Hello,
I just got accepted to the MT program cal maritime academy for fall 2012 and was wondering how the job market was for licensed third mates?
I will be graduating in 4 years and was wonderin will there be jobs available in the US?
I herd its hard to find jobs for third mates.
[QUOTE=luke03;62393]I he(a)rd its hard to find jobs for third mates.[/QUOTE]
It’s always hard for newly graduated third mates to find jobs even in the best of times. The schools have always graduated more that the market can absorb and that doesn’t include hawsepipers gettin g their licenses as well.
If you want the best career opportunites, take the engine track imo.
You won’t need to worry for about 3.5 years, you will find a job of you are hungry enough.
Ditto both of the above. And, 4 years is a hell of a long time in this industry. There are those that couldn’t be happier in any job not on the water and those that just think it sounds like a really cool job. They are often quite disappointed. Where there is a will, there is a way. Including foreign flag ships. Not all of them are rat traps. Good luck in school.
I graduated last May from GLMA and got a job right away. Pretty much everyone I graduated with (who really wanted to sail) got jobs as well, mostly on the great lakes or on tankers. In any case I think as an academy grad you will be much better off in the job market than someone graduating with a standard liberal arts/science degree.
Thanks everyone for their response. My main goal is to get a job on a cruise ship like the carnival, ncl, Disney, ect.
How hard do you guys think it is to secure a job with a cruise line. I know Cal maritime has internships with NCL in the past.
Thanks
Not many cruise lines pay reasonable wages by American standards. If you want the “fun” of a cruise ship then go ahead, but what I hear is that it isn’t much fun.
CMA has cadets on the Hawaii NCL run. From what I remember the kids in my class hated it. That being said I know a couple people that sailed as third mate on there and I don’t think it was that bad. The jobs were through MEBA maybe? I think they got to get off the ship and run around a little bit too. 4 years is a long time though, who knows what things will look like then.
There are 7 academies. Cal, Tx, Ma, Me, Ny, KP, and GLMA. Figure that’s around 500 graduates a year. Half deck, half engine. So that’s about 250 3rd mates clamoring for jobs that are already filled!
Now do some research on how many ‘deepsea’ ships there are that hire fresh minted 3rds.
Simply NOT that many jobs out there for deck… Unless you come to the realization that you may have to work as a deckhand, Tankerman, or in some other capacity.
If you can understand this, and be adaptable, then you may hunt for a job. Good luck.
i got two offers right outta school on deepwater drilling ships/rigs. the money is right and the schedule is right. still kind of wish i would have sailed though.
[QUOTE=Third Coast;63244]i got two offers right outta school on deepwater drilling ships/rigs. the money is right and the schedule is right. still kind of wish i would have sailed though.[/QUOTE]
Congratulations! It seems pretty slow lately so happy you found something so quickly.
Would you mind saying who the drilling companies were who offered you positions right out of school? I have been trying to get into drilling with over 10 years as SDPO on rov/dsv and even FPU but all say they NEED 2-3 years experience ON drilling vessels. Anyone know drilling companies willing to consider people without drilling experience???
I think you just needed to be persistent. A company will hire a non- drilling DPO over a non-DPO any day. The worse thing is that you maybe stuck at a less desirable company for a bit bit once you at drilling to your resume, a lot of doors open!
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ya i know a few guys that have got on with noble, maersk and TO as DPOs without drilling experience. a few others as well. just walk in to nobles office, they are the only people that dont mind talking with people out of the blue that i have seen