EDITED 2018 : THERE'S BEEN LOTS OF CHANGES IN REGULATION AND ALSO SOME OF THE INFO MIGHT NOT BE ACCURATE DUE TO ME WRITING THIS ARTICLE IN MY JUNIOR YEAR. I'D LIKE TO WARN EVERYONE. NEVER STUDY SEAFARER RELATED COURSES WITH LOAN/PTPTN/OWN MONEY (UNLESS YOU'RE FRICKING RICH). WITHOUT SPONSORSHIP, YOU WILL FIND IT EXTREMELY DIFFICULT TO SECURE CADETSHIP AND ALSO GETTING YOUR FIRST JOB. COUPLED WITH OIL PRICE GLUT AND COMPETITION FROM CHEAP FOREIGN LABOR, LOCAL SEAFARER FUTURE IN THE INDUSTRY SEEMS BLEAK. EVEN THE CURRENTLY AVAILABLE AND EXPERIENCED SEAFARER ARE FACING DIFFICULTY FINDING JOB. AND SOME OF MY JUNIORS HAVE BEEN JOBLESS. PROCEED WITH CAUTION!
From my first thread, this is the new version of it since the last one some facts are outdated.
I'd like to introduce myself. I’m currently a student in one of the few maritime school in Malaysia. I took diploma in marine engineering. The purpose is that i want to encourage more Malaysian into this industry. The reward is good since seafaring command one of the highest paid job for diploma holder.
thread v1 :
Begin Your Career As Seafarer V1First of all, what is seafarer?Seafarer is a person who carries various duties onboard ships. They will sail with the ship in order to transport goods that the customer want us to deliver. Divided into two department which are Deck Department and Engineering Department.
Benefits of becoming a SEAFARER1) Rewarding career. Cheapest pay is around RM7500 for fresh graduates of diploma in foreign going ship. For near coastal, it’s about RM4000
2) Experience gained make it easier for you to apply job on oil platform since you have an offshore working experience.
3) Can save a lot of money. onboard ship, no need car. no need to pay rental for accommodation. free meal(every week can eat western). no need money to go to gym. onboard ship, gym is provided. got tv, some ship have internet facilities. some got pool/snooker table.
4) Upon earning your Certificate of Competency, it is as valuable as other certificate of same level such as Steam/Boiler Engineer certificate. Why is that so? Because these kind of certificates/license is not earn by just attending few days of course. To earn this certs, seatime/working experience is needed. These certificates doesn’t only show that you are competent. It’ll show that you are COMPETENT WITH EXPERIENCE as most other certificate doesn’t provide and show how experinced you’re in that current field.
Where can I study the courses?» Click to show Spoiler - click again to hide... «
Take note when choosing which school to pursue your study. The institution must have it’s course recognize by MQA and Malaysian Marine Department(Jabatan Laut).
Right now, in Malaysia, there are few maritime school providing education and preparation for beginning you career. The one I mention below leads to Officer/Engineer title. There are various other institution that provide maritime courses. But it doesn’t lead straight to engineer.
Mariners that do not have a license are referred to as unlicensed mariners or ratings.
Thats all, now I'll proceed into the institution part. There are few places to studies to prepare oneself to become sea-going officer/engineer.
1) Akademi Laut Malaysia(ALAM)
-Diploma in Marine Engineering(DME)
-Diploma in Nautical Studies(DNS)
-Marine/Mechanical Engineering Bridging Program(MEBP)
2) Politeknik Ungku Omar
-Diploma in Marine Engineering
3)Sarawak Maritime Academy
-Diploma in Marine Engineering
-Diploma in Nautical Studies
4) UNIKL MIMET
-Diploma of Engineering Technology in Marine Engineering
5) Singapore Maritime Academy
-Diploma in Marine Engineering
-Diploma in Nautical Studies
Definition Of Marine EngineeringMarine engineers are the members of a ship's crew that operate and maintain the propulsion and other systems on board the vessel. Marine Engineering staff also deal with the "Hotel" facilities on board, notably the sewage, lighting, air conditioning and water systems. They deal with bulk fuel transfers, and require training in firefighting and first aid, as well as in dealing with the ship's boats and other nautical tasks- especially with cargo loading/discharging gear and safety systems, though the specific cargo discharge function remains the responsibility of deck officers and deck workers.
Sometimes, they are involved in the design and construction of these complicated systems. New design is mostly included within the naval architecture or ship design. The field is closely related to mechanical engineering, although the modern engineer requires knowledge (and hands on experience) with electrical, electronic, pneumatic, hydraulic, chemistry, control engineering, naval architecture, process engineering, gas turbines and even nuclear technology on certain military vessels.
Definiton of Nautical StudiesAs of Nautical Studies, you will usually work as person in charge of navigation, cargo loading & discharging, deck maintenance. And lots more.
I’m from engineering dept, so, I’ll try to update more later on.
Department & RankIf you notice from the rank chart, Chief Engineer is actually the same rank level as of captain. Just that, Captain is the commanding officer in charge of all ship activities. He is head of department for Deck. Chief Engineer on the other hand is the head of department for Engine. Their rank are on the same level so do their payment, but captain commands exceed chief engineer in some matter.

-Credit to Dukerobin-
Salary(ASIAN RATE)» Click to show Spoiler - click again to hide... «
Gas/Tanker Wages: LNG tanker/Crude Oil tanker/Clean Petroleum Product tanker
Master/Captain--- 12000 USD to 15000 USD
Chief Officer----- 8000 USD to 10000 USD
Second Officer--- 4500 USD to 6000 USD
Third Officer----- 3200 USD to 4200 USD
Junior Officer------- 600 USD to 1000 USD
Chief Engineer---- 12000 USD to 15000 USD
Second Engineer—8000 USD to 10000 USD
Third Engineer ---- 4500 USD to 6000 USD
Fourth Engineer --- 3200 USD to 4200 USD
Junior Engineer --- 600 USD to 1000 USD
Dry Ship Wages: Container/bulk carrier/RO-RO
Master/Captain--- 8000 USD to 9000 USD
Chief Officer----- 6000 USD to 7000 USD
Second Officer--- 4000 USD to 5000 USD
Third Officer----- 2800 USD to 3200 USD
Deck Cadet------- 600 USD to 1000 USD
Chief Engineer---- 8000 USD to 9000 USD
Second Engineer—6000 USD to 7000 USD
Third Engineer ---- 4000 USD to 5000 USD
Fourth Engineer --- 2800 USD to 3200 USD
Junior Engineer --- 600 USD to 1000 USD
Take note that different company different pay. This is Asian rate. In the USA, 4th engineer over there earn as high as 12000 USD per month.
So far that's it for now more update coming soon regarding this matters. updates such career progression, future prospect, type of ship, company name list etc2, will be updated soon. If you have any question regarding this career, feel free to ask

I thinks it about time for us to update the front detail , as the career is more challenging and new opportunities are available for malaysian to ventures into offshore industries. The salary is competitive nowadays with DP vessel being on demand