Right now I’m sitting on a 200 ton/500 Ton ITC with Radar, BST, FCC, (Will have BRM in a month), ect…HAHA I keep hearing the same thing, have DP, will travel. Would paying for my own Intro to DP get me somewhere other than a mom and pop (Where I’m at now) or should I just pound the ground a day before I get on the boat or get off and hope I get lucky?
Both classes are such jokes, I would feel bad about paying for either one myself. I’m not sure they would give you a leg up on getting a job either. You can’t take the class and get any cert from the Nautical Institute and that’s what they are looking for.
I’d just beat the pavement and look and look. Some of the small oeprators have DP vessels too. Aries, Kevin Gros, etc. Your real problem is your 200GT license. Finish your upgrade and you should have better luck.
I’d rather have a root canal than operate a DP console though…
Good luck.
At least you were able to quickly find a job.
I’m planning to pay for my own DP Induction course before hunting for a DP job. Once I have a month of DP seatime, I’ll promptly take a DP advanced course (even if I have to pay for it myself). I’m not going to waste any time waiting for a company to get around to sending me to the courses.
Just wandering why you think it wouldn’t help a guy find a job?i was thinking of taking a dp class myself.ive been out of the loop for awhile but it seems like a company would love to save the 2 grand and have the prospective employee pay.but I am asking,before I spend my money. Thanks. And any and all thoughts would be thankful
Why not do what it takes to put yourself above the competition? Seems like a no brainer to me.
Intro to DP is a waste of time and money. Basic and Advanced are the only classes worth anything toward a DP cert. I can teach a 10 year old how to man a DP console, it is how you respond when things go wrong that sets you apart. That requires experience driving a boat. If you have boat driving and administrative skills, sell those to prospective employers. Get the job with a company that has DP boats, even 100 ton, then get on the DP certification program and get your DP time.
Intro is basic…
Pay for the basic class… Most 100 ton companies that have DP -1 or 0 will let you run like that, hopefully they have a DP boat… When you get the year on a DP boat, then if you must, pay for the advanced… Remember, you can have all your time before you take the advanced class… All you have to do is 30 days after the advanced class, if you have the year of time after the basic
Save you’re money for you’re upgrade classes. If the company wants you to have a DP license they will pay for it. ECO and HOS will both pay for a guy off the street to get his license as long as he has experience running in the oil field.
There is no law in the US that’s says one must have a DP license to run DP. It’s just the oil companies that want it. Also most companies are more interested in the time you actually have behind the console vs class room time. Also going out and taking the classes on you’re own with out a DP boat to get signed off on just seems like you’re spinning you’re wheels to me.
Now if you already had a bigger license with some time running on it and where looking for the thing to get to the next level my advice would be different, but in the small boat world a DP license is more of a luxury then a necessity for a guy trying to upgrade. Assuming you are upgrading.
That said I have never seen a small boat company advertising for a captain with DP needed.
I ran DP crewboats for a year before I ever took the basic course. Then ran another five years on boats that weren’t classed so the DP time didn’t count. Got tons of experience and console time but once I took the advanced course I still needed time on a class 1 for a limited cert. then time on a class 2 to finally achieve my unlimited.
I’d probably put the money elsewhere also until I got hired somewhere. If you want to use it as a bargaining chip tell them IF you’re hired you’d be willing to pay for the basic course if they’ll pay for the advanced.
I’ll put in my vote for waiting. A 1600 ton license is probably worth more than a dp certificate. Use your money for upgrading before dp.
I have a DP Limited and all of my time came from an unclassed Kongsberg DP-1 system… I took DP Basic and then worked two years on the same vessel before paying for the Advanced my self… Then had to do 30 days before getting my Limited cert… Again the Vessel was not classed. The basic class alone will get you at least $25 per day anywhere… Most companies won’t send you to a school/class for 90 days… 60 x $25= $1500… The cost of Bier DP Basic Class… Not to mention the time earned… Let them pay for the advanced!
Unclassed won’t get anything anymore. If the vessel in your seatime isn’t in their database as ABS classed (for American flagged) you will not get credit.
I don’t see where paying for it yourself helps. I was hired on without it and they paid for my dp school and we just got 2 more mates on this boat alone without it.
I can only speak about HOS, so don’t jump me. HOS uses grant money to pay for the classes, it doesn’t cost them a dime to send people. If HOS is like this, I’m sure others are too.
Keep plugging away as best you can maybe you will get hired on and a company will pay for it. If not and you have the money invest in yourself. Set your self apart from the next applicant.
ECO has its own DP simulator, If you work for ECO it’s free ,only cost is your time off.
You can get hired without being DP certified.
If one can get hired at ECO, Hornbeck, or some other good company that will provide DP training that’s certainly a better plan than paying for DP courses oneself. It might be worth it to start in any position (OS, AB, wiper, galleyhand, or whatever) to get one’s foot in the door at a company like ECO and then get access to their free schooling.