Career change offer

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OCGuy

Lifer
Jul 12, 2000
27,224
37
91
You know TH, I don't want to say that zinfamous is 100% on target, but when it is the 400th time you tell your buddies that you don't have a thing for a certain chick, even the slow friends in the crowd are going to put it together.
 
Texashiker

Texashiker

Lifer
Dec 18, 2010
18,811
198
106
RaistlinZ

RaistlinZ

Diamond Member
Oct 15, 2001
7,470
9
91
What kind of hours are you putting in during those 7 days? I'd also ask bout the job security and why turnover is so high. This sounds more like a job for a young man with no family responsibilities.
 
M

mizzou

Diamond Member
Jan 2, 2008
9,734
54
91
depends. if its just a money issue, see how stable it is. dock jobs arent the most stable careers out there.

if family is cool without you for seven day stretches.....go for it
 
n7

n7

Elite Member
Jan 4, 2004
21,281
4
81
I'd go for it, assuming safety is handled correctly and people are not getting injured on the job all the time.

If it's a suicide job, not likely going to be worth it.

But 9 years and going stir-crazy at a desk? Why not get out there and do some work.
Can be very satisfying!
 
Markbnj

Markbnj

Elite Member <br>Moderator Emeritus
Moderator
Sep 16, 2005
15,682
14
81
www.markbetz.net
Texashiker said:
Stay on the boat and on call 24 hours.
Click to expand...

You'll usually only be in port long enough to unload/load, and that's an all hands thing that happens whenever you get there, typically. Underway we stood watches 4 on/4 off, which blows because you never really get more than 2.5 or 3 hours of sleep. They may run a different watch schedule down south.

You might as well try it for a bit if you're really looking for that dramatic a change. I'm not trying to rain on the parade but you need to know it gets old really fast. There's not much in my life I looked forward to quite as much as the end of each 20-day stint. The boat is loud, it smells of diesel, everything gets greasy, the days are long and you don't get much sleep. What you do get is interrupted. In the summer our boat was hot as an oven. The crew berth was right next to the stack and the little a/c unit would just about keep it tolerable running full blast, and this was in Maryland, not Texas.

You don't usually have time to go anywhere or do anything off the boat, because time is money and turn-arounds are fast. You're going to get hurt, and you're going to rub your hands raw on half a mile of hawser every time you make up and tear down. They might have an autocoiler but we had to flake ours by hand. As the new guy you'll do dishes and a lot of cleaning, chipping, scraping, and painting. There are some tight spots in the bilge of a barge, so if you're claustrophobic bear that in mind. If they don't have a full-time cook you'll be doing that too, most likely.

So if you read that and you still feel like doing it, then you should do it :).
 
Texashiker

Texashiker

Lifer
Dec 18, 2010
18,811
198
106
Markbnj said:
So if you read that and you still feel like doing it, then you should do it :).
Click to expand...

It is not that I want to work on a tugboat, the opportunity is there, the money and benefits are right and I am tired of working in this office.

I live in a rural area where there are not a lot of economic opportunities.

There are some other places I would try to get on, but they are like a 1 hour drive each way. The gas bill from that kind of drive is going to eat into my wages.
 
Markbnj

Markbnj

Elite Member <br>Moderator Emeritus
Moderator
Sep 16, 2005
15,682
14
81
www.markbetz.net
Texashiker said:
It is not that I want to work on a tugboat, the opportunity is there, the money and benefits are right and I am tired of working in this office.

I live in a rural area where there are not a lot of economic opportunities.

There are some other places I would try to get on, but they are like a 1 hour drive each way. The gas bill from that kind of drive is going to eat into my wages.
Click to expand...

That's a better reason than I had. Just figured you should have the whole picture. It's one of those jobs that is almost unavoidably romanticized, and there's nothing romantic about it :).
 
Markbnj

Markbnj

Elite Member <br>Moderator Emeritus
Moderator
Sep 16, 2005
15,682
14
81
www.markbetz.net
Texashiker said:
Sounds like dirty hard work.
Click to expand...

Yeah, and long periods of boredom to go with it. But you get to work outside, and you get to watch the world slipping by a half-mile away, and you'll eat really well and hopefully enjoy some camaraderie with the crew. It's got its rewards. Sounds like you're just viewing it as a job, which is the right way to look at it. As an outdoor manual labor job there are worse ways to go.
 
Texashiker

Texashiker

Lifer
Dec 18, 2010
18,811
198
106
Filled out the paperwork last night. Have to send it into the coast guard for a background check, which could take a couple of weeks.
 
Newell Steamer

Newell Steamer

Diamond Member
Jan 27, 2014
6,894
8
0
Inland Tugboat: It's when a pathetic impotent closet case is placed on his hands and knees between two big gay black guys, who put him on the spit roast, and then push and pull him back and forth.

Completely inappropriate for OT for multiple reasons. -Admin DrPizza
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Markbnj

Markbnj

Elite Member <br>Moderator Emeritus
Moderator
Sep 16, 2005
15,682
14
81
www.markbetz.net
Texashiker said:
Filled out the paperwork last night. Have to send it into the coast guard for a background check, which could take a couple of weeks.
Click to expand...

Cool, well good luck with it man. I'll be interested to hear about your experiences. Mine are getting close to thirty years old at this point, so much will no doubt have changed. Much else probably won't have :). The main thing is if you have a good skipper and get along with the crew, and since you have a friend aboard you're a leg up.
 
Texashiker

Texashiker

Lifer
Dec 18, 2010
18,811
198
106
Update

It took me two months to get my transportation worker identification credential, and another week to get all my paperwork right with the coast guard. Last week I got my Merchant Mariner Credential in the mail.

Going this morning to apply for a job. Driving 2 hours one way to put in an application. I called the office, they only take walk in applications.
 
dank69

dank69

Lifer
Oct 6, 2009
37,049
32,362
136
Texashiker said:
Update

It took me two months to get my transportation worker identification credential, and another week to get all my paperwork right with the coast guard. Last week I got my Merchant Mariner Credential in the mail.

Going this morning to apply for a job. Driving 2 hours one way to put in an application. I called the office, they only take walk in applications.
Click to expand...

If they ask you to do naked jumping jacks it might be a scam.
 
z1ggy

z1ggy

Lifer
May 17, 2008
10,010
66
91
Hopefully he gets hired. It'll cut down on all the ridiculous P&N threads.
 
S

smackababy

Lifer
Oct 30, 2008
27,024
79
86
z1ggy said:
Hopefully he gets hired. It'll cut down on all the ridiculous P&N threads.
Click to expand...

Doubtful. I believe it is a 7 on / 7 off schedule. So, we will "miss" him for a week, then he will have an entire week to make up for it!
 
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