SIU unlicensed apprentice program

NickCC,
Great Lakes Maritime Academy is one to check out. All academies are a bit different. Great Lakes is smaller, very hands on and does not require calculus for the Bachelor of Science degree & 3 A/E license. Dependent on transfer credits you can graduate in 3 1/2 - 4 years. Anything less is unheard of.

i spoke with the admissions lady at seafarers international union and she said after the UA program you are a SOWT oiler, is that the same as an oiler or is it different?

An SWOT Oiler is a member of the engineering department. A 3 A/E is an Officer (Management). Going through an Academy starts you at the Officer level. Becoming an Oiler, you can still work your way up to an Officer, but it does take much more time (sailing days/years) and training.

That doesn’t answer his question. What is an SWOT oiler and how is that different from a regular oiler?

And is, as far as I can tell, not ABET accredited.

“The Maritime Program is approved by the United States Maritime Administration, the United States Coast Guard and the Michigan Department of Education, and is accredited by North Central Association of Colleges and Schools.”

are they the same? whats SWOT?

Just to note the BS degree from GLMA is in Maritime Technology, not Engineering. Not to belittle the degree but they are not the same.

I’m pretty sure that the degree that GLMA engineers get is a BS in Maritime Technology.

I am pretty sure you didn’t hear the correct term. I am sure it is the FOWT endorsement (Fireman, Oiler, Water Tender) that the admission lady referred to.

Edit: My son went through the program and while a bit different back then, that was the first upgrading class he took after coming back from his first job and the endorsement he received.

That’s correct.

Probably, Piney Point has Coast Guard approval for a program called “Unlicensed Apprentice to FOWT.” So a FOWT is an oiler who also holds a QMED endorsement as Fireman/Watertender.

ABET accreditation is not required to become a licensed Third Assistant Engineer. Great Lakes is connected with Northwestern Michigan College and fully accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. The Bachelor of Science in Maritime Technology is the degree with the license track (Not Mechanical Engineering). The curriculum prepares students to work as a Third Assistant Engineer - thus no calculus required!

No one has ever said it is required for the license, it’s just extremely beneficial in terms of future employment ashore.

A Maritime Technology degree has generally been considered a “Trade School” degree. At one time the degree issued from GLMA was an Associate degree and the program was shorter. They have since expanded it. Northwestern Michigan College is a community college.

Everyone worried about calculus. I barely made it through algebra in high school but did much better in 3 semesters calc in college. I thought dynamics and fluids were harder. Of course they are calculus based

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You are correct, GLMA changed with the times and requirements. All cadets that attend are on a license track and focused on sailing as an officer on the Great Lakes or oceans after graduation.

I’m not sure what that has to do with anything being discussed.

For me, the first four quarters of calc weren’t bad at all. I never had a problem with math from Grad School to High School (Algebra, Analytical Geometry, etc. . . until that 5th quarter of calc, intro to differential equations. . . .lost me completely. . . could have been teaching me Greek for all I knew. I never worked harder in my life to get a C. . . .

My experience was the opposite. I struggled through 4 semesters of calculus, but did better with Diff EQs and better still with fluid and thermodynamics. Having a more apparent application of it made a difference for me. I had frequently said I have never needed to calculate the area under a curve, but I a friend pointed out that I did that in grad school statistics. Burt since then, no.

I did okay with Thermo. . had a lazy professor, though. I did like Fluid, though. You are very much correct about seeing the application of math making it a more interesting subject, though.

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