I already have a decent gig and don’t want to burn any bridges there, but I want to get my QMED so I need some engine room sea time. Do I just walk into this place and pay up dues to look at a job board? Do they need a company physical, and do they have a doc around the corner?
1 Like
Tough crowd…
Yea, kinda bizarre. The only information I’ve been able to squeeze out of anyone that isn’t some kind of snarky tirade has been in person from some of the other students at SeaSchool. The website is trying to push you to their classes so info is limited. I rang the union hall at one point as well and the lady was extremely confused about the nature of my call and why I would call asking all these questions. Did the SIU collapse or something? Is it so lucrative that it needs to be kept a secret? Is it just a temp agency that employs lowlifes? I guess I’ll find out Monday.
The short answer is yes you could joint as a ‘C’ Book but given that is the lowest seniority the chances of getting a job quickly is, realistically, pretty small. You would need a current medical certificate (such) and drug free certificate in addition to your MMC.
You would have better chances which a non-union company, I.e., tug outfit.
I went through the school at piney point but from what I was told you have to have a recent physical make sure your all your documents aren’t expired… you’ll start as a c-book and as a wiper… that’s gona be very tuff since everyone in Jacksonville hall is in the engine department you’ll most likely get a job with Norwegian cruise line everyone avoids that ship
Register (Pay $600 for Physical) and get sea time in Engine room as GVU or other entry level available. Take exams. Good luck. You could try MFOW in Wilmington,Ca or SF. It would be nice if Americans would sign up for Wiper Advancement Program because taxpayers should not be subsidizing the PI.
1 Like
Thanks for the replies. I went there with a list of questions and only had one answered. It’s okay though as I found you can just walk in and look at the job boards if you like. My question was can I sail international as AB special as they had AB jobs. The answer was no - you need an STCW endorsement as an able seafarer deck. I was gonna apply anyways as wiper but didn’t see any entry level jobs posted at all. There was a group of people waiting around the hall and the desk guy was extremely resistant towards giving me any information. It seems like the amount of time you need to invest to move through the unlicensed ranks here could be used towards obtaining a decent license with a non SIU company. Also what incentive could an unlicensed union have progressing sailors out of that position? I must be missing something. Fuck it I’ll just try for the engine room in the gulf and move up from there.
Do you want a sail on a license or do you want to sail a career as a QMED?
Different goals have greatly different strategies.
Good point. I may be too money oriented and I heard that the licensed guys made roughly 3x more. If I had a big family to take care of at home I doubt I’d have the time or expendable income to crawl up a hawsepipe.
Do you have a 4 year undergraduate degree? Are you decided on deck or engine?
Do you want to work on ships, tugs, drill rigs, or don’t care?
Sailing around the world as an engineer on a cargo ship was what I pictured while I filled out my MMC application. Getting tattooed overseas and catching exotic STDs.
Working on deck of OSVs pays the bills though, and if I hang out around the bayou long enough I’m sure I can catch the dickrot.
2 Likes