i see, thanks anyway, your replies are very helpful

the next intake is still far away, plenty of time to do more research abt this career.

yes please do the research .. this career will totally change u to become a different person in so many ways.
goodluck ..
im only answering base on my knowledge and experienced

thanks, this thread is enormously helpful, would not know a thing abt this career if i did not stumble onto this thread.
did some reading in a US seafarer forum today, and found out many of american seafarers started sailing at the age of 30s-40s, most of them dropped their comfy office jobs and went aboard a ship,what a change!

thanks, this thread is enormously helpful, would not know a thing abt this career if i did not stumble onto this thread.
did some reading in a US seafarer forum today, and found out many of american seafarers started sailing at the age of 30s-40s, most of them dropped their comfy office jobs and went aboard a ship,what a change!

From my first thread, this is the new version of it since the last one some facts are outdated.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 V1

First 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 SEAFARER

1) 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?


Definition Of Marine Engineering

Marine 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 Studies

As 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 & Rank
If 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.

http://img14.imageshack.us/img14/6747/rankj.jpg 

-Credit to Dukerobin-
Salary(ASIAN RATE)



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

Hi destroyer and other seafaring experts here. I am really interested in taking DNS course in ALAM or SMA. I have several questions which I hope any1 here can reply to me seeing as to this thread has been inactive for quite some time :
1)What are the chances of me getting into ALAM if I am 24 y.o. having completed my SPM IN 2007? also wat are the chances of securing a sponsor? Will my age be a factor in terms of securing scholarship? If I don't get any sponsor wen I am admitted into ALAM, can I still look for sponsor during my 1st semua studies, if so which companies?


2) Need an honest answer in terms of employability in the next 5 years. Will we seafarers have increased or decreased job opportunities as a fresh DNS graduate?


3) What are the chances of getting job on oil rigs or any o&g companies? Will a marine engineer have a better chance? What do I need to do to get increase my chances of getting a job there? How long I need to be a seafarer b4 I can switch to o&g sector.


4) I have a slight phobia for maths.. I would consider myself below average in maths. Will this be an issue? I am still willing to learn though cos I really wanna be a seafarer. Is the math studies hard in DNS or DME?


5) (I hope nobody takes me wrongly from this question, hehe) what are the drug test policies like during studying in ALAM n working life? How often do they test? It's not that I am a junkie, don't do hard drugs either just enjoy the occasional pot like 2-3 times a month. Am willing to stop though because I am dead serious about my career. Not necessary to answer this question, lol


I really hope Destroyer or any, other expert here can help me with my questions. Really would appreciate the help in clearing my doubt especially in terms of job securing. Also hope I didn't offend any1 with my questions. To be honest I really hoped I would have found out about something like this earlier as I wasted a lot of time trying to complete medicine wen I wasn't really interested.

1)What are the chances of me getting into ALAM if I am 24 y.o. having completed my SPM IN 2007? also wat are the chances of securing a sponsor? Will my age be a factor in terms of securing scholarship? If I don't get any sponsor wen I am admitted into ALAM, can I still look for sponsor during my 1st semua studies, if so which companies?

24 years old is the maximum age limit , you can try for nextyear intake .
the chance of securing sponsor is very high for alam , 95% is fully sponsor ,if you want to proceed without sponsor , u can request for ptptn , if u r bumis can request for Mara loan.
2) Need an honest answer in terms of employability in the next 5 years. Will we seafarers have increased or decreased job opportunities as a fresh DNS graduate?
im fresh grad of dns cadet this year . 1st option is to get back to your company where you sail as cadet .2nd option  you can join other company , which have the same type of vessel u sail bfore , which hav experienced before , 3rd option is to join other company with different type of vessel if they want to accept you.
after going to some companies , the average salary for merchant ship register as foreign going range 6k-8k ringgit if youre lucky u will get higher . for coastal ship the average salary now is 4-6k , where you will be in malaysia water , this is for tanker ship rate, for container is lower around 3.5k ringgit for malaysia coastal ship..for offshore vessel , for small companies rate will be around 4-5k . for big companies like bumi armada , sapura , emas offshore , rate should be average 6k for fresh grad.
THE JOB is always there , either you want to the offer or not , some people are very demanding where they dont want to sail with small company with average salary , they want more.
3) What are the chances of getting job on oil rigs or any o&g companies? Will a marine engineer have a better chance? What do I need to do to get increase my chances of getting a job there? How long I need to be a seafarer b4 I can switch to o&g sector.
i can explain for dns only , for us , we can get salary average 4-5k on fpso or oilrig as safety officer etc. as long u have experienced sailing as 3rd mate before . you can also join petronas or any other oil major as hsse.. bt , u will not get seatime , and if you enter as captain , ur salary will be higher for basie because of ur experienced .
4) I have a slight phobia for maths.. I would consider myself below average in maths. Will this be an issue? I am still willing to learn though cos I really wanna be a seafarer. Is the math studies hard in DNS or DME?
dns math is not engineering math , so should be ok ..

