanics make more money than marine engineers, and that subsea hands make even more. But money aside, I am interested in hearing how people like their current subsea/mechanic positions compared to previously working in the engine department. Can anyone on this thread comment on their experience or a co-worker’s experience who went down that path?
Also, I’ve heard that some mechanics and subsea engineers with licenses have managed to still get sea time despite not officially working in a licensed capacity. Anyone know anything about that?
Also, another engineer in my department said that he recently got time and a half approved by the USCG for working 12 hours days on a MODU. Anyone else have any success with the USCG getting time and a half approved for working on deepwater rigs?
[QUOTE=Kougar018;87718]Did anyone here become a subsea engineer or mechanic after sailing as a licensed marine engineer? On my rig it’s well known that mechanics make more money than marine engineers, and that subsea hands make even more. But money aside, I am interested in hearing how people like their current subsea/mechanic positions compared to previously working in the engine department. Can anyone on this thread comment on their experience or a co-worker’s experience who went down that path?
Also, I’ve heard that some mechanics and subsea engineers with licenses have managed to still get sea time despite not officially working in a licensed capacity. Anyone know anything about that?[/QUOTE]
The ones that I know that have made the switch from licensed engineer to mechanic or subsea never looked back, especially the subsea guys. I have never known a licensed engineer working as mechanic or subsea to decide they’d rather go back to being an engine room engineer and done so.