I’m not yet 17 and am planning to join the MSC at 17 (after graduating high school early) as an entry-level engine room guy (wiper). Are there any particular school electives that I should take or skills I should learn if I want to do well? Is there anything else I haven’t thought of that I should know? Also, how can I guarantee that I will get hired? Just follow the instructions on their website (Start the Process by creating your pre-application profile, this will allow us to better assist you and keep you informed.
Request your History of Assignments and records of any maritime related courses you’ve completed. This will help you communicate your skills and experience as you move through the application process.
Obtain a Transportation Workers Identification Card (TWIC) and/or Department of Defense Common Access Card (CAC). The TWIC will be required in order to apply for your MMC. Find TWIC office locations.
Obtain a U.S. Tourist Passport. This is different than your military issued passport.
Obtain your Merchant Mariner Credential (MMC). Download the MMC application and submit to the U.S. Coast Guard to review your maritime experience and endorse you for certain levels of responsibility)? I figure that if I do all of that before applying, I will have a good chance of getting in. Am I right? Thanks in advance.
I hear what you’re saying, but there are a few things I’ll point out. 1, their site says they’re still recruiting entry level, so your Reddit info is probably wrong. 2, I’m going to graduate a couple months after I turn 17. That means I won’t be able to rent a place to live while I’m in the academy. 3, I don’t want to be beholden to anyone who’s not paying me. 4, (the most important one) I don’t have money to go to the academy. I’m going to be running on empty cash-wise just getting a car.
While your enthusiasm is admirable you should get some school room time in before you ship out. Fire fighter training, confine space entry, watch keeping credentials et al
There are numerous online academies that offer various courses., Wiper especially with MSC can be a dirty and dangerous job. though it might sound to you that this is an adventure you’re not joining the navy and see the world listen to the guys on the forum that have been there and done that. after some time in the class room you may want to change your goals
What about trade school? The maritime academies have often been compared to maritime trade schools. Their course study is very regimented, designed to learn what is needed to work aboard ship. You still start at the bottom & work your way up. There’s no foriegn language requirements & very few electives btw.
If you’re absolutely, 100% sure you don’t want to go to an academy or traditional university to get a degree, then seriously consider going to a trade school if you want to hawespipe up in the engineroom. We need 18 yr, zero work/life experience o.s-wipers in the engineroom like we need coolant in the main engine lube oil. But if you had a 1 year HVAC certificate & knew how to connect a manifold & braze copper tubing, some CE’s would pay you out of their own pockets to get you to go work for them. Starting at the bottom doesn’t have to mean starting as dumb as a box of rocks.
Consider an alternative: Join the Navy & become a SNIPE [part of the “black gang” or better known as the “engine Dept”.
I was under 18 when I graduated from HS & I was fed up with living with Mom & Dad, and fed up with school. [There was a small issue with the Draft during Viet Nam, so “camping” was not an option.] Continuing to college or a maritime school was not going to happen. So off to the Navy. After 4 years, I had formulated a better idea of what I wanted out of life - AND had learned skills that I could use in my future. Not only mechanical skills, but “adult” skills: Teamwork, punctuality, leadership. . . The Navy was not my career, but it sure as hell provided a foundation for the rest of my life.
