[QUOTE=travel2write;139664]A hilarious post of a recent graduate of the SIU apprenticeship program. Check out his blog… :rolleyes:
http://www.entirelyalive.com/2014/06/things-i-have-learned.html#comment-form[/QUOTE]
That’s pretty good.
I’ll say it again, the place is a joke,
I assume the SIU apprentice program is still going, but I can’t speak with any authority on that. I do know I haven’t seen any apprentices sent to my ship in a number of years.
Assuming it’s still a going thing, and assuming you want unlimited credentials (unlimited AB, unlimited license), it may be the most economically viable way to get all your required assessments and training taken care of. Keep in mind, if you were to just go hire on somewhere, you would be responsible for all training costs if you wished to upgrade, and that can all be very expensive. Also bear in mind, Piney Point doesn’t just train apprentices–you can take any number of classes to continue upgrading, including those required for a license, and the classes are still free to take. Well, free as far as out of pocket costs–you’ll probably have to agree to remain in the SIU for a certain amount of time.
IF you can afford to take all these classes on your own, then of course that’s worth looking at.
A lot of employers pay for courses now. But so far damn few of mine. Some even pay salary to attend the courses.
Its not just STCW courses either. There are things like SafeGulf, Huet, Rigging, Crane operator, drug and alcohol testing, Hazwoper, confined space, fall protection, and the list keeps growing.
That would probably be the ideal situation. How hard is it to get hired on to those companies at an entry level, though?
That depends on a lot of things, especially just happening to be at the right place at the right time.
[QUOTE=awulfclark;139776]I assume the SIU apprentice program is still going, but I can’t speak with any authority on that. I do know I haven’t seen any apprentices sent to my ship in a number of years.
Assuming it’s still a going thing, and assuming you want unlimited credentials (unlimited AB, unlimited license), it may be the most economically viable way to get all your required assessments and training taken care of. Keep in mind, if you were to just go hire on somewhere, you would be responsible for all training costs if you wished to upgrade, and that can all be very expensive. Also bear in mind, Piney Point doesn’t just train apprentices–you can take any number of classes to continue upgrading, including those required for a license, and the classes are still free to take. Well, free as far as out of pocket costs–you’ll probably have to agree to remain in the SIU for a certain amount of time.
IF you can afford to take all these classes on your own, then of course that’s worth looking at.[/QUOTE]
That pretty much tells me I am on the right track as far as deciding to apply to the program!
I took the Reading/Math test today. Passed both. Now if only my boss would hurry the heck up and write the daggum reference letter… how long does it even take???
My oldest son tried college and it didn’t work out for him. After working the graveyard shift for a cleaning company at minimum wage I sat him down and showed him the Piney Point brochure. This is a business you can go as far as your ambition carries you. He went through the program and is now currently sailing steady as QMED. Wish he would go and get his license but it is his life to live. Unlike the military (which was also an option) you can quit if it isn’t for you. The SIU’s program is a good way to get into the business. Just be prepared to deal a bit of BS along the way. When it comes just suck it up and keep you eye on the prize.
[QUOTE=Chief Seadog;139802]Just be prepared to deal a bit of BS along the way.[/QUOTE]
I think a LOT of BS along the way. But yes, there is a prize if you want it bad enough.
Best decision i ever made going. A foot in the door and experience for free.
LMAO. That’s exactly how they sound when they call you and they can only fire you in your 1st yr because that’s your probation year. As far as the time off you gotta have a GOOD doctor 
because if not your not gonna get no more than 30 days off after a 4 month hitch even if you got more than 30 days of leave built up. SMH but MSC is what you make of it. Ima get all I can outta them before I leave. All schools ,training seatime and everything to upgrade my MMC on there budget.
[QUOTE=“Goirish44”] Exactly, MSC is nothing but the poor mans navy. Fuck that, take that making your bed and shaving shit and go eat shit.
Lol no shaving or making beds in MSC there are guys here that have Santa clause beards and people with long hair.I did 20 years in the SIU, so I want you to listen to what I have to tell you VERY carefully.
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NOTHING is “free”. Get that out of your head…for every dollar that you earn while working an SIU contract, you can rest assured that the Union is making AT LEAST a dollar from YOUR labor.
That’s the way it is, and the way it will always be. -
The SIU is not a “Union” at all. It is a talent pool owned lock, stock, and barrel by the Companies. I could call my BMW a “Space Shuttle”, but that wouldn’t make it so. The Union exists to support the various “plans”…(Pension, Medical, Vacation, Education, and whatever other administrative “bucket” that they can dream up to hold YOUR money in).
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Because the SIU is all about “the Plans”, they actively WANT you to get pissed off, fed up, and walk away. When you do that, you leave all of your pension contributions on the table…“so long sucka!”.
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In light of the above, don’t delude yourself that anyone in the Union really GAS about working conditions, contract enforcement, or anything else having to do with your day-to-day working life…they don’t and they DON’T WANT TO.
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Piney Point is a Gold Mine…go there often as you can and get all you can out of it, and then WALK AWAY…you should have exhausted all the courses you can, have a top unlicensed rating and experience and qualify for a short deferred vested pension after 10 years. That’s when you LEAVE.
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When you attend Piney Point as an Upgrader, follow Bilgeman’s 3 ironclad rules:
A) Don’t show up without a car…PPMD is in the middle of Nowhere, southern Maryland, and you will go nuts if you can’t get away.
B) Don’t show up broke…and I DO NOT mean that you are “waiting on unemployment”…I mean cash in pocket. For much the same reasons as above.
C) Every month that you attend that school will mean that you are NOT earning at least 5 grand on a ship, and most of their courses are two months long. Get your money’s worth out of that time.
$10 grand would buy you at least a semester or two at a State University in most places, so save your partying for weekends, and put your mind to your books while you are there.
You will be wasting your time for two out of three of your Unlicensed Apprentice time, depending if you know what you want to do…we know this, we fought that crap when they first proposed it, but remember that SIU is not REALLY a Union and the Companies wanted some cheap “coolie labor”…so that’s what they got. Suck it up and keep your mouth closed and your eyes and ears open.
And when you finally get out of “the Program”, the best pieces of advice I can give you is to pay your dues where you get good service,(this might not be at the Hall closest to your home). Do NOT sign “Dues Checkoff” paperwork,(when you do that, the patrolman or port agent can ignore you), and where you DO get good service and treatment, DO NOT make your patrolman or port agent chase you down to get the dues that you owe.( Nothing maes them happier than a member who shows up and throws money at them BEFORE they ask. When you show them that you’re dependable, then you get treated like you’re dependable.)
Good luck.
PS: In twenty years, I knew SCADS of guys who came to us FROM MSC, I only knew ONE who went TO MSC from us,(and I think he had pissed off some of the Wrong People), figure it out, sport.
Come back here in ten years when you are an unlimited AB Green Ticket or a QMED-Any Rating and tell me that I’m wrong…
Bartender, get that man a beer!