I haven’t been posting much about work on here lately. Mostly because I haven’t had any for the last year now. 🙁
It’s been so frustrating and depressing. I’ve never been out of work for anywhere near this long in my entire life! I’ve always been able to find something to do. Not this time. This time there’s nothing. Nothing at all. 🙁
It doesn’t help that the people in charge of jobs in this industry- the US Coast Guard- keep changing the rules to make it harder and harder to get and/or keep a job! It used to be that you could take a job in a different sector of the maritime industry when things got slow. For example, when things got bad in the 80’s, I went to work on tankers. I could even take a job ashore. I worked as bartender lots of times between offshore jobs back then.
Now, due to new USCG rules, if you change sectors you’re very likely to be pigeonholed into just being able to work in that sector. You’ll have no other options! Not without making major efforts to make the move. For example- my license used to say “freight & towing’. Now it says ‘steam & motor”. That means I can’t work on any tugboats any more unless and until I get a ‘towing endorsement’ on my license. That is not at all easy to do!
Same goes for tankers. I worked on tankers for over 13 years, but since I haven’t worked on a tanker in the last 5 years, I can’t work on tankers ever again until I go spend a bunch of time and money to get back that endorsement.
There goes 2 large sectors of maritime employment totally out of my reach now!
And if I have to take a job on land? Forget it! If I don’t keep up my sea time (and training), I will have to start all over from the bottom if I ever want to go back to sea! We need to have at least 360 days sea time in the last 5 years, plus a bunch of newly required ‘training’ (plus the training that was already required) in order to renew our documents. Documents we absolutely can not work without. No, not anywhere in the world!
So. In order to have 360 days sea time in the last 5 years, that basically means you need to have at least 2 years of STEADY employment offshore. If you take a land job, you need to quit as soon as you find something you think (hope) will last a while at sea. Then, you need to hope like hell your company will help pay for all the necessary training. Cause sure as hell, no land job will give you either the pay rate or the time off in order for you to keep up with it!
Seafaring used to be a really good way to earn a living. After all this, I’m not sure I can say that anymore, but I still prefer it over anything else I can imagine.
I had high hopes for finding some sort of relief job over the holidays. That’s always the best time of year to find work offshore. People understandably want to take time off to spend it with their families and all sorts of deals get made.
Not last year.
No one took any (earned) vacation time. I didn’t get a single call all winter. Neither did anyone else I know who’d been laid off. Everyone still lucky enough to be employed was just scared to death that they might not be able to come back to work. The oilfield was still in shock and everyone was living in fear.
Things seem to be improving. Slightly.
The price of oil has gone up from around $26/barrel to around $50/barrel. Almost doubled. That’s great! Only problem is, that for the offshore oil fields to go back to work the price of oil needs to be somewhere above $75/barrel (IMHO).
I was dearly hoping to get a call to sub in for someone over the holidays. I’ve been keeping my fingers crossed for months.
But…
The USCG now requires us to renew our documents every 5 years. If we don’t beg permission from the government and jump through all kinds of ridiculous hoops, we’re locked out of a job. 🙁
I sent in my paperwork back in the first part of September. My license expires December 16 this year, so I figured I had plenty of time. Even considering there are all kinds of new hoops to jump through coming into effect at the end of the year and so a mad scramble by all mariners to renew their documents before that.
My license was still sitting in limbo when I got back from overseas. Luckily, I was able to speak to a USCG rep at the Workboat Show and they made a phone call and got my papers moved over to the fast track. I thank them for helping, they were great!
I was happy to see my status changed the next day and only a few days later I received my new MMD in the mail.
Only one problem. They restricted me to only vessels without ECDIS. That means pretty much only small or inland vessels. That means I’m pretty much shit outta luck for finding any work until I get that restriction removed!
That totally knocked me for a loop! No way was I expecting them to come back with that! They’ve renewed my license at least twice since I originally turned in that course certificate and not once did they mention that it might not be acceptable.
What really gets my goat (besides the fact that I should have to beg permission from the government to go to work in the first place), is that I DID already take the required training in order NOT to have that restriction on my license.
I took that class back in 2008 since it was required for me to sit for my chief mates license. Of course, the USCG removed the requirement to take most of the courses that I was forced to take (at a cost of almost $50,000), but I did take that class and it is still required.
The problem is that the USCG is now saying that the course I took (so long ago) could not have been ‘approved’. Well hell! WTF would I have taken ANY course if it was NOT USCG approved?
Simple. I wouldn’t have!
