Sea Questions

Questions you need to ask yourself....

1. Are you single and do NOT have a significant relationship that you want to maintain?

2. Are you willing to expose yourself to hazardous materials and/or situations on a daily basis that risk life and limb?

3. Are you willing to work for less money per hour in an entry level position than you would make at a fast food restaurant (possibly even below the minimum wage)?

4. Are you willing to work in an unsecure job with more time being unemployed than being employed?

5. Are both of the following statements true? "You have never gotten motion sickness (car sick, sick in an airplane or boat)" and "You love to ride in roller coasters"

7. Are you willing to work with convicted criminals and/or card carrying mental patients some of whom are violent?

8. Do you love to work in extreme environments? (blazing sun, rain, sleet, snow, ice, extreme heat, 140F, 60C and extreme cold -40C/F)

9. Are you willing to do physical labor? (lift and manipulate object of various sizes and shapes, up to several tons.)

10. Are you willing to work around and/or on heavy and/or noisy machinery?

11. Is the following statement true? "You don't mind being cooped up in a limited space for long periods of time and don't get home sick."

The score...

If you answered NO/FALSE to three or more of the above questions, you are probably not sea going material, and should choose another career path because if you go to sea you may ruin your life or just have a bad experience no matter how appealing the sea sounds.

If you answered NO/FALSE to one or two of the above questions see the explanations below the buttons, and should strongly consider whether or not you want to go to sea.

If you answered YES/TRUE to all of the above questions, you may enjoy the sea going experience and may press the proceed button. (you may want to read the analysis below to see the reasoning behind the questions as well)

Detailed Analyses of the Questions....

1. Are you single and do NOT have a significant relationship that you want to maintain?

Being away from a loved one for an extended period of time (some times up to a better part of a year) puts a terrible strain on a relationship. Most (90+ %) that have been married have been divorced at least once if not many times. Also being away from a loved one for so long one or both individuals cheat on each other. It is definitely NOT a good idea to be tied down while going to sea.

2. Are you willing to expose yourself to hazardous materials and/or situations on a daily basis that risk life and limb?

All ships carry hazardous materials, either as chemicals, paints, cleaning agents used in various spaces of the ship, or in the case of bulk carriers or tankers then you carry these materials in the thousands of tons. These chemicals can be benign to deadly, where a single sniff or spill on your body can maim or kill you. Also you are exposed to potentially deadly situations on a daily bases as well. Such as cargo being lifted by a crane can fall and kill, being washed overboard by storm seas, electrocuted by the ship's power supply, falling through dilapidated decks/ladders, etc.

3. Are you willing to work for less money per hour in an entry level position than you would make at a fast food restaurant (even below the minimum wage)?

The entry pay in the U.S. Merchant Marine is pathetic. For the amount of sacrifices one has to make and the dangers that one is exposed to, and the value of the equipment one is responsible for the pay is nearly negligible. An ordinary seaman or wiper can expect to make as low as $4.35 an hour (as recently as 2001 - less than the minimum wage established by Uncle Sam on government contracted vessels), because meals, room and board are included where you fall under the same category of domestic servants and migrant farm workers to be paid so low. A third mate or third engineer can expect to make as little as 70 to 75 dollars a day in base pay, but that is after obtaining either a four year college degree, or working in the unlicensed capacities for several years.

The wages have steadily declined over the years where it peaked in the 1970's where the pay was double in 1970's dollars and after taking into account inflation actual pay is less than a quarter of what it used to be. With the continuous decline in the number of ships, and the number of employment billets on them, there is a glut of people trying to work, and the supply of people willing to work is much greater than the demand, so the wages are correspondingly low. (unless the US is engaged in an extended conflict, then the reverse is true and the wages temporarily increase)

Going to sea is no longer a way to get rich but barely earning enough to pay the bills for a modest style of living. You must love the sea in order to make a career out of in the 90's.

2003 UPDATE: In the last two years wages have improved, the US Government lost a court case, so the wages have improved somewhat on a lot of MSC/MARAD contracts which is the lion's share of US Shipping as more and more US Carriers are now foreign flags of convenience.

4. Are you willing to work in an unsecure job with more time being unemployed than being employed?

Since the merchant marine is steadily shrinking due to government apathy, taxation, rules and regulations, as well as foreign competition which is willing to work for a couple hundred a month and eat fish heads and rice and have less burdensome tax structures. Also each year the U.S. deep sea fleet is declining rapidly (10 to 30 ships a year), and with only a handful of new ships being added in the next few years (4 to 5 ships a year). Current US deep sea fleet numbers less than 300 ships (of the 10,000+ ships world wide mostly registered in third world countries), the jobs are getting fewer and far between. In order to obtain a permanent job you have to be either a blood relative, or have seniority of at least 10 years, otherwise mostly temporary jobs are available. Even if you do obtain a permanent job, there is a high chance of loosing it though loss of contract, sold to foreign flags, or simply scrapped (I have been the victim of all three many times over).