5) (I hope nobody takes me wrongly from this question, hehe) what are the drug test policies like during studying in ALAM n working life? How often do they test? It's not that I am a junkie, don't do hard drugs either just enjoy the occasional pot like 2-3 times a month. Am willing to stop though because I am dead serious about my career. Not necessary to answer this question, lol
no drug allowed ...

Has anyone here heard of NMIT (Netherlands Maritime Institute of Technology) located in EduCity Iskandar, Johor?? What is the quality of education like compared to ALAM. I have my doubts since they are relatively new institution. Any ex-graduate/current students of NMIT in this thread???

The rating in ALAM, which is 16 weeks, is it following Reg II/4 Ratings Forming Part of a Navigational Watch or Reg II/5 Ratings as Able Seafarer Deck? After pre-sea course completion, need to go for 2 months or 6 months of seagoing service before you can get WKR?

Thanks a lot zizdnyll. Really appreciate the insight.
Actually my main concern for Q1 is will my relatively older age affect me in terms of chances of getting scholarship. That's all been bugging my mind. I would consider PUO or SMA if i'm not accepted into ALAM. don't mind at all. Any idea if PUO/SMA have the same or close to the teaching qualiity/ facilities/ certificate/ acreditation as compared  to ALAM??

For Q2 are you quoting basic salary ONLY or the salary that u are stating includes allowances etc? salary are quite ok actually, llike they say, sikit sikit lama jadi bukit haha.  Also main concern is employability in the near future? Heard getting DPO certificate will make u more valuable and  earning more in terms of salary, is this true?

For Q3, lol don't wanna end up as safety officer lo, any other career pathway from dns?

Thanks a lot zizdnyll 1ce again. Hope other members here can give me more insight as well

Q1
Depend on what class of. Coc

Q2
Quoting. All in
Yes bt to be one need to geet in the industry is tough

Q3
Many managers posn. Is available

For future seafarers this is an eye opener for all freshies of ALAM,RANACO Maritime Kemamn etc: there is alot of jobless qualified seafarers in Malaysia due to alot of foreign influx of seafarers. This post on the FB page of Persatuan Pelaut / Offshore Sarawak dan Malaysia proves this:

[[B]Petikan dari minit mesyuarat :- 20.12.2014
Masih ramai para pelaut yang terdiri daripada lepasan Alam ,Ranaco
,Maritime skill Kemaman dan sebagainya masih lagi menganggur oleh
kerana tiada banyak syarikat syarikat yang ingin menerima mereka
bagi tujuan latihan praktikal . (Bermaksud mereka ini tiada seatime) dan susah nak naik kapal .
Persatuan akan mengeluarkan satu borang bagi setiap pelaut di malaysia yang belum pernah naik kapal (tiada seatime) .Sila isi borang tersebut dengan lengkap dan berserta sijil,gambar dan salinan kad pengenalan berpalang .Pihak persatuan akan mencari jalan bagi membantu kesemua mereka ini .Inilah perkara pertama yang akan saya bawa bila berjumpa dengan kementerian pengangkutan serta kementerian sumber manusia .january & feb 2015 ini.
Borang ini akan saya pos di sebelah atas pin pos pada minggu depan .Semua proses akan mengambil sedikit masa harap sabar.
PPBM (Persatuan Pelaut bersatu Malaysia)

there is also a pdf link for this recorded meeting : https://attachment.fbsbx.com/file_download....Stcf9w8cgra34o2

this is the link to their FB page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/seamen.saramas/ 

this link is for Malaysian sailors Organisation. it was also posted there: https://www.facebook.com/groups/391139210968615/

Regarding NMIT: of course i have gone through their website. They offer management courses mainly with a promise of introducing DNS n DME in the future. I have my doubts regarding this institutions though. Website seems too good to be true.

