When do I stop?!

[Albatross]

Hello, this is my first post to the forum, so if I trip or make a mistake, try not to laugh too hard..


I'm a young aspiring deck officer, I have applied for SSTG already, and not sure if I should apply for many others or not, and if so, which ones? I wanted to originality go for a cruise ship, but as that according to the website is the most popular choice, and because I'm in the high risk of drop out age category, I'm not sure if I should state that in my interview with them or not, in all honesty though I wouldn't mind too much what ship I serve on but I do want to join. And I'm not sure what I want to do in the case of the HND HNC Degree and whatnot. Would be nice for somebody for somebody to clarify and give me a few pointers!

Thanks,
Albatross

[CharlieDelta]

Hello and welcome!Just a quick reply from me for now! Don't get fixated on cruise ships. SSTG will prefer someone with an open mind. After getting to offer, then you can discuss companies. There's a lot to be said for cargo ship training. You'll always be able to get a cruise job once qualified having done a cadetship on cargo ships. The reverse is not as easy. I'll try to put up something more useful tomorrow - on my phone in the cold!

[steamer]

Just go in with an open mind, be honest and be motivated. The cadetship flies by, and it is only when you get halfway into it do you realise how much you need to learn in a relatively short period of time. SSTG will place you on an appropriate ship and give you all the support that you need to succeed-go for your interview and take their advice.
As CD has said, cargo experience is key in this industry-in fact you will find that the training record book is very biased towards cargo work.

Good luck, and I hope that you enjoy your experience.

[Andy_S]

Yep go with an open mind. SSTG are good and I don't think they will b**l S**t you to go with a company they don't think is right for you. When I had my interview they went through each company's offers in terms of ships, pay, what they pay for at college etc. In fact at least two thirds of the interview was them talking to me about the companies.

Out of interest what is the high risk of drop out age category?

[Fionelo]

I would just like to agree with all these posts so far.

In addition, if you are unsure as to which degree route to go for, in my opinion, the FD route gives you more opportunities at the end (ie you can go for a top up year which will basically give you a fully recognised BSc degree). Having said that, I have no experience with the HNC route but if you have A-Levels, you will get put onto the FD route automatically (I think?).

Hope this slightly confusing advice clears some things up...

[YoungMariner]

When I originally wanted to goto sea I was keen to try and get into cruise ships, but I applied for cadetships with every single company I could find. I went to several interviews, but didn't get a reply nor invite at this time for the cruise lines. I decided to take up a cadetship with a small company who operated worldwide tramping ships and had british senior officers, and it turned out to be a great experience. As soon as I'd finished the cadetship I was made redundant and was on a cruise ship 7 days later, which I thoroughly enjoyed as well. Variety is the spice of life.

As an aside, about a month into my cadetship I got an invitation for interview with Carnival UK.

Apply for all the companies, you can always say no. You might be surprised with whats out there.

[Clanky]

Just to echo what has been said above, apply to every company out there, not only will it keep your options open, but it will give you the opportunity to see what's on offer and choose the one which best suits you.

I did my cadetship with P&O cruises, hated every minute of it and transferred to cargo ships swearing that I would never set foot on a passenger ship again, I'm now sailing as chief engineer on a cruise ship so things change even as you progress through your career.

Some of the things you need to consider as a cadet is how many other cadets are likely to be on the same ship as you at sea, if you are female will you be the only female on the ship, how many of the other officers will be the of the same nationality as you (or at least of a nationality with a similar culture to you), whether there will be a job at the end of the cadetship (some companies at least offer one trip) the types of ships you will sail on, variety of cargo for deckies, different types of engines / propulsion systems for engineers and the length of trips.

[YoungMariner]

, how many of the other officers will be the of the same nationality as you (or at least of a nationality with a similar culture to you), .

This is actually quite an important point that you make Clanky, and I agree a lot with this. When I was made redunandant for the cargo company I did my cadetship with they allowed me to do my first trip as 3/O with them on a fully Filipino manned ship to log the seatime, and whilst I'm very open and understanding to other cultures, it was probably the biggest challenge in the job not really having someone that I could relate to onboard. As a minimum having at least another Westerner onboard (no racism intended) makes the trip that bit easier.

Coincidently, I still ended up living in the Philippines for 5 years and am happily married to a Filipina.

Sorry , a little off topic!

[Albatross]

Out of interest what is the high risk of drop out age category?

According to most training companies, nowadays the highest rates of drop outs is between 16 -> 20 I think.

Aye, as I said, I wouldn't mind being on a cargo or cruise, but not too fussed to which either one I would be on. Either way, its always what I wanted to do!

But thanks for all the input guys, really thankful for that and will let you guys know how I do with my SSTG interview on Thursday

Jordan