A levels?

[Surfer Girl]

Hi
I will be choosing my AS levels soon for next year and was wondering whether taking maths or physics is particularly important as I'd like a career as a deck/navigation officer? I know I'll be facing a lot of maths when dealing with navigation but since I'm not particularly fond of that or any sciences was wondering how much taking it would actually help me in my career and for getting the attention of recruiters? I'm thinking of going for the HND but would like to have a CV as good as possible. My preference would be one of the cruise companies and know most people apply to them so would like to stand out from other applicants.

So yeah, any advice on whether I should take these subjects or not would be much appreciated! Otherwise I was thinking of taking humanities based subjects which probably wouldn't improve my chances of being sponsored lol

[Ducki52]

If you aren't that fond of maths, you may want to rethink your career choice?

You will need a good understanding of maths and physics for this career, don't put yourself at a disadvantage by having a raft of mediocre humanities subjects that anyone could bluff their way through.


And don't knock the HND route either, all that matters at the end is your certificate of competency.

Other than that, welcome to the forum and don't upset Guinessman, he's our resident grumpy old man.

[Hatchorder]

I have to say a good starting point for you would be this thread....

http://www.officercadet.com/showthread.php/7107-Qualifications

Hope this helps

Ian

Oh, and Ducki is right - watch out for Grumpy!

[GuinnessMan]

Hello and welcome!

Ignore the first two, I'm a nice enough chap whereas our duty squaddy has a fetish for wearing ladies undergarments and our CV guru has a thing for people's inside leg measurements (we don't ask why)!

Anywho, to the questions! A cadetship with a cruise company is extremely competitive, therefore you will need some solid grades in Maths and Physics. Whilst the humanities courses are interesting, they actually won't help you that much. There is nothing wrong with going the HND or FD route. Many do it and many do well from it as qualifications don't count for as much as experience within this industry.

What I would ask first though, what drew you to this industry and why the cruise industry in particular?

[Surfer Girl]

Thanks guys! That's useful I guess.

Yeah so I forgot to add that it's not that I hate maths in general. In fact, if I'm using it for some relevant purpose-like for navigating a ship as part of my job that's fine. It's just the pointless classroom lessons that drag on and on about things like trigonometry that I can't stand and the endless stacks of homework. But I guess I have no choice as I'll be facing that at my 3 years college phase anyway? (assuming I get sponsored in the first place :P)

And what drew me to the maritime industry? Well, as a lot of people say here (yes, I've been stalking the forums), I can't stand the thought of a 9-5 office job sitting behind a desk. And my grandad was a sea captain. He would always tell me some stories from his long seafaring career when I was a child and I would be extremely fascinating. Plus, I've always loved sailing in general and the soothing flow of the ocean. And cruise ships? Well I've done a bit of research on different types of ships and cruise ships just seem to appeal more to me since they are apparently less male-dominated and there are more onboard activities and things arranged for crew. And yeah I know it's not all holiday lol but I think it seems like cruise ship workers do get more time at ports than cargo ship officers for instance. I don't know for sure but I take people who have posted on here's word for it :P

[PatrickW]

If your worrying about A Level maths, don't! I knew I was going to do it because I wanted to go into a cadetship, but I was not great at it in GCSE! Its very different to GCSE and it soon became my favourite subject at college and I'm pretty secure for an A in my final exams in June which I'm rather pleased about! It's hard work but so worth it and it has been of great benefit to me in my applications and given me confidence that I'll be able to deal with the maths at college next year. So I'd say take it and if you really hate it, try and get the AS Level which is a lot nicer than the A2 Level which is quite brutal at times but you get their in the end!
Maths looks good for any applications!
As people have said the cruise companies will be harder to get into so if you really want to get in then go for it with the Maths and Physics! If you really don't want to do physics you can possibly do an optional AS Unit in Maths all about Mechanics (I know that AQA does it, not sure of others) which is all physics type maths and will give you something to say on an application.
All the best!

P.S Only send the CV bloke your inside leg if you want to paddle about in a blue canoe.

[Steve]

things like trigonometry

Navigation is trigonometry, and spherical trigonometry.

[Hatchorder]

P.S Only send the CV bloke your inside leg if you want to paddle about in a blue canoe.

Ignore the first two, I'm a nice enough chap whereas our duty squaddy has a fetish for wearing ladies undergarments and our CV guru has a thing for people's inside leg measurements (we don't ask why)!

*cough*

All of these results are purely for statistical analysis and not for personal pleasure I can assure you...

As for Ducki being a crossdresser - I happen to know this is true - he borrowed my black patent leather stiletto's last month and has still not returned them... He can be such a bitch at times. You should hear what he said about that blue dress you were wearing last week Guinnessman when you went to the ladies room....

[Ducki52]

Yeah, about the stilettos... They're really more pumps now...

damn it, how do we get so off topic?!

[HarmlessWeasel]

damn it, how do we get so off topic?!

You guys have a talent for it, but then also a talent for helping so it's not so bad.

It did take me more than a month to figure out your gender though, ducki...

[chrisroberts]

I'm wondering why you are planning on doing a-levels and then only doing the HND, rather than the FD? With A-levels you will be able to get onto the FD course. IMHO the HND course tends to be for those who have come straight from school, or who have decided later on in life that they would like a career in the MN and didn't have any a-levels. I have a friend who was qualified to do the FD but our company put him on the HND and he regrets not pushing for the FD. The lecturers don't seem to like the HND lot at our college, but then I'm an engineer so might be different for deckies.
I work for a cruise company and I wasn't particularly confident with maths, having had 7 years of no maths before starting my cadetship, however if you show your willing to work hard and learn it then there shouldn't be a problem. (I don't have an a level in maths or physics, and no matter what the deckies on here say, engineering maths is a lot harder than nav maths.)
Good luck with your future career!

[Ducki52]

Chris, I think the OP was trying to say that have an FD instead of a HND on her CV would look better. What college you at chris? The HND at Warsash get treated no differently in my opinion, if anything the lecturers are slightly in our favour.

[chrisroberts]

I'm at warsash ducki, to be honest I think it's mainly because of a couple of people, who are gone now I think, that gave their group a bad name. Not that the lecturers just don't like the HND lot haha.
Ive seemingly not read her post properly haha but what I said about the maths still stands.

[Surfer Girl]

Thanks for all the great advice

And Chris, you did read right. I'm deciding to take the HND but for well thought through reasons. I've seen a few people post that they wish they'd taken the HND rather than the FD. And personally having looked at the timetables and plans for both, the HND seems more appealing somehow. Probably just a matter of personal preference. And being in a room full of maths & physics whizzes quite frankly freaks me out a little lol so I feel like the HND is more suitable for me. Thank you for the somewhat reassuring info about the maths btw :P

[Clanky]

That's less time than it took Ducki!

@OP most of the other applicants will have at least AS maths and physics so I would suggest that you stick with those, other than that there is nothing wrong with doing humanities as well.

You need to ask yourself if you think you are going to struggle with maths and physics though, as you would be better getting a good set of grades in other subjects which will give you a good back up if your application is not successful and you end up having to apply to uni's than doing maths and physics because you eant to work on cruise ships and then doing badly in them.

Good luck.