Seriously have a think about this!

[MrAnon]

Listen future cadets, blank out the fact that the money is good and that you get to see the world this is a mentally hard career. I thought it would be OK to leave the UK for just 10 weeks but it wasn't for me, I'm a sociable person so I really missed my friends and family. If you want a family yourself in the future then seriously think about that because this isn't a job for the potential family person. They might lead a good lifestyle because of you but you won't be there to enjoy it, trust me I know my Dad is a C/E. I was kind of pushed into this career because most of my family has been in the MN and I thought yeahhh I can cope with this. In truth it is a career for the people who care for nothing but money or people who like putting gold things on their shoulders.

As I cant be bothered to delete all my previous text I will say this, if you are lucky enough to get on a cruise ship, well then lucky you! Do not leave that, its a dream on a cruise ship!!

MrAnon

[stronglead]

Ohhhhhh dear, infact I am not even going to say anything as there will be a few along to straighten this out

[MrAnon]

Ohhhhhh dear, infact I am not even going to say anything as there will be a few along to straighten this out

Go on, expand.

[tommo]

Hello MrAnon,
tommo here, I feel that there may be some truth behing what you are saying with going away for long periods of time, however it's something that you adapt to. My father is a Captain and has worked deep sea all my life, and there was always that sadness when he left however on the positive side it was great when he came home!
However I wouldnt take my father to be a man who just cared for money and wearing gold things on his shoulder (that's not what im going to sea for). Also there is always the posibility of going to sea getting your tickets and then coming ashore and taking up a job like (ship broking, finance, law, surveying, company representatives.....) which would allow for you to see yourfamily more often, due to the need for experienced ex-seafarers.

Well I hope this helps Tommo

[stronglead]

as for my 2p I fought to get into the merchant navy, I really wanted to do it, and nearly didn't. Money is money you get paid it you get to live big deal I don't care about the money I care about the life style and If I wanted to wear gold things I would apply for my appointment as a sea cadet officer and with that comes being called sir and saluted everywhere you go merchant navy officers don't normally get this as it's more a military thing, yes merchant navy officers may wear gold (I say may because some ships you don't wear uniform) but it is to show there position within their team, so people know who you are and what you do. Cruise ships aren't the best place to be for everyone, some people may think they are the best thing since sliced bread and wouldn't work anywhere else, thats fine thats up to them everyone can make their own choices (free country after all) but from what I hear its normally a heavier work load with a bit less leave (I am sure someone who works on cruise ships can expand on this) and further to this comment look at how many people are applying, yes not all of them are aware of what happens when you start this career, I did, I did all my research. If I wasn't in this I would be RN by now. For alot of people who work at sea money doesn't come into it, they just love working at sea but it's not for everyone

Oh and as my signature to says, this is to everyone reading "Be what you want to be not what other people tell you to be"

[gadget123]

I think there is a good point here, just not particularly well made.

[steamer]

Totally agree with where you're coming from, life at sea does not marry up with the marketing material in some cases. I often take exeption to the phrase "debt free degree" getting used as a hook into cadetships because it is none of that.
On the plus side, life at sea for somebody that has a family can be very rewarding as you see each other at their best, make the most of time together and have a life outside of the relationship so that you actually have something to talk and laugh about together instead of watching soap opera's and other bad television all the time.
It can also go the other way and resentment builds up but is never discussed until you both explode and say regrettable things....so far I've had both.

Cadetships, and the career afterwards is most certainly NOT for everyone and there is never any shame in saying so either; however, for those that fit the lifestyle-roll on seatime!!

[gadget123]

There are far too many people starting cadetships based on the idea of a free degree. This annoys me hugely as they either tend to drop out after/during their first sea phase or, carry on to the end while moaning the whole time just so they can get a free degree, then leave the industry and do something else. Both of which means that they are taking up places which could be taken by people who truly want the job afterwards.

It is hard being at sea, particularly if your first ship is deep sea with poor communications systems, but if you truly want the job you'll get through it.

[Delts28]

There are far too many people starting cadetships based on the idea of a free degree. This annoys me hugely as they either tend to drop out after/during their first sea phase or, carry on to the end while moaning the whole time just so they can get a free degree, then leave the industry and do something else. Both of which means that they are taking up places which could be taken by people who truly want the job afterwards.

It is hard being at sea, particularly if your first ship is deep sea with poor communications systems, but if you truly want the job you'll get through it.

