Deck Officer

[Waltho13]

Can anyone tell me as to why someone may want to become a deck officer over an engineer officer ?

[hotnspicy]

Scared of hard work most likely

[YoungMariner]

I'd say in 90% of the cases Deck and Engine Officers make the right choice for their discipline, in that they are happy and have a personality which suits the job they are doing. How to make the decision? Look into the job descriptions, read some blogs, and try to understand which you'd prefer. Both jobs have pros and cons. Both can involve hard work, long hours, and physical work in dangerous conditions (depending on ship type), but both can offer great rewards, challenges and satisfaction.

[Hatchorder]

Scared of hard work most likely

I think you will find it is because we get paid to look out of the windows, whereas you have to break a sweat and get dirty. Euch!

Personally, I think it is more to do with the make up of your brain. Some people are more hands on and have an engineering "bent", took toy trains and radios apart to see how they worked, others don't and are perhaps more drawn to the mathematics and technology. I do not mean there is no Maths or tech in the engine room. It is just one department works more with their hands and the other more with their brains. That is not a slur on either department by the way!

Ian

[pignutpilot]

Deck Officer - For people who prefer driving over fixing.
Engineer Officer - For people who prefer fixing over driving.

[YoungMariner]

Wish I did some driving at the moment, PSSC surveys, paperwork, and managing/planning seem to pretty much all I'm doing.

[pignutpilot]

Wish I did some driving at the moment, PSSC surveys, paperwork, and managing/planning seem to pretty much all I'm doing.

There is definitely scope for creating a new rank on board ships, called "Bureaucracy Officer".

They can be the one that gets on with all the paperwork, and leave the rest of us more time to stare out of windows.

[Lewis]

There is definitely scope for creating a new rank on board ships, called "Bureaucracy Officer".

They can be the one that gets on with all the paperwork, and leave the rest of us more time to stare out of windows.

I thought that's what chief mates were for.

[HarmlessWeasel]

For me it's because I enjoy the seamanship side of sailing (i.e. driving). Although I have always been a hands on person and spent hours taking clocks apart with my dad when I was younger to see how they work, so I could see myself as an engineer as well. For now I'd rather be hands on in that I drive the ship and get to look out the window

Your profile says Aspiring Deck Cadet, so why do you want to be a deckie instead of engineer?

[Lewis]

Waltho our answers wont necessarily be right for you. What's your story? What grades do you have? What interestes you in going to sea? What do you think deckies and engineers do?

[Waltho13]

Thanks for everyones input i just wondered if there were a few straight forward points about the advantages of being on deck, but i can see that it is a personal answer required and everyones will be different.

[gadget123]

Thanks for everyones input i just wondered if there were a few straight forward points about the advantages of being on deck, but i can see that it is a personal answer required and everyones will be different.

Are you asking because you want to be able to answer the question in an interview? If so I think that it is actually a very hard question, and the answer for most people comes down to a sort of gut feeling about what you think you'll enjoy and what you feel you are good, which is actually quite hard to explain in any detail.

[Waltho13]

yes exactly, i will make an answer suited to me but just wondered if there were some general points that would be worth mentioning.

[gadget123]

yes exactly, i will make an answer suited to me but just wondered if there were some general points that would be worth mentioning.

I think you need to think about what drew you to a career at sea in the first place. For me it was navigation, and seamanship stuff so it was deck for me. Where as for a lot of the engine guys I know it was an interest in mechanics which attracted them.

So maybe read a few blogs and do a bit of research it will give you a bit more of an idea of the details of what is involved in the job and what attracts you to it.