What is life like after you decide to quite sailing?

Maverick33334

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I have been offered an appointment to the merchant marine academy and have some questions still. I plan on majoring in marine engineering and shipyard management. Upon graduation I would be a 3rd engineer correct? I plan on sailing, but realize that eventually I may want to quit sailing and have a job with a more traditional lifestyle. What are some common careers merchant marine graduates pursue after they stop sailing? Also would it be possible to maybe take online classes during your time off or even on the ship? ( I realize that as an engineer you will probably be busy a lot of the time and not all ships have an internet connection)

Thanks
 
Congratulations on your appointment. Yes, upon graduation, you would be licensed as a 3rd Assistant Engineer. There are countless possible careers that graduates pursue shoreside. With your intended major, and if you decide to stay in the maritime industry, you can see a list of common careers on the USMMA website. Look under Academics, then click on your intended major for a description.
 
I have met many alumni and can tell you that after fulfilling their obligations, they have branched into about any field you can think of and some you'd never guess. Maritime and otherwise. That is what the KP education and experience prepares one for.
 
To add, you cannot underestimate the free market value of 5 years of truly responsible positions whether maritime or active duty. Your pay will have far exceeded that of the average college graduate; even an O-1 makes a reasonable living when age and tax exempt subsidies are considered. And there is no need to consider ROI when there was only a minimal I to begin with: debt free with significant equity if you are wise at 25 or 26 years old. To paraphrase a famous cinematic line, "I cudda been a KPer." (Brando- "On the Waterfront)"
 
What are some common careers merchant marine graduates pursue after they stop sailing?
Many, like me, end up working for the large corporation, Doolittle & Fishmore inc... They employ thousands of retirees every year.. It's a good gig.. The hours are pretty flexible, I can work at home and I'm married to the boss...👍😉
 
Many, like me, end up working for the large corporation, Doolittle & Fishmore inc... They employ thousands of retirees every year.. It's a good gig.. The hours are pretty flexible, I can work at home and I'm married to the boss...👍😉
 
I have been offered an appointment to the merchant marine academy and have some questions still. I plan on majoring in marine engineering and shipyard management. Upon graduation I would be a 3rd engineer correct? I plan on sailing, but realize that eventually I may want to quit sailing and have a job with a more traditional lifestyle. What are some common careers merchant marine graduates pursue after they stop sailing? Also would it be possible to maybe take online classes during your time off or even on the ship? ( I realize that as an engineer you will probably be busy a lot of the time and not all ships have an internet connection)

Thanks

June 20th will be 5 years since I went barreling out of the gate without so much as a glance in the rear view mirror. I still remember Mama Waller yelling at me about my uniform as I was leaving.

Too be honest, I'm surprised that I have been sailing as long as I have, the life style isn't always easy, but there are aspects of it that I'm not ready to give up (the money and the ability to take long vacations when I'm home chief among them). I'll just give you my personal, one man anecdotal outlook.

I'm sailing Chief Mate, so at this point there is a competitive advantage to sailing long enough to get an Unlimited Masters license (December of this year). No matter what I do when I come ashore, at the very least it will be a cool thing to put on the wall, and if I choose to come ashore in the maritime world it gives a certain level of credibility to almost any role I could be applying too. With that said I'm working on enough AD time to get at least some percentage of GI bill, and I do think grad school isn't unlikely unless I wind up starting a pilot apprenticeship somewhere. Lots of folks in my class have started re-tooling themselves with grad school and office jobs.

What amazed me plebe year was talking to graduates at homecoming about the breadth of careers (one of of the ex-mods on here is a ophthalmologist, @kp2001) Lawyers, Doctors and Indian chiefs all over the country in every imaginable sector. The KP alumni network goes above and beyond to look out for their own, and we're also capable as a group of thriving almost anywhere. It leads to a KP'r getting in at a company, moving up quick, and sucking in other KP'rs to fill the void. I watched this happen with the Cargo Supers in one of the ports we call, they hired a 97' grad, he was there for 8 months, got promoted to director of the region, and now has three recent KP grads working in junior roles.

The other thing the KP does is front loads a high income job at the beginning of your career. You graduate at 21, with no debt, making 100k a year (...and at least for me having a hell of a lot of fun doing it). Money that big gives you a TON of flexibility to take huge risks career wise, which I think is an undersold aspect of the beast. It is a snow ball effect, because I have money in the war chest I can take gambles that my high school peers can't. They have student loans and in most cases aren't near the same income level. When opportunities come along they often can't afford to go out on a limb to make it happen.

I took a dip into another line of work last year, it was something I wanted to do, and to connect all the dots I knew I'd need to take six months off and not work. In the end it didn't work out, but because I'm debt free, and making as much as a Chief Mate does I was able to strike out and take this risks. Being able to do this young and not have student loans holding you down is way more huge than I could have grasped at 18, and over the course of a lifetime probably worth millions of dollars.

Tl;dr: Go to KP. You'll thrive HUGE anywhere you go.
 
June 20th will be 5 years since I went barreling out of the gate without so much as a glance in the rear view mirror. I still remember Mama Waller yelling at me about my uniform as I was leaving.

