deck -> engineer

[barrington Find all posts View Profile Close barrington]

hey guys,

I have applied for the deck cadetship as I wasn't sure if I fancied being down in the engine room all the time, but having now looked into it further I believe Ive made a silly mistake doing that as I would now like to do engineering, but would still be happy with deck if it came to it. Would it look terrible in my interview if I sat and told them this? I had originally wanted to do deck, but did some intense research and have changed my mind? would that put my interview pretty much out the window?

cheers

[Clanky Find all posts View Profile Close Clanky]

I would suggest that you contact any companies who you have applied to ad a deck cadet and explain that while you are still happy to continue with your application as a deck cadet you would also like to be considered for any vacancies that they have as an engineer cadet.

I imagine that if you simply turned up at the interview and told them that you had changed your mind they may not be very impressed.

Good luck, hope it all works out for you. Despite what you are obviously coming to realise and as hard as it may seem to believe, there are worse things in life than gazing aimlessly out of the windows all day

[laura Find all posts View Profile Close laura]

We do not spend all day staring out the window!

Sometimes we go get a coffee.. all those buttons, it's exhausting!

Seriously though, if it's not for you, it's not for you, get in touch with the company you applied and explain, better to say earlier and do what you think suits you best...

[EH75 Find all posts View Profile Close EH75]

Yeah once you've started out would be pretty difficult to change and you only get one shot at a cadetship due to government funding so if you are going to change your mind then definitely do it before you start.

[chris Find all posts View Profile Close chris]

While youre changing your mind, what about being an eto?

[barrington Find all posts View Profile Close barrington]

While youre changing your mind, what about being an eto?

cheers Chris, throw another spanner in the works why don't you?.. haha.
thanks a lot guys, been a great help

[Bulman Find all posts View Profile Close Bulman]

I'd do your research fully, read some topics on here maybe ask some qualified and cadets what they think, don't forget to ask each type as some maybe very bias

But do tell the company in advanced they shouldn't mind!

[Lewis Find all posts View Profile Close Lewis]

On a slightly related note I was speaking to the pilot on board ship yesterday. He said rather oddly his last job was as a chief engineer. France has a dual system of certification. Unfortunately this isn't an option any more in the UK.

[saltydog Find all posts View Profile Close saltydog]

Hi there! I was in the same position as you. I applied to everyone as a Deck Cadet but changed to Engine and I got my cadetship so it is possible! Just make sure that you have a convincing and valid reason for changing, you don't want the people interviewing you to think that you are not 100% sure etc. PM me if you want

[Lewis Find all posts View Profile Close Lewis]

I'm told -although I've never seen a reliable source- that the competition for deck places is greater so you might move your application up a bit in companies list by applying for an engine place.

[Dosedmonkey Find all posts View Profile Close Dosedmonkey]

Clanky is right.

Also, if you start your cadetship as a decky, you can change to engine, but do it no later then one year in!

A good friend of mine was a deck cadet for one year, then after going to sea realised it was much better to be an engineer! So swapped over to the darkside. :P

If you need to talk to someone about being an engineer, feel free to PM me, I can pass you on my details.

[barrington Find all posts View Profile Close barrington]

salty, went to send you a pm just there and your inbox is full or something like that, too popular I guess

[Dosedmonkey Find all posts View Profile Close Dosedmonkey]

Apparently I can recieve another 83 messages, and its refusing to let me delete my old ones, so I'm guessing something is broken on the website currently. I'll PM you.

[thebrookster Find all posts View Profile Close thebrookster]

If it helps, I applied to CMT for a Deckie position, had the letter offering me interview for Deck Officer Trainee and all that. However when I turned up they thought I was applying for an Engineer position, and after a bit of discussion with the interviewer (they also told me there was more competition for deck jobs, engineers were in demand) decided to take the engineer route.

That was an administrative error on the part of CMT, though if they could do it I should think you can swing it if need be

Cheers,

Phil