I’ve been becoming interested in NOAA recently. I work an office job and it bores me to death. NOAA seems interesting, but I can’t find much information on what family life is like. I have a wife and a 1 year old, and it is very important that I see them often. I’ve seen all kinds of varying information about NOAA sea duty. The highest number I saw was something like 250 days at sea. But my understanding is that this is broken up into many smaller trips. Something like 2 week trips on average. Do you have 2 weeks at sea followed by a week at home? How much time is off between trips? Also, it seems you have to sleep on the boat even when it is in port, is that correct?
How long is the average trip? How many nights will I get to sleep in my home? What’s the longest you’ll be away from home?
Thanks