Post by LowKey on Jan 10, 2019 19:38:48 GMT
Not I.
I'm trying to get out of contracting for Uncle Sam and go into the Merchant Marine...waiting on my credentials to be processed.
Interesting career change for you though, seriously. Of interest, perhaps, one of my nephews is applying to the Great Lakes Maritime Academy, which by the end of the program will certify him to serve as a first officer on pretty much any size commercial vessel. Kind of an out of the blue decision for him, but actually sounds like a pretty cool way to make a living!
Seriously though, thanks. After the better part of 15 years I'm very much burned out on dealing with .mil bureaucracy layered on top of off-shore contracting companies that see their people as disposable as paperclips, working 12+4 hour days 6 days a week in temps up to 140F, and the middle east in general.
The last contract I took was for Camp Redleg in the UAE with tent housing, and the pay turned out to be a joke. Guy there gave me a heads up on the MM, and while it's not as much as some contract jobs it's higher than quite a few as well....and strangely enough I'll have more "home time" in the states. Sort of a 2:1 ratio of sea time to home time vs contracting and getting a whopping 30 days a year to go home.
Your nephew is making a good call. For what I've checked into, the officer side (where he's headed) earns up in the range of what someone with an MBA makes ashore, and while there is a lot of responsibility there's also apparently a very high job satisfaction rate along with good projections for the industry. I wish him the best of luck!