univarsity student studying Mechanical Engineering

If you don't mind me poking my nose in despite not being who you asked for advice.....

I believe a mechanical engineering degree (BSc?) will help you later in your campaign towards Y3/Y2 in gaining exemptions for certain Theory subjects such as General Engineering Science I & II.

I'm afraid to get an engineering qual you'll need to start at the bottom with either an AEC or an MCA approved MEOL Course which includes craft training; you will also need sea time.

Incidentally there is a Chief Engineer on a Private 130ish foot 'Palmer Johnson' in La Ciotat with an AEC, so lucky jobs can be got with the lowest qualification.

I posted this link to MGN 156 which lays out the MCA route earlier today by coincidence:

www.mcga.gov.uk/c4mca/mgn_156_eng_yacht.pdf

As I also said I went through this recently so hope that I am fairly current, if anyone knows better, I am pleased to be put right.

Best Regards

M.

To be fair, I don't think having a Master Degree will assist in getting a job as an engineer on a yacht (this is my opinion only). Look at it this way a degree means you can cube root a jar of pickles but doesn't necessarily mean you know how to open it.

Engineering on a yacht is 'hands on', requiring you to know both how it works and possibly more importantly how to fix it. Every job you see advertised will ask for experience; the MCA or USCG engineering quals show that you have it. A degree means that you can read the instructions, but not necessarily turn a spanner.

My advice, which is worth exactly what you paid for it is to take an AEC course during one of the semester breaks and try and obtain an entry level job with that to accrue some sea time in between study. The degree will come good, just not at the start.

I hope that this doesn't sound harsh, but these are the facts as I see them, others will prolly have different opinions.

Best Regards

The pay scales available on some websites or in magazines run fairly true as far as my experience shows. You will not find a rotational job below Y1/Y2 I don't think. Experience counts as in all things and especially when negotiating a salary.

My contract allows 35 days Holiday a year not including weekends and one flight home a year.

Something not mentioned so far but private yachts, ie not for charter, do not require the engineers to have any sort of tickets, your Masters degree may help in gaining a job like this but not good for longevity in the field.

Best Regards

your everyday work. Also when doing refits and new builds your MSc will help you understand the shipyard engineers reasoning and improve your ability to find the best technical solutions. (Well, at least I hope it will since I'm following the same route...)

Disclaimer: All the above is just my thoughts on the initial question about the value of an MSc in Mechanical Engineering when you want to work as a yacht engineer. I may be completely wrong about anything I have written!

Best regards!

(I managed to mess up my previous post so here is another try...)

I have a MSc in Mechanical Engineering which I thought would be looked favourably upon when I entered the yachting industry but no one seems to care!

I only have limited yachting experience (< 3 years) in the smaller/lower end and is currently sole engineer on a 34m MY.

Here are some thoughts:

1. The Msc will not help you in getting a job!

2. It will help you in your work as you will be disciplined, structured and have quite some (theoretical) experience in troubleshooting, reading and understanding technical literature, interpret drawings and schematics and understand why things are designed in certain ways.

3. As a new engineer your job will be more "fix this now" rather than "find the problem, make a plan on how to redesign it, redesign and write a report". Your practical mechanical skills will be far more important in the beginning!

4. On the smaller boats at least there seem to be a lot of really good mechanics but many seem to lack planning and project management skills and structured work methods. (Which you use daily during your MSc studies.)

5. I guess that it is not until you're at Y2-level your MSc really will pay off. Not only in passing the Y2/Y1 exams but also in your everyday work. Also when doing refits and new builds your MSc will help you understand the shipyard engineers reasoning and improve your ability to find the best technical solutions. (Well, at least I hope it will since I'm following the same route...)

Disclaimer: All the above is just my thoughts on the initial question about the value of an MSc in Mechanical Engineering when you want to work as a yacht engineer. I may be completely wrong about anything I have written!

Best regards!

Good luck with your Industrial Engineering degree!

A master degree will help you in whatever you decide to do.
Even if you want to do something completely different later
in life you will have gained quite good studying skills which
will help you learning anything.

(And you will have a fancy title to put in your business card...)

Best regards (from XX MSc ME).