pay scales

[cmi1050]

simple enough. its about a 1000.00 dollars a week after everything is said and done for a deckhand without overtime. you would probally make between 30,000-40,000 at entry level. good luck.

[2001hdeg]

Ok, thanks for the feedback.

[Randy S]

I relize I would have to work my way up. My dad sailed the great lakes and ocean for years before giving it up. He has given me a few pointers on how to get started. Does anyone know what pay (yearly salary) these entry level positions would bring in (assuming full time)? thanks

Really, there are too many variables to even give a ballpark figure. The rate of pay, your position, any "premiums" that may be in place, the amount of OT worked, number of runs a boat makes during the season, etc etc. When I sailed with Columbia and USS, the deck crew would work "2 before and 2 after" during the loading or unloading of the boat. Example: If you worked the 8-12 watch and arrived in port at 4AM, you would start working at 6AM (2 before) and be required to work until 2PM (2 after), the end of your Watch, or the end of the process - which ever came first. If the load/unload was done at 1PM, you were done. Now, on the same boat, the Porter and Wiper worked their normal shifts. The deck department got OT pay for the extra hours, but the others just worked their normal schedule. When I crewed the Sylvania, our run was Toledo/Detroit and it seemed that we were Always loading or unloading ... the deck crew was completely exhausted, but rich. At the same time, the paycheck for a crew member on a straight-decker, probably wouldn't vary more than a couple of dollars from week to week. And a person on a self-unloader on Duluth/Gary run would still get OT, but not as much as those on the Syl, because of the lower number of loadings/unloadings.

In "modern" times, the number of crewmembers has been reduced and some boats/companies work their deck crews pretty much on a straight 8 schedule that can be altered to fit with the boat's port times and eliminate most OT.

[2001hdeg]

I relize I would have to work my way up. My dad sailed the great lakes and ocean for years before giving it up. He has given me a few pointers on how to get started. Does anyone know what pay (yearly salary) these entry level positions would bring in (assuming full time)? thanks

[david44]

15 per hour about for entry jobs: deck, engineroom, and galley. You get room and board free, plus at least 16 hours time and a half a week.

[Randy S]

Sorry to say, but you just don't get to apply for a specific position. Entry level jobs are usually Deckhand (deck department) Wiper (engine room) or Porter (galley). Once you get your documents in order, you can apply to the various companies. If you want to work on deck, but get a call to take a galley position - take the job, because you may not get another call.

[Guest]

I imagine you will need to get your 1st aid cert. plus I know in Canada you also need to go to a marine school to get your survival at sea,fire fighting and other requirements which take about 3 weeks plus you have to be registered with the union to even get a sniff at a job.

[Timerover51]

I'm looking into going to work on the Great Lakes and was curious what the pay rates were for diff. jobs while aboard like deckhand, watchman, wheelsman, conveyor operator etc. (I relize captains, mates and engineers would make the most, but this would require schooling which I won't be attending school). thanks

To start with, you need to get a Merchant Mariner Card, and a Transportation Workers Identification Card. Go to the Coast Guard website and search for mariner documents.

[2001hdeg]

I'm looking into going to work on the Great Lakes and was curious what the pay rates were for diff. jobs while aboard like deckhand, watchman, wheelsman, conveyor operator etc. (I relize captains, mates and engineers would make the most, but this would require schooling which I won't be attending school). thanks