Could A Career At Sea Be Perfect For You?
You probably haven’t thought about pursuing a career at sea before. It’s not a very typical career and most people think that the only real way to work on a ship at sea is to join the navy, which they don’t want to do. But in actual fact, there are all sorts of different careers available at sea and there are some great benefits.
It gives you the chance to see the world and the wages are incredibly good for most seafaring jobs. There also tends to be good progression opportunities on a ship so if you’re an ambitious person, it’s the ideal career for you because it will challenge you.
If that all sounds great and you want the chance to travel and get paid for it while building a stable career, here’s some things to consider if you want to start a career at sea.
Don’t Forget The Dangers
Before we get into the process of getting qualified, it’s important that you’re absolutely sure that this is the right career for you. A lot of people just focus on all of the positives of working at sea and don’t consider all of the dangers, and there are quite a few. If you’re working in any kind of shipping industry, there’s always the chance that you could be affected by piracy.
It’s fairly common in some areas of the world and you need to be prepared for that. There is, of course, always the chance of accidents and potentially even sinking. There is a lot of dangerous equipment and machinery on a boat as well that you could easily hurt yourself with.
If you your employer is at fault and you’re injured, you can get a maritime accident attorney and claim compensation. But sometimes, nobody is at fault and there isn’t a claim to be made. That puts you in a very difficult position if you’re unable to work because of the injury and you don’t have any money. You need to be prepared for these dangers before you pursue a career at sea.
Get The Right Credentials
You’ll need some kind of credentials if you’re going to work on a ship so that’s the first step. For most jobs, you’ll need to apply for a Transportation Workers Identification Credential.
It’s a background check that you need to take so the operators of ships can be sure that you’re not a security threat. You’re not likely to get a job at sea without it so you need to get it sorted before you start applying for jobs.
Look For Entry Level Positions
It takes a lot of training to work on a ship so you’ll have to start from the bottom and work your way up. You could consider going into the navy and training that way, or you can look at the merchant marine academy.
They have placement services and they’ll find you a job where you can train and learn everything you need to know to start your career at sea.
A career at sea can be incredibly rewarding and you’ll get the chance to see the world but it’s not for everybody so think long and hard about it before you get into it.
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