Hello, I hope nobody minds me firing some questions at but this is very important for me. First of all, how hard are the questions for the entrance exam? How much do u need to pass? Second, please take me through the process of entering ALAM. What kind of fitness test do they conduct and what are the merit points? Lastly, after graduating with diploma after 3 years, what's the starting salary (from your experience)? At what age can you retire, is there a contract or can you just choose? What retirement plan do u get? Your reply would be greatly appreciated.

For future seafarers this is an eye opener for all freshies of ALAM,RANACO Maritime Kemamn etc: there is alot of jobless qualified seafarers in Malaysia due to alot of foreign influx of seafarers. This post on the FB page of Persatuan Pelaut / Offshore Sarawak dan Malaysia proves this:

[[B]Petikan dari minit mesyuarat :- 20.12.2014
Masih ramai para pelaut yang terdiri daripada lepasan Alam ,Ranaco
,Maritime skill Kemaman dan sebagainya masih lagi menganggur oleh
kerana tiada banyak syarikat syarikat yang ingin menerima mereka
bagi tujuan latihan praktikal . (Bermaksud mereka ini tiada seatime) dan susah nak naik kapal .
Persatuan akan mengeluarkan satu borang bagi setiap pelaut di malaysia yang belum pernah naik kapal (tiada seatime) .Sila isi borang tersebut dengan lengkap dan berserta sijil,gambar dan salinan kad pengenalan berpalang .Pihak persatuan akan mencari jalan bagi membantu kesemua mereka ini .Inilah perkara pertama yang akan saya bawa bila berjumpa dengan kementerian pengangkutan serta kementerian sumber manusia .january & feb 2015 ini.
Borang ini akan saya pos di sebelah atas pin pos pada minggu depan .Semua proses akan mengambil sedikit masa harap sabar.
PPBM (Persatuan Pelaut bersatu Malaysia)

there is also a pdf link for this recorded meeting : https://attachment.fbsbx.com/file_download....Stcf9w8cgra34o2

this is the link to their FB page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/seamen.saramas/ 

this link is for Malaysian sailors Organisation. it was also posted there: https://www.facebook.com/groups/391139210968615/

Regarding NMIT: of course i have gone through their website. They offer management courses mainly with a promise of introducing DNS n DME in the future. I have my doubts regarding this institutions though. Website seems too good to be true.

how hard is the entry question , math , english , physic from spm paper..
they will cascade down base on their quota during the intake
written test , physchometric test , interview(toughest part) , 2 week induction (if im not mistaken some batches skip this process) you survive induction , then youre in..

depend on company
small company will offer 3-5k , averange should be around 5-6k .. some company want you to become junior officer like 3-6 months maybe 2k salary , then once youre familiar with the job , should be average.
unless you join those ship , which sail like brazil-africa-australia-europe-us , 9 month contract job , dont come back home at all , you can get about 8k average for fresh grad.
you can retire at any age you want , still have 66 years old captain who is still sailing ?
if you join under sponsorship by company , you have contract
misc 5 years as master
aet 10 years
bumi armada 10 years
well , this was during my time , now im not sure..
im not being sponsored by any agency , so i can consider myself freelance , jumping from 1 company to another.
what is my retirement plan?
for meantime , my plan is to get as many seatime as possible , do my combine courses , get my mate ticket , then continue , go for master oral . then get 5 years command or something , then there's always land job , shipping company need people from ship to handle their ship .. even alam is paying salary base on last rank onboard and experienced..

so hope this will answer all your question