Are places on the courses really that hard fought for? I had no issue getting in and didn't think it was overly hard to get a place with a training company as long as you had decent qualifications and reasonably fit (the second part delayed my start!). I personally joined in part for the free education, I'm a uni drop out and this is a way to get an education without me going into far more debt when I have no means to fund any other type of qualification. Being phase 3 I'm still undecided about how long I'll stay at sea, certainly a few years to begin with but it was never my intention to continue this until I was an old man. With the number of cadets who dropped out of my class the past year the main reason has been immaturity, I'd look to that being a bigger issue stopping anyone getting in.

[unstad09]

Are places on the courses really that hard fought for? I had no issue getting in and didn't think it was overly hard to get a place with a training company as long as you had decent qualifications and reasonably fit.

I don't think this is the case anymore, yes it may have been when you (or me) were applying to join but it seems that competition has greatly increased and places reduced due to funding cuts. Also, it appears its no longer going to be a 'free degree' which may put off the people who are not coming into the job because they truly want to work at sea.

[tomkent45]

I think it's a given that spending time away from home is hard but who would want to travel the world and see great places on their downtime?

[gadget123]

Its not just places for cadetships its the places on ships. Some companies don't seem to have enough places on ships for all of their cadets. This means you can be sat at home desparatly waiting for a ship for 2 months while somebody else is on the ship who then quits after 2 months. This is very frustrating.

[ramfeild66]

I think you have to weigh up the pros and cons, yes you're away from your family for long periods of time (at 27 I'm not that fussed about being away from my parents, I lived in Bath for 6 years and Toronto for a year so it's only recently I had to move back), but you also get protracted periods of quality time with your partner, not as Steamer wrote just watching soaps and rubbish TV between a 9-5 job you'll probably grow to resent. I'm rather fortunate in that me and my partner do not want children (and no that's not something I'm saying as my parent's seem overtly convinced) and we've talked about the various benefits it'll allow us, I'll be able to fund her animal behaviour course so that we both get to do what we want (something we could never hope to do in our current working situation) and live abroad as were both more into our winters than the drizzly British variety.

I see working at sea as a two way thing, I want to take my qualification, assuming I get in, to sea and for me to do that happily I need to know my missus is taken care of, therefore as I want to work deep sea so I get longer terms off she'll live near her family while I'm away. She's my only concern so I appreciate that people with or wanting families are in a completely different position. But as for it being a people who only care for rank and money, that seems a gratuitously bitter sentiment attached to an otherwise worthwhile point. I've never earned more than 12,000GBP and have always been comfortable because I don't live an expensive lifestyle, I have however been interested in cartography and ships from a young age so the merchant navy seems the most fitting career I could enter, in fact since relegated my writing "career" into a hobby, I've not been interested in another occupation long-term.

[Andy_S]

I've said it before and I will say it again - it's such a shame there isn't any provision for offering any kind of "taster" trips to see if it's for you. I understand that they can't do it for H&S reasons but still it's a shame.

For me the family life thing is a big concern if I was to enter the MN. I'm not currently seeing anyone but I really want to have a family in the future and at 28 time is ticking. I fear that joining the MN might seriously effect mu chances of having bother a girlfriend and a family.

I do wonder if now that companies seem to be able to fill all their places easily that maybe it's time for training providers and suchlike to start telling the other side of the life at sea. We have all seen the posters and read the recruitment stuff that really sells the career, and there is nothing wrong with that. However the more I read and hear from people on the inside the more you start to see it's not always like some people would have you believe. Long hours, lack of contact with other people, not getting much time in ports are just some of the things it seems you have to find out for yourself whereas maybe they would be better to tell you this when you go for interviews etc. Might cut the dropout rate a bit.

I think the bottom line is it can be a great career or it can be a bad career for someone. It just seems that it can be hard to find out which it will be for you.

[ETwhat?]

The OP does raise a good point, that we work to live and as such the long stints away will drastically affect the socail life we have, even the arguement that we get months off in a block as a compinsation isnt that great, as everyone else you know will be working the standard 9-5 so unless you have something to get on with time between contracts can be very boring. However the idea that everyone only puts up with it either for the fake rank and comand of getting to wear gold on thier shoulders (fake as in it only exists while your at work) or for the money is perhaps generalising what is a very limited experience ( would the OP place his father in this?).