Nautical Studies or Marine Engineering?

[No1_Moose]

I am thinking of applying to do Nautical Studies at Plymouth University or Marine Engineering at Southampton. Has anybody here done either of these (not necessarily at Southampton or Plymouth) and could offer a little advice on them.
Nautical Studies seems like the best way to get your tickets but I think Marine Eng. is probably better respected in the outside world! I am taking Geography, History and Physics at A level and can get onto either course.

Thanks

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[Talbot]

Marine Engineering at Southampton should be well respected as it is where the Royal Navy Marine Engineers study.

The real question is what do you want to do with your degree/career etc.

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[No1_Moose]

I don't know! Play golf, work on boats/ships/aircraft play golf again, earn enough money to buy Mirabella V secondhand and a private jet. Is this helpful?/forums/images/icons/laugh.gif



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[Talbot]

Think you need to focus a bit more, but expect you already know that /forums/images/icons/smile.gif

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[boatless]

Ditto, everything he said. Just concentrate on the monohulls.

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[No1_Moose]

What do I want to do? Well, ultimatly be Master (i like that word) of some great big liner, or be C/E on something similar.

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[Talbot]

In that case your best bet is to ask a couple of the big cruise lines what the best way forward is. Marine engineering would only be appropriate if you want to be Chief engineer. You have to decide if you want to be the Chief Officer or the Chief Engineer, they are separate career paths.

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[Mirelle]

Engineering, definitely

For these reasons:

1. The business of driving ships is becoming de-skilled, whereas their engineering grows ever more complex, so there is likely to be a demand for highly skilled and expensive First World engineers for the rest of your life, but this will not be the case with deck officers.

The situation of deck officers aboard big cruise ships may seem an exception to this rule, but believe me this is not quite the job it appears to be - you have very little freedom to make your own decisions, and you can grow tired of being nice to the pax!

2. It is easy for a Marine Engineer to move ashore, should he/she wish to do so, either inside the industry as a Superintendent or across to related industries like power generation, but it is quite a bit harder for Deck Officers to do so, and the common experience, or perhaps prejudice, is that marine engineers can easily move into general management but deck officers find this hard.

3. The days when engineering meant being sweaty and dirty all day unless you were the C/E and only entered the engineroom on Sunday rounds are over. Modern engine rooms are clean, because modern engines and auxiliary equipment have seen, and are seeing, huge design changes. These are continuing and they make marine engineering interesting, whereas on the bridge the latest electronic gizmo just takes another skill out of the job.

4. Engineers don't stand watches, these days, passenger ships excepted, so you are awake during daylight and have people to talk to.


As you may gather, I'm in the business of running ships, and I've come to this conclusion over the past 30 years (I'm not an engineer)

Downside:

Everyone calls you a "plumber", and the Institute of Marine Engineers annual dinner is called the "Plumber's Ball".

In salary terms, nothing in it.

<hr width=100% size=1>Que scais-je?

 

[seaway]

Re: Engineering, definitely

I tend to agree with Mirelle that engineering is preferable to a deck application as it is easier to move ashore as a fully qualified Chief Engineer with a good deal of experience and the ability to use that knowledge. I certainly wish that I had taken a greater deal of interest in the machinery spaces.

On the other hand, becoming a deck officer is not necessarily a deskilled issue as seamanship and navigation may well come back to haunt us long after Ive gone but whilst you may be still around. Secondly it is more likely, from my experience, that deck officers may decide to move sideways into law, and good "wet lawyers" and P&I claims handlers do generally seem to come from these ranks.

I went to sea as an apprentice on deck and generally have never regretted doing so although in my current profession as a surveyor I do regret not having obtained engineering experience and also tanker experience.

This brings me on to my final comment, not all enginerooms are pristine. As a vessel ages or sometimes in instances where a machinery space is plagued with problems you may not find yourself relaxing as much as you would have desired.

Either way a hands on attitude will also move you faster up the rungs of experience and promotion than a sit back. I am 40-60 in favour of Machinery space option.

I suspect Mirelle is discussing vessels with a high degree of sophistication and outlay. I see vessels at the extreme end of the range or those having had accidents wherein the nature of the incident can be invariably placed at the feet of shore or onboard management. Both closely linked.

Good luck Moose-- Think clearly of the future whilst working on the present.

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[Mirelle]

We agree, I think

At the moment I'm responsible for the running of 7 postpanamax container ships, the oldest of which is 3, and 8 bulk carriers aged between 0 and 6, so Seaway's comment about my tending to see the shinier end of things is correct!

I do have several friends who went into maritime law and into P&! and indeed I have worked in both these sectors myself before deciding to get my hands dirty again. I should point out that the demand for "wet" lawyers has eased off a bit as there as simply fewer collisions and salvages than there used to be, but Seaway is right - this is a viable career move from the deck side.

There is one area where proper seamanship is still at a premium and that is the offshore oil support business, which can be quite fascinating. At least one British company, a former employer of mine, whom I hold in very high regard, operates a large fleet of offshore vessels and a fair sized fleet of container ships, so a career with them would offer the option.

I agree with Seaway's 40:60, on balance.

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[AJW]

Back in the dim distant depths of the late 80's I went to Plymouth and did the Marine Studies degree. (International Shipping & Navigation Management). At that time I thought they were phasing out the nautical studies or deck officer training programme as few companies were recruiting and training cadets from the UK. Things may well have changed I guess.

I wanted to do a marine related course & work in a related industry but not on ship - poor eyesight precluded that - so did the general shipping business degree but with a minor in Navigation stuff for fun. My contempories joined shipping companies, ports, went on to be lawyers etc etc. Me, I joined the car industry and did shipping related stuff for a couple of years before going into general purchasing & supply. I'm now back in a more direct shipping/logistics role as a customer & shortly move to Canada to ship fish around the world!

Point of the ramble is that you might want to also consider a bizniz orientated degree as a stepping stone to a career in the marine industry. Mebbe more chance of making pots of cash that way to pay for Mirabella V second hand? In terms of location I loved Plymouth. Lots of opportunity for boating, nice enough city and good countryside around. Peversely I did a lot of recruiting at Southampton Uni but don't know the city so well from a student perspective.

HTH, Alan

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