[airship]

The yacht designer, the builder?
The project manager, the owner's representative?
The yacht, charter broker or crew agent?
The skipper or one of the crew?
The chandler or spare parts supplier?
The bankers or insurers?

The yacht forum operator...?!

[Kevin]

Originally Posted by airship

"best job" in yachting...

The one that pays enough to afford a yacht.

[airship]

Originally Posted by Kevin

The one that pays enough to afford a yacht.

But everyone who works in the industry that I know of would never buy a yacht of their own, even if they thought they might be able to afford one, knowing about all the hidden pitfalls etc...

[Loren Schweizer]

airship, you left out...

Yacht Brokers!

We get to go for lots of free boat rides and, most importantly, can afford the luxury of time to do so.
As far as never buying one as a result of what we have gleaned from all those boat rides, including chats with surveyors and other knowledgeable folk, we certainly would know which boats to avoid.

Now, where is that kayak paddle, anyway.

[techmati]

how could anyone know unless they have done all those jobs?

working in a company that does commercial ship work as well as yachts, it is certainly exciting for me to get involved with yachts in any way.

I would not say that it is good every time though, some owners can be quite difficult to deal with as they are sure that they are right even when everyone is recommending a different action. So we end up taking the long difficult way round. If they were more experienced they would have known and would have listened. On the other hand it can be a pleasure and meeting some really great people who love their job. Lots of BS talk in the yacht industry though, i have noticed...Some owners not paying also.......although that is in all industry.

The yacht designer, the builder? - it must be nice indeed to see your design built or to actually build something so beautiful and work to such high standards of craftmanship that you can be really proud. On the other hand, what about projects going terribly wrong, overextending yourself and having to deal with lengthy lawsuits. Difficult owners with repeated spec changes. Indeed its going to take some effort to climb the ladder and be known in this competitive atmosphere which has much scrutiny also.

The project manager, the owner's representative? - Nice to be in a commanding postion but how nice it would be would depend on the size of the project/relevant experience and of course the quality of the yard. it could be a pleasure at a very good yard and a terrible experience at another. With yachts of course you have to achieve very high quality and you're not going to get that everywhere. Difficult owners again with their repeated spec changes and perhaps inexperience. Shipyards playing games and hiding things. Being the guy in the middle. Possibility even to be so in the middle that you are working for both the yard and the owner and everyone is happy about that except you, it has happened sometimes.

The yacht, charter broker or crew agent? A very competitive market. With a big name it may be very successful indeed. Otherwise lots of effort for maybe infrequent success. Nice to be central broker but some dont get to be that.

The skipper or one of the crew? Well you have the private yachts which are being used frequently. Or you have the private yachts which are sitting in the marina only to be used for 1 month or less per year. Or the charter yachts which are not getting good charter. Or the charter yachts having a very heavy schedule, lots of work indeed. Possibility to see the world maybe or just the quay at antibes or flisvos and maybe st. tropez etc once per year. Possibility of getting paid very nice or not getting paid at all on occasion. Depends on the personality i guess. Looks like a job for life for some of the rarely used private yachts with home port in greece, i have met many crew which have been on the yacht since it was built. I might find it boring though, some people might consider it an easy job with most of the crew going home at night. Otherwise being skipper of any yacht it may be really great sometimes but other times problems with crew, owners, shipyards...not an easy job. For heavily chartered yachts its going to be lots of work indeed.

The chandler or spare parts supplier? possibility to make some nice money, sourcing and shipping parts all over the place. hectic perhaps. lots of competition though. maybe not getting paid by owners sometimes.

The bankers or insurers? - well these are desk jobs. Both have potential for job for life maybe. Insurers maybe not being paid as much as you think. Nice to have others further down the food chain wanting to be your friend. High profile bankers have potential to be making nice money after retirement being directors of companies. On the other hand loans gone wrong, big lengthy insurance claims. "Friendly" big company atmosphere....

The yacht forum operator...?! hmmm do you know how many hours Carl puts into this thing?

In the end, I think it really depends on one's personality though, different people would prefer different kinds of jobs. Each has its pros and cons. Nice to be working in yachting though

[AMG]

Originally Posted by techmati

how could anyone know unless they have done all those jobs?

Well, life is too short doing the same thing I think, so the best job in yachting is perhaps what you do next?

Yacht designer, I am part time. Builder or at least producer, I am part time.
Project manager I have been and still am part time, owners representative as well.
Yacht broker and charter broker I am at times too. Crew agent never, but skipper and crew yes.
Chandlers, bankers and insurers are less involved with the day to day life of creating and using the yachts, (which is yachting to me.)
Being a Yacht Forum operator is another way of missing the boat, at least for a few years..., better being a moderator

If the "best job" means what I like the best, it is of course making use of my yachting experience as a designer.

[Ken Bracewell]

Originally Posted by airship

The yacht designer, the builder?
The project manager, the owner's representative?
The yacht, charter broker or crew agent?
The skipper or one of the crew?
The chandler or spare parts supplier?
The bankers or insurers?

The yacht forum operator...?!

I do! Great boat, Great owners, Great Crew!

[Brian]

Well, it's not mentioned, but making models of the yachts is good.
upsides; it's fun, I can work from home on the Sunshine Coast (Canada), I get to see the latest designs, it puts food on the table.
downsides; I'm not rich, I rarely get to go on the real things, I have a cartopper!
Wait a minute...forget I sent this.

[MYCaptainChris]

I'd say the decky.

No worries, fun job. Can be hard work but almost always fun.

[Garry Hartshorn]

I think you are all wrong because I have the best job.

[airship]

Originally Posted by Garry Hartshorn

I think you are all wrong because I have the best job.

Nah. I have the best job, I get to go home every night too! If only it paid a little more than the average wage...

PS. I used to know a hard-working yacht captain before he became a "big-league" yacht broker. I know he has a job, but I'm not sure he does any actual work. I mean, the last time I saw him was in a documentary. Sipping champagne on the aft-deck of a 50m together with the owner to whom he'd supplied his last 2 yachts and who'd commissioned an even bigger new-build. Quietly murmuring his full agreement to some inane comment the owner had just made. It was good to see that even those who are traditionally "next only to God" in our world still have to lick someone else's boots on occassion...

[bradp]

I got, I sell and trade oil.

[airship]

Originally Posted by bradp

I got, I sell and trade oil.

Last time I bought some lube oil from BP here in Europe they quoted me in dollars. Much prefer Euros though, it's so much simpler. On the other hand, I don't want to end up like Sadaam. He started trading oil in Euros and look what happened to him?! And the Iranians have been talking about setting up an Euro-based oil bourse recently too...

[outmywindow]

You Guys are all wrong. The best job is "No Job", with the only life challenges and decisions being which Yacht to Charter and where to work on your tan.
The only work should be "working on your umbrella drink".

[YES!]

Simple - I've been in the yachting world for over 15 years and CLEARLY the best job is the "CFYO" (Close Friend of Yacht Owner).

All the rest are REAL work, long hours and with few of the perks that the uninitiated attribute to working on white boats.

And real work can be very rewarding and very satisfying.