In addition the Jones Act (US cabotage law) in which goods carried from one US port to another must be on US flag carriers is under attack from farming interest (so a few big farmers can pocket the savings in wages and not in the grocery stores like they would like to tell you) This act may fall in the near future, eliminating at least 1/2 of remaining US flag ships, at this point in time it looks like a fairly good chance of this happening. If the Jones Act is repealed, most likely I will have to look for work overseas, even though I consider myself a patriot and would prefer to remain loyal to US shipping. Also related treaties NAFTA and GATT have already adversely affected employment in shipping as well as the trucking industries.

Unless there is a sustained war like WWII, Korea, or Vietnam, the future for US flag shipping is very bleak, jobs are disappearing at a rate much more rapidly than they are appearing, this is the primary reason why I highly advise against choosing a career at sea. (from the prior web page)

5. Are both of the following statements true? "You have never gotten motion sickness (car sick, sick in an airplane or boat)" and "You love to ride in roller coasters"

If you get motion sickness all the time don't even bother coming to sea. I have seen a couple ordinaries and wipers turn green in the face from the slightest motion, they lasted from a few days to two weeks (usually the next port of call), and that was the end of their career (after spending several thousand dollars in training, initiation fees, etc.). If you occasionally get motion sick, you will probably get sick during rough weather, and most people who get motion sick occasionally usually change careers within a year, however, there are a few individuals who are a glutton for punishment, and will stick it out no matter how miserable they are.

On most ships encountering large seas means you will be experiencing something akin to a never-ending roller coaster ride. The ship will roll (sometimes as much as 40 degrees from horizontal), pitch, heave, yaw, and pound (where the ship comes out of the water and slams back into the sea exerting tremendous forces on the ship as capable of knocking you down on your butt). All of these forces usually make sleep very difficult if not impossible, anything that is not tied down will be thrown about and can be damaged or broken (from mugs to chairs to trucks). If you hate roller coaster rides, then you will hate this as well much more so than the average person who goes to sea.

7. Are you willing to work with convicted criminals and/or card carrying mental patients some of whom are violent?

Due to the poor pay and refugees of a bygone era (prior to random drug testing and screening imposed by the USCG in the 80's) some of the less desirable elements of society work on ships, as it is one of the few places that will hire ex-cons. If they get drunk or under the influence of drugs they sometimes can get violent which can range from a simple fist fight to murder. Although I have not been a victim of these individuals, I know too many individuals who have been knifed and beaten by these individuals. Also if this individual is in authority over you, you sea going experience will most likely be quite miserable. You must learn to treat these individuals with kid gloves, otherwise there may be trouble in your future.

8. Do you love to work in extreme environments? (blazing sun, rain, sleet, snow, ice, extreme heat, 140F, 60C and extreme cold -40C/F)

A ship is like the postman, work no matter what the weather. ....and on a ship, a typical work day is 10 to 18 hours in these kinds of conditions leading to exhaustion and early aging of exposed areas of the body. If you are in the engine department you are exposed less to the elements outside, but work in the extreme heat of the engine room, of which some areas can be as hotter than the boiling point of water, and when in the tropics, the coolest part of the engine room can be as cool as 140F.

9. Are you willing to do physical labor? (lift and manipulate object of various sizes and shapes, up to several tons.)

You will be required to lift parts to make repairs which can weigh from a few ounces (grams) to several tons. In addition the ship takes stores frequently (food, laundry, mail, etc.) most of the crew will be required to carry it to the ice boxes, and a case of chicken can weigh as much as 80 lbs (35 kg). Also most repairs and maintenance require quite a bit of physical labor. The only positions that don't require much physical labor are the Radio Operators (being phased out by 02 FEB 99) and the Master (Captain).

10. Are you willing to work around and/or on heavy and/or noisy machinery?

The ship itself is one huge piece of machinery, most engine rooms and many cargo areas require hearing protection. Some ships have cargo handling cranes capable of lifting trucks and tanks and larger objects, or have pumps capable of filling an Olympic size swimming pool in a matter of a few minutes, and the anchor windlass capable of lifting hundreds of tons of chain and anchor. You will be required to operate, repair and/or work around such high powered machinery should you choose to go to sea.

11. Is the following statement true? "You don't mind being cooped up in a limited space for long periods of time and don't get home sick."

Being on a ship while at sea from a few hours (on a coastwise run) to several months (on a spy ship doing offshore surveillance of a country and/or an area). Most of the time you have your own room, but you can share you room with up to 3 other people (4 to a room not much bigger than a walk-in closet), and on a smaller ship you can feel claustrophobic in many areas.

If you were ever away from home and were continually homesick (if you experienced only occasional home sickness that's a different story) you will most likely be miserable at sea, and should not choose the sea as a career.

In summary if you love the outdoors, travel, don't mind bad weather, being away from home for extended periods of time, don't care who you work for or what you make, or how dangerous, dirty, exhausted, sore, etc. then going to sea is for you, otherwise it isn't.

Should you have any questions or comments, feel free to drop me a note at my e-mail address.

I hope that you have found these questions thought provoking and helpful as a useful service in assisting you to decide whether or not going to sea is for you.

I also apologize, if this page seems so negative, I have merely highlighted most of the negative aspects of going to sea, to see the positive aspects, press the "proceed" button, otherwise hit the "Go Back" button.