Hello!

[desdons]

Hi everyone,

My name is Derek and I am 32 years old. I was told last month I was to be made redundant after working my way up at Direct Line in the Learning & Development team. As soon as I heard I immediately thought about going to sea as my next career move. I am originally from the Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebridies of Scotland so many of my friends went to sea after school and are doing really well for themselves. My dad was also in the Merchant Navy for 17 years working in the catering industry. I was brought up in a very rural area of Lewis right next to the coast and have made many sailings on The Minch!

I'm not sure whether my age is going to be a factor now however last week I applied to do be a deck cadet with approximately 9 different companies with a view of doing a Diploma in Marine Operations ideally at Glasgow (however willing to reloacte if an offer was made to go elsewhere) for the Jan 2014 intake. I think I've 'missed the boat' for the September intake so hence the reason I am looking now at January 2014.

Thanks.

[CharlieDelta]

Hi Derek and welcome!

As I'm sure many will agree, age really isn't an issue any more and I personally know many cadets over 30, even over 40.

Apply to as man companies as possible to increase your chances and do your research on here to make sure that a) the job is definitely for you and b) you know what you're letting yourself in for!

Thanks for joining and I hope you find the forums useful!

Chris

[desdons]

Thanks CharlieDelta,

I have applied to the following companies: RFA, Maersk, Viking, SSTG, Clyde Marine, Carnival UK, Trinity House, BP & Shell

Can you (or anyone else reading) suggest any other obvious one that I may have missed?

Thanks.

[size4riggerboots]

Bibby?

[CharlieDelta]

Have a look through the company profiles at http://www.officercadet.com/content....mpany-profiles - they need a bit of updating which is on my to-do list for this week!

[desdons]

Thanks - I looked at Bibby but their website advises "Our next intake is January 2014, we will update our website with details of when we will be accepting applications for this intake in due course"

I will wait a month or so before applying for the Jan 2014 intake as I think a lot of the companies are now busy with the September 2014 intake.

Cheers.

[noworries182]

Hi Derek and welcome!

When I did my cadetship, there was only 12 people on the course and one was 52, he was sponsored by SSTG, unfortunately he didn't finish the course but was due to his wife's business collapsing and him having to go back to his original line of work. Another lad was 36 and he was sponsored by Clyde I believe. Age is not a problem, in fact i believe that some companies prefer it due to the high rate of younger people who come straight from school thinking its all a big adventure and then get a shock when they find themselves on a cruise ship cleaning out the chain locker and not partying and quit the course! out of the 12 people on my course only 3 passed their final (oral) exam and only one works at sea. . . . . me!

As for sponsorship, i always say stick to the major companies. two of my friends were sponsored by Bibby and they got paid off at the end of the cadetship, one never found a job and went into a different line of work and one pulled pints for a year before he ended up getting a job in a shipping office and also never got to go to sea again. but i do believe them 2 could of got jobs with a bit more effort. as you know better than me, job security is what you want these days and the bigger the company the bigger the fleet, the more people they need. lots of people will disagree with this theory but its worked for me.

Good luck Derek! everyone on here are always willing to give friendly advice there are no stupid questions!

[Lewisscott22]

... out of the 12 people on my course only 3 passed their final (oral) exam and only one works at sea. . . . . me!

I take it the remaining eventually passed?

[noworries182]

Hi lewis,

12 of us started the Uni course. 10 quit and 1 got ill and dropped back a year (he passed first time the year after). only 3 of of us sat the oral exam. 2 passed first time and one just couldn't handle it and failed twice and then gave up, it wasn't because the oral was hard more that he hated one-on-one situations like that. On his first attempt the first question was on Rule.19 and he answered wrong and the examiner said that as much as he would like to forget what he just said and give him another go he couldn't and had to fail him. To be honest though as you know there's a particular type of person who does this job and on the first day you could tell that most of the people in that room were not cut out or were not going to enjoy it out at sea.

p.s. I just done your survey =]

[Lewisscott22]

Hi lewis,

12 of us started the Uni course. 10 quit and 1 got ill and dropped back a year (he passed first time the year after). only 3 of of us sat the oral exam. 2 passed first time and one just couldn't handle it and failed twice and then gave up, it wasn't because the oral was hard more that he hated one-on-one situations like that. On his first attempt the first question was on Rule.19 and he answered wrong and the examiner said that as much as he would like to forget what he just said and give him another go he couldn't and had to fail him. To be honest though as you know there's a particular type of person who does this job and on the first day you could tell that most of the people in that room were not cut out or were not going to enjoy it out at sea.

p.s. I just done your survey =]

10 quit! Ouch.

That is such a shame for the individual who got so far and just gave up after two attempts. I just cannot get my head around why he would give up - all that work goes to waste. I think I would end up taking a break if I got near the double figures for failing, but not quit. I had better get back to learning the rules!

Yes I agree, we have a group of 17 - originally 19. I can see a couple that won't make it - they just don't care enough.

Thank you very much! If you know anyone else who could do it please ask them - I just need a few more.