Folks,
Young future cadet here. My goal is to attend a maritime academy and get my engine license so I can work on oceangoing vessels. Does anyone have any reviews/info on the quality of SUNY’s Engine License program? Specifically: Is career placement good? Does the program prepare students well for the first year on the job? Is it flexible if I want to eventually do something shore side?
Any help would be greatly appreciated. This is an awesome site, just joined and love it!
S.B.
Welcome aboard, I suggest reading through a lot more threads on this forum and come back with more specific questions. To sum it up, yes it’s a great program. Its very difficult and you might be miserable while you’re there. If you make it to graduation, it’s worth it in the end.
I thought my questions were pretty specific. I really just want to work on oceangoing ships. Is that what most of the program’s grads are doing?
Unfortunately the majority do not sail on their licenses for their own reasons. However, you will not go wrong at Schuyler on either the deck or Engine side. You will be challenged while your buddies at Liberal Arts schools live a different lifestyle. In the end it will be well worth the four years of work and dedication. The feeling when you pass license is only mirrored by the feeling when they hand you that diploma and you get that first job.
Good luck to you.
what would you like to know about the major I just completed it there myself
My opinion is that the best way to pick a maritime school is entirely dependent on where you live. SUNY has a great program. So do the other Maritime Academies. If you want to be a marine engineer if suggest you go to SUNY and major in Marine Engineering, though mechanical and electrical are good choices too, all with the option to get your License. SUNY MC was recently reviewed as THE best school for Median mid-career Salary. Beating out schools like MIT, Drexel, Harvard, etc. I know a lot of guys who ship on their license, some only do it for a year or two before going shoreside, some go straight into shoreside to great jobs at Con-Ed, Indian Point Nuclear Plant, and elsewhere.
At the risk of raising the ire of many here, don’t discount the other state schools in the northeast or, even, dare I state, KP? Now, my comments about KP have to be qualified in that I believe the training program to be a bit misguided and outdated when one considers what today’s US Flag maritime industry has become. That said, one of the best aspects of the training (and engineering training) is the cadet program during Sea Year. Since there is no school ship, all engine (and deck) cadets get their sea going experience on commercial (or MSC) vessels. While this may be less important for a deck office, as an engineer, I sailed on 6 different vessels with 5 different plants (two of the ships were sisters). I can say with out a doubt that Sea Year made me a much better engineer for when I sailed after school. I am not saying that you can’t get a good education at any of the other academies, because you certainly can, and I have sailed with some very good mates, captains and engineers from all of the schools (and hawspipers, too). And while the KP regiment can be a huge pain, not having any student load debt almost makes it worth it. . . . Good luck in your career choice. It will be challenging, for sure, but I can say that I have no regrets from making the same choice some 40 years ago. . . .
Thanks! So it seems like Marine Engineering is a bit more flexible and would give me more options if I want to go shoreside, right? In my research, it seems like if I just want to sail on a license, doing marine operations may be my best bet.
[QUOTE=sboj#;170157]Thanks! So it seems like Marine Engineering is a bit more flexible and would give me more options if I want to go shoreside, right? In my research, it seems like if I just want to sail on a license, doing marine operations may be my best bet.[/QUOTE]
In reality, either is fine. I was attracted to engineering because it interested my more. I know people who have worked on deck and have had fine careers both at sea and later on shore. . .
I meant studying marine engineering as opposed to doing marine operations-engine license. It seems the marine engineering program at SUNY is a bit more rigorous.
[QUOTE=sboj#;170722]I meant studying marine engineering as opposed to doing marine operations-engine license. It seems the marine engineering program at SUNY is a bit more rigorous.[/QUOTE]
Marine engineering is definately more rigorous than Marine ops. On top of that i really enjoyed my major as Marine ops. I was originally electrical engineering and didn’t have much interest for that
The more rigorous the degree the better your resume when you decide to go to an office.
I’ve heard that Maine has the best reputation for engineers out of all the schools but I’m sure they’ll all be excellent if you put in effort. If you go to Maine and want the best engineering degree do Marine Systems Engineering (a 5 year program if you also want a license) and that will prepare you excellently for working on land in many capacities. I was there with a Systems major that had started his own company before he even graduated, but he was really smart and on the ball.
I’m sure this applies everywhere but do the hardest degree you can pass and put in as much extra time hands on as you can find, not just the minimum. (A lot if the engineers that went to Maine lived local and rebuilt stuff for fun and profit, they usually made the best engineers. Find friends that do stuff like that and help out.)
My info is a bit dated and I was deck side while at SUNY but when comparing Engineering programs make sure you look at the type of degree as well. Some of the Engineering degrees are Bach. of Sci. degrees and some are Bach. of Eng. degrees. The B.E. degrees are usually more rigorous and more respected, especially shore side. That alone made SUNY such a popular Engineering school. Many guys went there (when the license courses were still mandatory) with no intention of ever sailing. Maritime was a school offering B.E. degrees at SUNY prices in the greater NYC area. That sold many a student when comparing schools. They put up with the Regiment and SST to get it. I’m not positive but I think SUNY’s engineering program now offers both B.S. and B.E. options, depending on the specific discipline being studied.