I’m a hard-working, blue-collar Texan who spent my first 5 or so years in Georgia. I’m in my sophomore year and my current track is engineering/general. My grades are very good, especially in History and Language Arts. I’m not a sports guy. I’m not musically inclined, unless you count a “duck whistle” turkey call. I’m learning Tagalog and, since I live in Texas and my brother speaks it, have picked up some Mexican Spanish. My hobbies are hunting (I can skin and clean game too), fishing, trapping, whittling, hide preservation, and building random crap out of random crap. I want to go to sea for a couple reasons. One, I love the water. Two, my Dad was in the navy as a submariner (shut up, I’m not here to hear the jokes about submariners). Three, I’ve always loved to travel. As far as why engineering, I love motors, mechanical challenges, and building stuff, so engineering is the logical path. I have minor electrical/mechanical fabrication experience (as in repairing simple circuits in flashlights and stuff). IN five years, I see myself working my a** off, just like any 20-year-old should (can you tell I have no aversion to hard work?) A 60-day QMED course might not be a bad idea, I just don’t want to dedicate a large portion of my life to learning a trade that I might find out I’m not suited for. I’ve thought about getting experience on other boats, but I’m not anywhere near the coast. Bruce, I have thought about getting classroom time, but again, I don’t want to do a whole lot of schooling after high school, I want to work my way up. I know it’s not an adventure. It’s a job. My Dad was navy and I’ve compared the MSC with the military and decided that I want to go with the MSC. Sandpebble, I don’t want to go to a multi-year course for a job I might not be suited for. I don’t want to be one of those guys who goes and gets the degree and then spends the rest of their life regretting it. Maybe a 2-month QMEd course would be a good idea, but I am 100% sure that I don’t want to get a multi-year degree. And Seasmaster, I compared and decided that I don’t want to go to the navy.
Since (I think) MSC is staffed by SIU, I would think that a good route for you would be to go to Piney Point , and that would (theoretically) make you more attractive to MSC. And if it turns out you don’t like going to sea you can walk away once your first contract is done. From AI:
The Seafarers International Union (SIU) Unlicensed Apprentice program at Piney Point, Maryland, typically lasts approximately one year, combining 16 weeks of initial classroom training with several months of sea-based apprenticeship. The program is structured into phases, including 16 weeks of entry-level training, followed by 60 days to 120+ days of shipboard training.
Seafarers International Union +2
Key details of the program include:
Phase I (Classroom): 16 weeks of training at the Paul Hall Center in Piney Point.
Phase II & III (Sea time): A total of approximately 180+ days (60-day or more training, plus 120-day employment) at sea.
Overall Duration: While the main components occur over about 6–8 months, the entire process, including training, sea time, and final certifications, can take roughly 6 to 12 months, according to discussions on Reddit and from user experience on Facebook.
Cost: The program itself is free (tuition and room/board).
I’m a hawespiper. Started at 18 & held every engineering license from DDE4000 to chief unlimited except 3AE. The idea of working your way up sounds romantic but inaccurate. Hawespipers have to study their way up. If they find themselves out of their depths because of passing USCG exams but not studying their job then hardwork means diddly squat. I send the hardworking OS/wiper to paint & clean. I send the guy who studies to do welding projects or change the worm gear on the fuel oil centrifuge. Go take a machining course at a vo-tech school first or take the advice @Jeffrox offered.
I’m homeschooled. You said take a machining course? I said “work my way up” as in climb the ranks, I’m willing to study to get higher rankings. Would that need to be a long course, or would a 60-day course work. I’m willing to do what I need to do, I just don’t want to spend years studying for a degree that I may never use.
I’m not sure you are understanding how this works. You don’t just “work your way up”. Listen to what @Sand_Pebble is saying, when he says “hawespiper” that’s industry speak for doing what you are talking about. Starting un-trained and climbing the ladder through working in the industry, self-willed training, time, studying, exams…the long way. There’s nothing wrong with it, but don’t think for a second there’s no studying involved.
It’s not just a 60 day course and then work experience. It’s likely years. You say you like to travel. Well if you want to “work up” to a still-unlicensed AB-Engine STCW rating to allow you to work above a Wiper on a vessel outside of the US, that’s at least 360 sea-days, which can realistically take 2-3 years, or less if you take courses, which it sounds like you are against. (or less if you are actually with MSC since you’ll never get a day off anyway). And regardless anything other than entry level menial labor is going to involve exams, and studying, and training, and courses, and years. You don’t just earn ratings like the navy for signing off things, though you do need to do that too.
Not to say the Academy route is for everyone. And by all means hop on a ship entry level with whom ever will take you. Just do some more research on what it will take to advance from there if you decide you want to stick around.
Also, point of order so you don’t sound completely green: it’s not “the” MSC. It’s just MSC. This isn’t The Ohio State University or The FBI…, there’s no “The”…that would be like saying you work for The Apple or The Google. Its just MSC.
