Graduate Job Success at SUNY Maritime

[cinders]

Is all that maritime is promising about job rate placement, salary, carreer opts. etc. true? We are going on the basis that 1) LOTs of job available if you pass liscense test in engineering, 2) salary is amazing 3) job options off the water are truly limitless. My HS senior daughter is not thrilled w/engineering, but is extremely motivated & competitive, etc. She is thinking she will be able to travel the world, get lots of money and then continue to go to school at suny esf for environment studies. Almost would like to see her just go to esf (or binghamton, clarkson) directly and skip the whole water thing as this is not her passion. One more big question: Is it at all a disadvantage of being female w/an engineer's lisc? was told it is bad luck to have a female near the boat engine. - ???? Thanks much for any info

[cappy208]

There are very few women out on the water. It is a close place to live, work, and cohabit. I am sad to say, but the word 'sex' rears it's ugly head from time to time. I am not saying the act necessarily, but the differences between, and the stereotyping of. And although I have worked with several women, invariably they get 'driven' off the boats not by incompetence, but by the friction of living in close quarters with men. Correct, no, true, yes.

If she is not thrilled at being an engineer, then I would second jemplayers comment too.

The engineers job is only about 10% 'fixing' things. It's about 70% organizational, paperwork, and housekeeping, and about 20% general, boring, (but needed maintenance,) and light bulb changing (for example.)

We work a two crew system. One crew onboard, and one crew at home. An interesting difference between a sea based job is you are NOT here half the time. A common occurrence out here is to blame the 'other crew.' Invariably the 'other crew' is the one who is off, and either does something, or doesn't do something that is blamed upon them to deflect blame from the crew that is on (and was sleeping.)

I would personally like to once actually meet this fictional 'other crew,' I could probably blame the budget deficit on them too!

But seriously, and I am serious here, I have constantly and continuously heard how: "it's the girls fault, she's on the rag all the time, she's incompetent,' etc etc etc. Then the woman is put on the defensive from a personal standpoint, before her actual engineering capabilities are even brought up. In my mind this industry still has some time to go to get out of the stone age, regarding (not just womens rights) hiring, promotion, nepotism and cronyism.

Based upon my experience, I would put her success at making this a long term career at sea a 15 to 20% chance. But she WOULD have a license to work shoreside if it didn't work out! That would probably be more realistic.

But as Jemplayer stated, why would someone want to enter a field they aren't ecstatic about?

[Jemplayer]

My HS senior daughter is not thrilled w/engineering...

Stop right there! If she is not interested in the job and only the money then she will just waste her time and your money.

With all the crap we have to put up with with being away from home, the coast guard, strained relationship's etc. Job satisfaction is about the only thing we get out of this gig.

[cinders]

Thanks for the very two important points ! I really appreciate your time and responses. If she continues w/her path to SUNY Maritime, (which is where SHE wants to go) I am sure she will have given both concepts thought & consideration. We just spoke about : not thrilled w/eng. - but she is saying she WILL like being able to fix an engine on the water and the pressure/satisfaction of being able to get the job done. I will have to hope her personality will be able to overcome guy/gal issues & be looked at as an equal, possible? - pretty hard/but if attainable, my bets on are her.
Maybe its just the Mom thing about worrying for her to take the less traveled/more difficult path than staying mainstream. She is the off the beaten path kind of kid, though. so ....
Thanks so much again.

[ocean29lb2]

Just one more thought as a graduate of SUNY... Like mentioned above, if the interest isn't there, it'll be a hell of a time. The extra hours with the regiment and all the bs that goes along with it requires a real push to get it. I have my deck license and have wanted to work at sea and that is what really pushed me and motivated myself to get it. If plans are there to move right on to other things, the fit may not be there..... There is one other option that may be interesting. I see that she is interested in the environmental studies after graduation..... I was a marine environmental science major with minors in oceanograhy and meteorology along with my deck license... There is no engineering license option with the degree anymore but if she was just going to get a job and be lined up for further things, this could be the route...... I was able to get a job in the industry relatively quickly.... Right now I am an environmental officer with Celebrity Cruise lines.... Its a pretty sweet gig, i'm sitting in san juan PR right now and setting sail for st. thomas tonight.... tell her this option as I make a pretty good salary, especially for 23, and can further my studies into the environmental side if i want.... feel free to ask any questions you have as I just recently graduated in 09.. Good luck to your daughter in whatever she decides.

[cinders]

OK - so she wants your life. Environmental and Biology are her top interests, with engineering slightly below them. The regimen at Maritime, (she's into the challenge and attaining leadership skils) the promise of actually getting a job, seeing the world, and a decent salary are the reasons she is being drawn to engineering at maritime. Otherwise I more sure she would be going environment route (maybe enivornment engineering, etc.) I didn't realize there were great jobs that would fit her interests a little more w/out going the engineering route and still going to maritime. We just spent hours talking about the pros&cons of the colleges she got into and didn't even cover your spin on maritime. You have given us something to consider we'd better hurry- May 1 is just around the corner. Do you have a set employer? that gives you medical coverage? With a set work schedule? or Work job posting by job posting? We were curious about how that works. Glad to hear you are successful and HAPPY!. (make sure you safe for the future, believe it or not it comes quicker than you can imagine. Thank you Thank you Thank you.

[cinders]

Your blog just gave us more info about the actual job than we have been able to come up with on our own. We seem to have gotten lots of vague answers and you have really given clear and concise info! We absolutely love your honesty and feel lucky to have gotten it. She's not ecstatic about engineering, but she has some interest in it. She believes its a lot smarter than getting a useless degree that won't get you a job which lots of kids have been doing. We don't think shes too far off on that. Thanks much again.

[cappy208]

You and your daughter need to read these posts alot. Then use the search button and search the forums for any topics you want more info on. The website has just about every marine job, avenue, vessel, fleet, specialty, position, rank, and incident that goes on out here.

Some of the info may be disconcerting, and some may tweak her interest. But, this is a good way to get the unvarnished truth about this career.

In your post #5 you asked 5 different questions. They can't be answered with absolute certainty since there are SO many variables. Like, what type of vessel would she work on? Oil field supply, ship, tug, ferry, cruise ship, research ship, or in shore side supply. etc etc etc. All these different type vessels have their own nuances and different manning schedules, work schedules, and pay levels. On top of that, some are cyclical, meaning as the economy, the oil price, or some other influence affects it, the job may dry up for a year or two, until the economy rights itself.

[ocean29lb2]

Im glad that I could be of some help with the colleges... The biggest thing is to get into something she is interested in.... to answer your questions about the Environmental Officer position.... For my position, I am a senior officer with Celebrity Cruises, a part of Royal Caribbean. This means that I get full medical coverage at sea and also at home, just no dental : (. I have a set rotation of approximately 4 months on and 2 months off. I am a full time employee of the company so there is no question of whether I'll be coming back. I have a set ship that I am scheduled on. And of course the perks that come with it are nice too, like real good discounts for cruises and for family, my mom just cruised for the week for her birthday.... Again, if you have any questions about Maritime or the Environmental Side, feel free to ask away. You can also email me if you want as I don't always have full internet access here on the ship... its ocean29lb2@aol.com. I hope this info can help out a little bit.

-Brian