curtcrispin1
17.06.2021 14:05:22
Any time you can become known to people in the industry – from deckhands and stewardesses to captains and billionaires – you should take the opportunity to do so.
See full version: Get A Job On A Yacht With No Experience
Any time you can become known to people in the industry – from deckhands and stewardesses to captains and billionaires – you should take the opportunity to do so.
We’d love to tell you that opportunities are blind to gender – they are supposed to be, after all – but in reality females are far more likely to be hired as stewardesses, and males as deckhands.
Show yourself to be a high-quality provider of confident service and respect, and you’ll gain in value aboard the yacht. more
If you take on a new piece of information even once each day, this will cumulate into a wide and deep knowledge of your duties, the industry, the yacht you’re on, and the people you’re there to look after.
Likewise, by displaying your knowledge of safe behavior, you give your potential employer less to worry about. You give off the air of being a dependable crewmember. more
It goes without saying that you won’t get a job as a yacht captain if you’ve never worked on a yacht. You’ll need to set your sights a little lower at first, even if a captaincy is your eventual goal.
According to Dockwalk’s annual Crew Salary Survey in September 2013, steward/esses are making a wide variety of salaries these days, and the amount of experience and training they have makes a difference. Of course, the size of the yachts will also be a factor. Compensation for chief stews runs anywhere from $3,450 to $5,650 a month on smaller yachts (80 to 140 feet) to $5,200 to $8,000 a month on yachts over 140 feet. It is very common now to see $65K and $70K salaries, or even $90K+ on the much larger vessels. Salaries for entry-level yacht stewardesses start out between $30K–$43K a year, or $2,500–$3,600 a month. here
Qualifications—This is an entry-level position; while previous yachting experience is not required, it does bring added salary benefits. STCW BST certification is now mandatory for obtaining even entry-level work on a megayacht. It is also recommended that you obtain an ENG1 Seafarer Medical Certificate, or its equivalent. Table service, bartending, and cocktail-service experience or equivalent qualification are crucial to landing a job—training and certification recommendations for these can be found in Chapter 7 of The Insiders’ Guide to Becoming a Yacht Stewardess. While the new PYA Interior-Crew G.U.E.S.T certification is not mandatory (as of July 2013), it is wise to follow the courses outlined and seek out equivalent introductory interior-crew training classes, if not sign up for the full PYA G.U.E.S.T introduction modules. more
The first thing people always say after I give them the above salary figures: “Gee, is that all? I thought you said it paid well?” And someone will always add, “Oh, well I can get paid that same amount to take an entry-level office job.” [links]
So if you’re interested in a yachting career in another department outside of a superyacht’s interior, consider picking up a copy of my book to learn more. (The “how to get started” information in Part II of the book really does pertain to most any entry-level position.)
Most all positions on luxury yachts require you to live aboard and travel with the vessel, and therefore, your room and board are completely covered. It is customary and expected that everything you need on a daily basis is provided by the yacht owner—your meals, your uniforms, laundry detergent, linens, and on most boats, even your personal hygiene products, such as soap and toothpaste. Meanwhile, your earnings automatically go into your bank account.
Your task is to show a prospective employer what you can offer, not what you lack. Thus, ditching a regular résumé dedicated to career history in favor of a functional résumé that focuses on abilities may be helpful. more
• Researching a company before an interview.
David Couper, a career coach and author of "Outsiders on the Inside: How to Create a Winning Career . Even When You Don't Fit In," suggests looking at how your past field and your desired one might be comparable. "Processing insurance claims is similar to processing medical claims. If you wanted to move into health care from financial services, it would be reasonable to make this comparison."
Look outside the workplace
Working on a ship, I found, is not at all like being in the navy. Ours was more of a boss-worker than an officer-enlisted man relationship. There were no "orders", "regulations", rank, uniforms or inspections. In warm weather most of the crew — including the captain — went without shirts and wore either shorts or cutoffs. There was practically no tension between officers and crew . . . in fact, we rarely saw the officers during working hours. After work, the seamen and officers treated each other as good friends. [links]
The work on deck is sometimes dirty (cleaning up oil or greasing cables), sometimes heavy (putting away hardware that secures the deck cargo) and most of the time menial (scraping rust and painting). But there are consolations. For one thing, you're out in the sun and clean sea air working more or less on your own and, for another, you're doing something different every day. here
Working in the pantry is terrible. At 6:00 a.m. you start cleaning the bathrooms and scrubbing passageways outside the crew's cabins. You also set the tables, bring the food from the galley (which is far away), serve, clear the tables and wash the dishes for all meals and coffee breaks . . . for about 16 people. There's a thousand little hassles and a lot of running involved because the crew wants their meals on time but the cook won't fix chow until the last minute because he doesn't want it served cold. The day isn't finished until after 7:00 p.m. and it's a seven-days-a-week grind. Even with an hour or two free every afternoon, this is a hard job. more
Life aboard the freighter was good but the routine did get a little boring. We spent our evenings playing cards, reading, writing letters (all postage was paid by the ship) or just sitting in the messroom talking. A movie was shown twice a week while we were at sea. Some of the films were good, most were bad and a few weren't even in English. The chief steward opened the ship's stores twice a week also and we bought things like soap and candy against our pay. Everything was duty free and some of these items were really inexpensive (a carton of cigarettes cost $1.75). [links]
Nobody on our freighter even mentioned those supposedly famous initiation ceremonies held for people crossing the equator the first time. I don't think that ritual is observed on many other cargo ships either. It doesn't seem to fit the peaceful live-and-let-live atmosphere of a working vessel.
Don't waste your time with United States vessels when going from ship to ship unless you're already in the American union (in which case, you probably wouldn't be using this method of locating a job anyway). If you're not a union member, don't bother trying to join; they'll just put you on a waiting list. I was about No. 200 when I first applied and, one year later, they had taken only ten people into the union. Now that the war in Asia is winding down, there are a lot of unemployed sailors — and too many union members. So concentrate on foreign vessels.
Note: Candidates who are of interest to a cruise line typically will have their applications processed within 30-90 days and be invited for an interview shortly thereafter. Your interview invite will often arrive via email. Be sure that your email is in good working order and that you also check your spam and trash filters and folders regularly. If you have not heard from a cruise line or associated partner within 30-90 days from the date of your application, it may be time to implement the 3 R’s: re-strategize, re-format (your documents), and re-apply. here
You’re onboard! Are you having fun yet?
Before you go:
Additionally, many of the major cruise brands also have their own YouTube Channels. Be sure to check these out regarding branding, mission statements, cruise itinerary options, etc. [links]