Need help with getting started.

**USABorn56** · September 27th, 2011, 12:31 PM

Hello,
I apologize ahead of time if this has been posted before and if it is in the wrong spot. I'm getting confused with all the different lingo on this forum.

I'm 24 y/o and ready/able to get to work. I'm just starting to get enrolled with TWIC. My appointment isn't for a few weeks though. Basically I would like to get into working on large ships or tugs. I recently talked to a Merchant Marine and from his stories I have decided I want to give it a try. It sounds very interesting and it sounds like it would work out for my lifestyle.

What do I do next?

What should I be doing while I wait for the TWIC? I really have no idea whether I need to get a Z-card that I hear about, or even how to get the Merchant Marine packet that the guy told me about.

If anyone could at least send me in the right direction it would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks for your time and effort!
USABorn56

P.S. If you are going to use lingo please spell it out...I have no idea what all the different certificates and licenses are, let alone the abbreviations. Thanks.

**Cal** · September 27th, 2011, 01:00 PM

Originally Posted by USABorn56

I apologize ahead of time if this has been posted before and if it is in the wrong spot.

No apology necessary, this forum is an appropriate place to start. I would, however, suggest using the "Search" function.

I'm getting confused with all the different lingo on this forum.

I would, however, suggest using the "Search" function.

What do I do next?

NMC Original Application. You don't need to actually have the TWIC in hand but you will need the reference information from having applied for it. You may as well start the process for the MMC and if you click on the "NMC Wizard Guide for New Applications" from the link provided a number of your questions will be answered about the process and what you need to do (as well as some of the acronyms).

P.S. If you are going to use lingo please spell it out...I have no idea what all the different certificates and licenses are, let alone the abbreviations. Thanks.

I would, however, suggest using the "Search" function. (Are you seeing a pattern here?)

**USABorn56** · September 27th, 2011, 01:02 PM

Yes. Thanks for the quick reply!

**Horatio** · September 27th, 2011, 03:53 PM

check the marad website - has info links and a quick brochure with ideas on where to go

**Capt rick** · September 27th, 2011, 04:19 PM

I don't know what part of the country you are in, but the T.W.I.C. office in Galliano La. closed for lack of business the next closest office is in Houma, La. the real point is that I nor anyone else that i know used an appointment, just walked in and got it done. Had to wait a few weeks for the card, but that doesn't stop anything.
Entry level into Merchant Marines would be on work boats in Louisiana. On line you can check yellow pages for Boat Rentals in Golden Meadow ,La. Also as Cal suggested, start the process for your Merchant Mariner Document, (MMD).on line the NMC, "USCG National Maritime Center". what you are looking for is, "Ordinary Seaman Document". the next step up would be Able Bodied Seaman.

**Ea$y Money** · September 27th, 2011, 05:32 PM

Originally Posted by USABorn56

I'm 24 y/o and ready/able to get to work. I'm just starting to get enrolled with TWIC. My appointment isn't for a few weeks though. Basically I would like to get into working on large ships or tugs. I recently talked to a Merchant Marine and from his stories I have decided I want to give it a try. It sounds very interesting and it sounds like it would work out for my lifestyle.

What do I do next?

You can also look into going to school. Several have programs that you graduate with a degree plus a 3rd Mate Unlimited Oceans. Certainly worth looking into if you have no idea where you want to go. Maybe some of the grads online here would like to offer suggestions?

**cappy208** · September 27th, 2011, 06:01 PM

First off. The 'Lingo' is what sets this career apart from everything else you may try. You MUST learn the lingo to succeed in this job.

Second. You have to decide which part of the industry you want to work in. There are MANY types of work to go in to.

Third. The particular type of industry you go into may 'decide for you' where you want to work. Location, industry, longevity, Union, and pay scale.

As Cal said: I think repetitively...... Search. There's LOTS of info here. Probably more than anywhere else you look!

**cmakin** · September 28th, 2011, 07:43 AM

Originally Posted by cappy208

First off. The 'Lingo' is what sets this career apart from everything else you may try. You MUST learn the lingo to succeed in this job.

Second. You have to decide which part of the industry you want to work in. There are MANY types of work to go in to.

Third. The particular type of industry you go into may 'decide for you' where you want to work. Location, industry, longevity, Union, and pay scale.

As Cal said: I think repetitively...... Search. There's LOTS of info here. Probably more than anywhere else you look!

Yup, we certainly have a unique lingo. I would just like to point out one maritime lingo mistake that I have seen in this thread and it is one that just goes right through me. A person is not a "Merchant Marine" and there is no service called the "Merchant Marines". A person who works in the Maritime industry, or the Merchant Marine is a Merchant Mariner. What you stand on is the deck, what you walk through is the hatch, you don't go upstairs, but go topside and you use the ladder in the companion way to get there. If you don't get that right, someone is likely to throw you out of one of those little round windows.