Have I Chosen The Wrong Path?

[Unregistered]

Hi, for months i've been dreaming about the deck officer cadetship..

I've been to a few interviews and been accepted to dream companies of mine..

Now I have the opportunity to pursue my dream I'm now thinking is it for me? Maybe I should try the UKSA cadetship as I believe I will go to the super yachts anyway... Would it be better to do deck officer cadetship on container ships etc or super yachts?

I'm thinking that on container ships etc would give me better experience aswell and aswell once finished the 3 years I could just nearly go straight to super yachts anyway with a bit more qualifications (maybe 2 months worth).

Aswell as this my cadetship starts in January if I accept but I have to be 18 for the UKSA cadetship so that will be next september..
And that's depending if I even get accepted..

I really don't want to be doing the deck officer cadetship and then thinking throughout 'I could be doing something else'..

Someone please give some helpful advice I think i'm full of nerves about maybe wasting a part of my life away and I'm so indecisive to add! The nerves and thoughts have only come since i've had the forms to sign if wish to do the cadetship..

Thanks

[EH75]

Having just looked at the UKSA website it would appear that qualification only gives you a OOW 3000gt license as opposed to the OOW unlimited you will get from a normal cadetship. For that reason alone I would do the normal cadetship. I suspect it will be a lot easier to move from doing a normal cadetship to superyachts than the other way around (although you might need a bit more than 2 months extra experience). A lot of the yacht jobs I have seen advertised recently require an OOW unlimited anyway so not sure why their cadetship is only qualifying people up to 3000gt.

Then there is the fact that you have already been accepted for a cadetship and to pull out of that in the hope that you get offered the UKSA one seems very risky.

What are the reasons you want to work on superyachts anyway? Loads of different things you can do in this industry. Try not to get too fixated on one part of it before you have even started.

[Unregistered]

Thanks for the reply.

I think it is because I know many people in the super yacht industry and it seems perfect.. And I know no one in the merchant navy..

Could you go in a bit more detail regarding the qualifications you mentioned?

Cheers.

[EH75]

Basically the officer of the watch (OOW) unlimited allows you to take a watch on any ship of any size in the world (hence the unlimited). This is what a normal cadetship gets you and will mean that when you are qualified there are no restrictions on the ships you can work on. From wee superyachts to massive container ships you will be qualified for all of them.

The officer of the watch (OOW) 3000gt which is what the UKSA cadetship apparently gets you will only allow you to work on vessels up to 3000gt (gross tons). This obviously restricts quite heavily the type of vessels you can work on. This could result in a bit of frustration for you in the future if you actually decided you didn't like superyachts or just fancied trying something else.

I really can't see any benefits of the UKSA cadetship over the normal one apart from the fact it is an easier way to break into the superyacht industry. However apparently you need to go through a two day selection process to even get offered the UKSA cadetship so that might be quite difficult in itself as I suspect it might be quite competitive.

There are a couple of guys on here who work on superyachts who might be able to offer more advice on the practicalities of moving from other sectors of the merchant navy into superyachts but its certainly something that people do. As superyachts get bigger and bigger I believe they are increasingly employing officers from the wider MN because they are more experienced in dealing with larger vessels and the regulations that come with them

[EH75]

Also just saw that you have to pay for the UKSA cadetship by the look of things? Says it costs ?2,619 for the selection process? And it looks like you only get paid when you are at sea, although they do pay your accommodation and food at college. Appears Trinity House offer a bursary but I guess not everyone gets that and I don't know if it covers everything? Maybe someone else knows more about the set up than me, I've just skim read the web site but on the face of it doesn't seem great.

[Unregistered]

Sorry for such questions..

Would it be hard to go from oow 3000gt to unlimited?
I noticed on the uksa website they say mca oow? Is that the same for all oow?
So realistically it's pointless doing uksa cadetship unless you definitely don't want to go on vessels other than super yachts?

Thanks for your help, my mind is everywhere at the moment regarding cadetships..

[Unregistered]

I think you pay your way through the course but you get guaranteed pay whilst working for two years... Trinity house only funds cadets who are having trouble with financial issues..I think. So it still is you are getting paid but not from uksa... Confusing

[EH75]

Would it be hard to go from oow 3000gt to unlimited?

Not sure. I'm guessing you would at least have to sit an oral exam with the MCA and possibly other stuff such as college time or more sea time on vessels of a certain size but that's really just a guess. You might be able to find out on the MCA website or someone else on here will probably know.

I noticed on the uksa website they say mca oow? Is that the same for all oow?

MCA OOW just stands for Maritime and Coastguard Agency Officer of the Watch. Basically just means a UK issued certificate of competency. And yeah the Maritime and Coastguard Agency are the body responsible for issuing certificates of competency in the UK so they do all the OOW COCs if that is what you meant?

So realistically it's pointless doing uksa cadetship unless you definitely don't want to go on vessels other than super yachts?

From what I have read on it tonight (first time I have really looked into the UKSA cadetship), yes. I would stick with the offer you have.

[Martyboy]

http://www.warsashsuperyachtacademy....ited-flyer.pdf would recommend you read this.

[Unregistered]

Thanks a hell of a lot, really helped me out and gave me everything I needed to know, going to go for it for the January - just last minute nerves.. Thanks again!

[EH75]

No problem!