The USCG maintains a listing of ALL approved courses and ALL approved course providers right there on their website. Of COURSE I checked to make sure the course I was considering was USCG approved.
At this point I have to assume that the course I took was approved at the time and somewhere between then and now, they changed the rules again to where it’s no longer acceptable. It would’ve been nice to get some notification.
None of these required classes is cheap. They’re completely worthless if they’re NOT USCG approved. Mostly worthless even so. Why would I (or anybody) spend thousands of dollars and a week (or more), plus transportation costs, plus room and board expenses, to waste all that time sitting in a classroom somewhere when they could be doing something (anything) else?
Again, simple! They wouldn’t!
So. I am in limbo again. Waiting for the person I’m dealing with at the Coast Guard to hear back from their superiors in the course approval department. Meantime, I’m investigating who has a class open asap.
The cheapest I can find is San Jacinto Maritime ($1000), but that’s only because I live close enough to where I can (barely) manage to drive back and forth daily. They don’t have an opening until mid- January. Same with most of the others. Remember, I can’t even think about going back to work until I get signed off on this class!
Delgado and Falck offer the course for $900, but they’re both located in Louisiana. I would have to spend hundreds more for transportation, room and board. Falck has a class I might be able to get in to -starting 12/27.
MPT in Ft Lauderdale costs $1299 (plus transport/room & board), but they actually have a class starting next week. If the USCG tells me this week I have to re-take the class, that will be my only option if I really still hope to get any work this year. 🙁
If it looks like I’m screwed for work, then my best option will be the Sea School in Bayou La Batre AL. They cost $1100, but I can drive there (10 hours) and they include room and board in that price.
A few other schools have classes starting in January, but they’re all more expensive. MITAGS ($1390 + $850 room/board), Bluewater ($1295), Quality ($1095), Marine Training Institute ($1095), STAR ($$). Those are just the ones in the Southeastern US. I only checked those since I’m trying to keep transport costs down.
If you’re stuck in the same boat I am, you can find all the USCG approved courses and facilities here. DON’T go anywhere that isn’t on this list!
This sounds SOOO frustrating. I’m in the middle of a work crisis myself right now and sometimes it’s hard to get out of bed due to the depression. Just know I’m with you in solidarity; here’s hoping things start looking up soon. xo
you can’t imagine how totally frustrating it is! I know what you mean about the depression. I’ve been feeling like that a lot. A lot of times I just don’t feel like doing anything at all. It’s hard to even get up to make something to eat. Surely don’t want to do any blogging, work on the computer or go out?!
I appreciate your well wishes and hope things get better for you soon too.
Maybe we’ll get lucky and Trump will actually do something to help?
How awful to have to deal with all that red tap, when you want to work.
yeah, it sucks. It’s getting to the point where I don’t even know if it’s worth it any more. How much more time and $$$ can I spend to keep up this paperwork when I have no work out there and no other job will pay for that in either time or money. Its sad. The bureaucrats have completely ruined what was one of the best professions on earth!
My working life wasn’t anywhere near as specific as yours (have pen, will trvel, cann add up and spell in a nutshell) yet I too found alternative employment difficult when I was mae redundant in 2001. One excuse for not taking me on a Temp agency was that I was the wrong shape! Talk about kicking someone when they’re down!
How did the art sales go?
WOW! That sort of thing is not allowed over here (but of course people still think that way). I’ve been told pretty much the same thing too many times to count (on top of being the wrong sex). We have to watch out and be ‘politically correct’. Probably the main reason Trump got elected is because people are sick to death of it.
As for the art sales? I sold one small photo for $10. Everyone who stopped by said they thought my work was beautiful and they loved it, but no one wanted to buy anything. All the other vendors I talked to said they had the same sort of results. The venue was not a good one, not enough traffic.
I do have a couple of things in a show at the Center for Arts and Sciences. I haven’t had anyone contact me yet, so I assume no one has been interested. I have to go pick them up in a couple of weeks.
I went to art class this morning, only to find out it has been cancelled til after New years. I guess I’ll have to try and figure it out on my own and hope not to screw up too badly.
Good luck with it all.
thanks! got some good news. The Coast Guard decided to OK my course after all! Sent me a new license that’ll allow me to go back to work. Now, just have to find a JOB!
You’re half way there having got the paperwork! Hurrah!
Hurrah indeed! It’s a big load off my mind.
Hope the New Year is a good (and busy) one for you.
thanks! I hope yours is great and you keep on doing so well with your weight program. Its very encouraging.