Too be honest, I'm surprised that I have been sailing as long as I have, the life style isn't always easy, but there are aspects of it that I'm not ready to give up (the money and the ability to take long vacations when I'm home chief among them). I'll just give you my personal, one man anecdotal outlook.

I'm sailing Chief Mate, so at this point there is a competitive advantage to sailing long enough to get an Unlimited Masters license (December of this year). No matter what I do when I come ashore, at the very least it will be a cool thing to put on the wall, and if I choose to come ashore in the maritime world it gives a certain level of credibility to almost any role I could be applying too. With that said I'm working on enough AD time to get at least some percentage of GI bill, and I do think grad school isn't unlikely unless I wind up starting a pilot apprenticeship somewhere. Lots of folks in my class have started re-tooling themselves with grad school and office jobs.

What amazed me plebe year was talking to graduates at homecoming about the breadth of careers (one of of the ex-mods on here is a ophthalmologist, @kp2001) Lawyers, Doctors and Indian chiefs all over the country in every imaginable sector. The KP alumni network goes above and beyond to look out for their own, and we're also capable as a group of thriving almost anywhere. It leads to a KP'r getting in at a company, moving up quick, and sucking in other KP'rs to fill the void. I watched this happen with the Cargo Supers in one of the ports we call, they hired a 97' grad, he was there for 8 months, got promoted to director of the region, and now has three recent KP grads working in junior roles.

The other thing the KP does is front loads a high income job at the beginning of your career. You graduate at 21, with no debt, making 100k a year (...and at least for me having a hell of a lot of fun doing it). Money that big gives you a TON of flexibility to take huge risks career wise, which I think is an undersold aspect of the beast. It is a snow ball effect, because I have money in the war chest I can take gambles that my high school peers can't. They have student loans and in most cases aren't near the same income level. When opportunities come along they often can't afford to go out on a limb to make it happen.

I took a dip into another line of work last year, it was something I wanted to do, and to connect all the dots I knew I'd need to take six months off and not work. In the end it didn't work out, but because I'm debt free, and making as much as a Chief Mate does I was able to strike out and take this risks. Being able to do this young and not have student loans holding you down is way more huge than I could have grasped at 18, and over the course of a lifetime probably worth millions of dollars.

Tl;dr: Go to KP. You'll thrive HUGE anywhere you go.
@beyond I hope you continue to sail.. The Merchant Marine needs all the good young sharp guys it can get.. As for the Masters license; it's a cool thing to put up on the wall for sure, but it's even cooler the first time you put that license in the rack when you finally get command of a ship.. 👍

95340312_189857058647713_7954758999650336768_n.jpg
 
What @beyond said.

I would add to that what someone once told me regarding licensing ... get as much as you can as soon as you can. Coming ashore having sailed as a Chief Engineer license will give you more opportunities than a 1st Asst. or having the license but not having sailed on it. There is an expectation of certain knowledge bases at certain license levels that I don't think is necessarily always accurate and those same knowledge bases can be obtained at lower license levels but aren't considered.
 
Lots of opportunities, especially as an engineer. I first came ashore and worked as a Class Surveyor for 10 years. For the last 20+, I have been working as an energy loss adjuster (independent insurance adjuster for energy and marine claims). I work with classmates and fellow alumni that are Underwriters, Brokers, Surveyors, Port Engineers/Superintendents, attorneys, fellow adjusters. . . but that seagoing experience is very valuable, and has helped me in ways that I can't even begin to describe.
 
Third Engineers that sail on Merchant Ships (under their license) are essentially operational marine engineers. They can become very valuable to any industry as marine engineers typically learn how to manage, operate, maintain and repair multiple systems. They learn hydraulics, diesels, steam turbines, electrical, etc. This multi skill set can be very valuable to land based industries.
 
I don’t have any live experience for this subject. But during the application and appointment process our DS was invited to a state parent club luncheon for the Merchant Marine academy. They had parents, alumni, active mids, and recent grads there to speak and answer questions.
Our son chose USNA but it was a tough decision. Learning about the network of grads from USMMA that work to assist each other their whole lives was impressive. And the happiness the active sailors showed was attractive to say the least. They loved their job, their income and their flexibility and prospects. Their parents were very involved and supportive of their son’s and daughter’s choices and happy with their successes.
Hearing about the careers post graduation is very interesting to me.
 
Congratulations on your appointment. Yes, upon graduation, you would be licensed as a 3rd Assistant Engineer. There are countless possible careers that graduates pursue shoreside. With your intended major, and if you decide to stay in the maritime industry, you can see a list of common careers on the USMMA website. Look under Academics, then click on your intended major for a description.
you are ignorant to lead him into thinking academey grads are welcomed with open arms. majority are as dumb as they get and big dogs are aware of it.
 
Kind of impressive to get banned off your first post.

I will say though that although very roughly given and directed at the wrong person, there is a nugget of truth in what was said. The advice I would give to any new/soon to be graduates ... treat your first job like you are a cadet again. Even as a newly minted third mate/engineer you still have a lot to learn. Passing that first CG test is just the beginning, there is still a TON of learning to do.
 
You can become a stationary engineer. They pay pretty well. Local 39 in San Francisco the rate is about $62/hr with about a $2.50/hr raise annually.
 
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