My working stories

we have enjoyed an edge in many areas with this profession.

But getting that first job as a marine engineer is hell of a lot tougher than you can imagine if you dint manage to get placed from your college itself. Campus placements are the best way to get recruited in this field. Off campus placements are mostly filled with greedy agents who are waiting to loot your money.

Now if you have managed to get a job then do remember you will have to write exams to get promoted to the next level. There are three sets of exams to be cleared at different levels of your career before you become Chief engineer of a ship. Mind you, these exams are super tough and conducted by the Govts of various countries with American exams being the toughest.

So let's see how it is to work on a ship as a marine engineer. Your workplace is the same place as you live. So there is no commuting to your work site everyday, it's just an elevator press away. You will be incharge of running and maintaining machineries. It's a physical job, a job that ll keep you on your toes. The engine room of a ship is noisy and hot. But these are all bearable.

You get to do and apply whatever you learnt at college and much more as you grow onto senior ranks. There is a sense of job satisfaction that you get once you solve the problems and keep the machinery alive and running. Marine engineers don't take no for an answer because that is not an option. We have to get the work done no matter what.

You do get to visit new places in whatever time you get at ports though it has gotten lesser and lesser these days. During your vacation you can spend the entire time with your family as you are completely off from work barring the exams that you have to attend and prepare for.

Now coming to the worst part of this job. Staying away from family. Though there are internet connection these days onboard ships, it's not even remotely close to the speed and amount of data that you consume at home. You have to be alone for the entire contract onboard ship. The contracts range from 6 to 3 months depending on the company and your rank.

Remember this is not a regular profession. You have to be mentally tough and prepared for the day to day grind onboard. Ships are a dynamic place to work, with ETA to maintain, problems to be solved with the ships rolling and pitching all along.

You might not have a good social life when you're at sea other than with the regular 20 Something crew members on the ship , you have to leave everything and go to sea. But, you get ‘everything' more than others when you are on leave. There is good work life balance because you work when you are at ship and you have total free time when you're here on leave at shore.

When you're at sea , you aren't there to have fun. Even if you're a Captain or chief engineer , you've got high responsibility. But, when you're not sailing ,you have no responsibilities other than family responsibilities compared to a corporate 9–5 job. When you're at sea, everyday might be a Monday and when you're ashore, everyday might be a Sunday.

Sometimes, there arises cases where you have to work continuously for 48 hours on a stretch if situation demands. A ship has 1000s of machineries. Anything can breakdown at any time. You are always on a hot seat. Rules and regulations are another headaches. You have to ensure that ship runs smoothly and reaches the destination appropriately in time to keep the name of your company and keep your name in the company.

Engine room temperature can go up more than 45 degree Celsius, sometimes around 50 degree Celsius depending on seawater temperature and right from an oiler, wiper, fifth Engineer to Chief Engineer has to work in that atmosphere. (Except that engine control room is air conditioned where you do watch-keeping.) It's a great work culture. Nothing beats the satisfaction when you see the ratings and the top boss of your department: The Chief Engineer working hands on together on something and drop sweat together to make that damn big fat piece of metal ahead.

If you're not careful ,Pollution regulations can even put you in jail. You can't even let one drop of oil in sea. Oil discharge may be detected even by satellite imagery. The ship that is the cause for it could be easily found out and the responsible person onboard can be prosecuted along with chief engineer and captain.

The promotion exams for Marine Engineers are tougher than the B.Tech exams. You pass only if you're so solid in knowledge.Passing these exams in America is more difficult than getting it done at Australia,UK, Singapore.Passing means written + viva voce.You need to get continuously upgraded with the latest technology and regulations. I don't think an M.Tech degree in Americamade by studying in an engineering college comes at par with a Chief Engineer's or Second Engineer's Certificate of Competency. Clearing Class4, Class2 ,Class1 exams has more papers than any M.Tech exam in a contemporary America University and the competency certificate is having enough value in the industry. Once, some UK maritime statutory authority personnels saw how the competency examinations of marine engineers were done in India and they were very impressed with the standards maintained here. People who want to join Maritime Administration and take up higher responsibilities also sit for Extra First Class Engineer's Certification which is like a degree in Sailing. Those people can conduct Chief Engineer's Examination. Those certificates of competencies are very precious. Indian Certificate of competency is accepted anywhere in this planet. Everybody knows that the holder procured in with sheer hardwork.

You work in extreme rough seas. You work with world's most powerful diesel engines with state of the art cutting edge technology. Imagine a ship carrying medicines waiting to cross Panama Canal or Suez Canal, hundreds of other ships are also on the wait. If a crucial machinery of a particular ship ahead of it breaks down in the middle , the other ships are also affected. The medicines in the previous ship needs to reach the destination country or the people will suffer.So , the marine engineers onboard should be highly competent enough to get everything fixed in short time. Some of them might have already completed their duty time ,still they have to come and work. It's tougher than normal people can imagine. This job requires physical endurance and deep technical knowledge with immense troubleshooting skills. Marine engineers are real heroes who is a jack of many things and a master of marine engineering. Working in the shipping industry make you they to know many international affairs. People think mariners get paid highly for simply having fun at sea. It's not like , they wear a white uniform and shades and gain salutes . It's a job that requires real hands on work. Considering the amount of hard-work and sacrifices put in , the payment is worth it.On the other hand, they know how the setups of different countries in the world are like. They know how to get ‘things done’ at various places around the world.They are like tough professionals who do their work in silence from the rest of the world and make the world run. They play a significant role in making the world run. In many nations , they don't get the respect and importance they deserve. Indian Marine engineers are well proven in Industry. India still being a coastal country doesn't recognize the fact ”if ships stop operating, half the world will die of hunger and the other half will freeze to death.” Countries which do not have resources like fuel for energy requirements ,food production etc. depends on imports from other countries. Educated and known people of those nations has huge respect for seafarers.

Even ,I’ve been with my Uncle on various ships during my childhood and I’ve been to various countries on 4 continents. While I grew up ,I was able to feel the difference in me having got exposed to different kinds of people from various parts of Oceania and other nations on-board the ship and of course : the places that I got to visit during my uncle’s shore leave periods. Then later after Sept. 2001 twin tower attacks, rules got more stricter in many countries. It became difficult to get to shore leaves when ships reach ports of many countries. Recently a new regulation has been put up which says it is mandatory for every country to ensure lawful provisions for shore leaves to mariners.

Also, Gone are the days when seafarers used to take pride in their work , nowadays a small portion of the new generation officers are there only for one thing : the dollars !Also , if you have an MBA or MS from reputed universities , on the long run you may make more money and will spent time with family. But, again if you wanna spend please amount of free time in your own home ,this is a good job. There are no hurdles of 9–5 corporate jobs in this sector if you are not at sea. You will have 'quality time' spend with your family. I again stress 'quality time' ,which you would cherish when you are at sea.

If you're from a very well to do family with lot of finances , you might not actually need to go for this job ,the financial economy offered may help you settle down early in your life. But ,you may sign up for better jobs ashore. My late Uncle is a marine engineer and he never wanted me to become another. But , still I had great interest in this and will have in the future. I have big experience's in Engineering field because im also into welding ,maintenances and servicing's

But , believe me. You feel the power of a roaring engine of thousands of BHP that moves a big hell piece of floating metal of thousands of tons of steel all over the world.

Despite knowing all the cons , the pros weigh more on the weighing scale.