My new found friend at SW is doing wonderfully, just half a pound away from a five stone loss with the same programme.
that’s great! from what I gather from your posts, it sounds like a modified Atkins diet. I tried that one a few times, never managed to lose more than 10 lbs. I’d maybe lose 1 lb/week, then plateau for a couple of weeks. I never had the patience to last more than 6 months like that.
I’m just addicted to the sweet stuff! If I don’t see results, I just can’t stick to any type of ‘diet’. I’ve pretty much given up.
SW is based on plenty of fruit and veg, but lean meat and potatoes are allowed. I’m really pleased with my loss so far, but have had to put it on hold until the end of the month, which is not actually a bad things as hopefully it will kick start with a good loss for February. Drinking plenty of water is also recommended, not just for the diet, but also my radiotherapy.
I would have a hard time on that one. I’m basically a meat and potatoes (especially french fried) kind of girl.
And sweets!
I hope you keep up with it and don’t let yourself backslide too much. 🙂
I know my weaknesses which is a good thing, but this is only temporary and as from the 27th I’m back on plan!
I have one friend who’s actually managed to lose weight and keep it off. He says you have to change your mindset (your attitude towards food). He has actually managed to do that. I’ve tried. I’ve even gone so far as to try hypnotism. I can’t seem to make myself like the foods that are good for me. I don’t think I’ll ever lose the weight until I can somehow enjoy eating that food instead of feeling deprived and like it’s horrible and I just can’t stand it after a few months. I hope you can stick to it for the long run since thats what really counts.
Your friend is quite right, it is a case of changing your life style and looking at food differently. I never thought a group programme would work for me, but Slimming World certainly has. You can eat everything but obviously the ‘bad stuff’ has to be controlled. It’s not all salads, veg and fruit, I have chocolate, biscuits, meringues, prawn crackers, nuts, cakes, and my main meals include spaghetti bolognese, lasagne, sweet curry, macaroni cheese, chicken, sweet and sour dishes, and SW receipes give you the favourites like burgers and sausages. Instead of trying to dislike the foods you love that aren’t good for you (you’d never do it, and why should you anyway) , mix them with alternatives that are better choices. I’ve been doing SW since June, and still entitled to my two and a half stone loss certificate, even with the gains lately. Sure, I crave the sweet things, and I have them, just not as often, and that was pretty tough seeing as we were having sticky buns or doughnuts practically every day.
So sorry you’re having to go through all this. If you can’t find something sea-related, I hope you consider putting your skills to work for you in another area that will give you both a paycheck and personal satisfaction. You have many stories to tell of your travels, and I truly wish you would write them. Your perspective is unique, and that’s what editors want. Also, I have found that one of the best ways to beat the crap out of depression is to volunteer. Getting started is the hardest part, but once you make the commitment, you’d be amazed how much better you’ll feel. It worked for me, and I found three jobs over the years as a result of being a volunteer in the right place at the right time. I hope 2017 will be a turn-around year for you!
Thanks Penny. You’re always such a positive person. I wish my mental attitude was more like yours!
I did get some good news this week and my license has been straightened out and newly issued. So now I can start looking for ‘real’ work again.
I have been working on writing, but its a real struggle to try and pitch, and when they’re rejected I get even more depressed and harder to do the next one. Last story at least they told me what they didn’t like. Mostly I get no reply at all. I have always written ‘just the facts, ma’am” like I was taught in school. They want me to SHOW, not tell and I have a really hard time with the descriptions to make people feel like they want that, they want to go there, do that, etc. I’m working on it. 🙂
I have been volunteering when I get the chance. Been doing that for a few years off and on at the local Seamans center down in Freeport. Sometimes I get to pick them up at their ship and take them to Walmart shopping. I feel like that’s me doing some payback for the times I’ve been to many Seamans centers around the world that helped me.
No jobs there! Never any American ships (we have so few) and they don’t hire off the street anymore like they used to. Shipping has changed a hell of a lot over the last 20 years, NOT for the better thats for damn sure!
I’ve been hearing a few rumors that things might pick up after New Year. I’ve broke down and applied to places I REALLY did NOT want to deal with, but getting desperate. Still 1-2 places I could try, but still DON’T want to work for them, so still not ready to apply yet. 🙁
I’m set to go to 2 days of unpaid ‘training’ to get certified to be a ‘safety attendant’ in the plants. Thirty years of doing the same thing offshore is not good enough. Once I get the certificate, I can make $14/hour. Better than working for Dominos Pizza, so I’ll go do it (unless somebody comes up with a JOB before Jan 4th).
Pingback: Good News | Capt Jills Journeys