hi,

got a couple of questions that for seafarers out there.

thinking of switching from white collar to blue, kinda sick of office jobs.
my best time was when i was backpacking around different countries, living the life of a wanderer.
I only found out abt this job recently,sounds like the ideal job for me.
Good pay, get to see the world, something like a FIFO job.
i dont have financial or family responsibilities. so y not? haha


my concerns are as follows:

1. I am 26 yrs old now, is it too late to enter this trade? ALAM is out of the question, since they dont take recruits older than 25. Meanwhile the sarawak maritime school has an age limit of 28. Not sure abt the singapore one.

2. are students of my age common? i assume most of the students there are half of my age or decade younger haha, think i have problem fitting in?

3. I think i most likely go for the DNS course, since i did not took any science stream subject back in SPM, thus engineering is no go. my highest qualification is uni degree, albeit completely unrelated( biz degree). does it assist or hinder in any way to secure sponsorship from companies or entrance?

4. Is the standard duration of the course 3 years for all schools? How soon i get to go aboard the ship and sail? mid way through the course? and how long i have to spend studying in the academy? i dont really like the college lifestyle, just go class and hang around.

5. what is the sailing schedule like for someone new? X month work X month/break ?

Oh ya, i am quite aware its definitely not a sightseeing job. But at least i get to move around a bit.
I know There is a fair share of hardwork involved and its mentally tasking job
I done a fair share of labour work when i was younger, no stranger to it.

But i assume work in the cruise ship does not pay as well as a tanker or cargo ship? And bit limited in terms of career advancement?

the batchmate u spoke of, are they doing the rating course or one of the diploma programs?
if dns, how did they get in with the age restriction? or they r doing the bridging program?

and speaking of sponsorship or scholarship, how do i go around to apply one?
i checked several shiping companies mentioned in this thread, but i am too old to qualify for their sponsorships.

as for the singapore one, they mentioned it is mandatory to have singaporean shipping companies' sponsorship to join the diploma program, if thats case, how willing r they to sponsor a foreigner?


This post has been edited by sawannaibaan: Oct 24 2014, 10:01 PM

thanks for the fast replies!

ok, for self sponsor, can u apply using ptptn loan?

and if u go on the self sponsor route, do you have to go look for a ship yourself during the 2nd year to do the on board training thingy?

and upon graduation, is it hard to secure a job with the DNS? since u get no sponsorship, means no company gonna take u in automatically when finished

This post has been edited by sawannaibaan: Oct 24 2014, 10:32 PM

but most cadets have little problem securing a place in a ship during practicals? (self sponsored ones)

and seems the practical is the part that make or break the career of a cadet. I hope there isn't any or a lot grads who are stuck there like those oversupply pilots who failed to get a place with the airliners.

i checked the fees in the sarawk maritime school. Its around 50k++ for the 3 year course, while alam cost 80k++. y is there a big diff? note: i did add up the accom and misc fees too

i know that sarawak school is not as reknown as ALAM, but i assume at the end of the day, certs and license obtained from either school is recognized by all companies right?

oh and i assume class size is bigger in alam, and more diverse?

This post has been edited by sawannaibaan: Oct 25 2014, 02:09 PM

one last question abt the ptptn loan.

it exclude meals and accom, but is the amount sufficient to cover the tution fees @ rm24k?

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.

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!