hoho. you're same sponsor as me. while you'll be graduating mid of this year, i'll go for my practical for 9-11 month. hoho. later on maybe i'll be meeting you as my senior officer if we happen to be on the same ship.

btw, how do you take the oral exam when you don't have enough sea-time? are you going for another 2 month for cadetship onboard?

onboard ur ship, do you internet? AFAIK, only aframaxes got internet facilities while for vlcc only able to send email right?

share ur story here about SRC(ship recreational club) and the BBQ experience you're having during shipboard practical. tell them about the facilities. they'll love to hear it.

hi there.....just got myself registered today....been a while since i last found a seafarer online.....anyway,ex-crew here,tankerman......left the company about 4 yrs back......last i remember,the pay's not that high even for the officers/engineers compared to foreign shipping companies.......but then,perhaps things have changed......but kinda sucky to actually work with some of the officers who starts bossing around with nothin more than the knowledge they obtained while doin their cadetship n ofcourse theory(books).....i mean,i was in ALAM as well,still keep in touch with quite a number of senior officers/engineers.....luv the old officers,who worked their way up,ratings or dc's....anyway,keep it up,mat bunga's........n read the pro n con about the job n trust me.....unless ur some freakin "well to do" dude or some smart ass where ur company keeps sending u to every part of the world under their expenses,there's not a job that could come close to this one.....places u get to travel to,variety of food,women(hahaha,applicable to singles la).......sailors are tough buggers.......and talk about living as brothers,being an indian...i was treated no less than a brother by the malays......only when my feet touches the ground,i get to see racism,not onboard.....if only more recognition could be given to these guys.....tons os respect...

ps.avoid Container vessels,can't enjoy life ma,hahaha............

hoho. I'll try my best in answering your question.

In ALAM, all cadets are sponsored by major shipping companies. Except for those who re-enter my batch because they failed(less than 1.7cgpa) in their final sem exam. Sponsored cadets are bonded with contract. That's mean 100% employed. For the JPA, Felda, and self-paid cadets, they were quickly headhunted by companies before they graduated.

in politeknik ungku omar also the cadets are 100%employed if i'm not mistaken. Not sure about this cause i'm not from this institution.

for the paying scale, the one that I provide is based from what my companies paid.

4th engineer/ 3rd officer: USD2300
3rd engineer/ 2nd officer: USD 3500
2nd engineer/ chief officer: USD 5000
Chief engineer/captain: USD 9000-15000
this is the lowest pay you can find on the market.

other companies such as QatarGas from what i heard, pay as much as USD 25000-30000 for chief engineer/captain.
about lifestyle huh? i'm not sure about this because i haven't done my practical onboard ship yet. but i can tell you based from information i got from m senior. we don't have days off that's is why we were paid with leave pay.

working time
cadet: 6hours on, 6hours off.
others i don't know
chief engineer: 4 hours on, 8 hours off.

sailing time
cadet: 9-11month for engine cadet. 12month for deck cadet
4th engineer/officer: 6month on, 3month off.
chief/captain: 4month on, 4month off

im a seafarer myself

to become an official seafarer u need to have:
1. malaysian seafarer card (like ur IC)
2. seafarer book (like passport but green in color)

if u ask TS.. he should have that too..

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Added on March 22, 2009, 11:23 pmnow almost 3 months standby at home.. nothing to do accept every month on 24th.. go to atm and withdraw salary

this so called recession also effect the oil & gas industry laa.. low fuel price means low fuel production, low production means no more new exploration.. no exploration means i have no job lah..

btw im working as a surveyor.. the one who guide captain to move vessel/barge into particular position for platform/pipeline installation.