Which direction to take

Now its welding.. WHAT

 

^^^^ This. If you're looking down the line for a career, the maritime industry can be a nice one to get into. Definitely go through an academy and get your license and a degree. Starting pay right out of school can be over $100k with 6 months of vacation a year. The companies I've worked for didn't care where I lived, I just had to be within 200 miles of an international airport.

Here's one of the smaller engines I've worked on physical size wise, it's not quite two stories tall:



15,500 hp each, we've got 4 of 'em. Also do quite a bit of welding. I could probably come close to doubling my income if I went into the oil production side of the industry but I like where I'm at.

 

who cares about HP? Its all bout torque

But 100k a year out of school?

 

Voted for Diesel tech.

 

Diesel it is

 

6..months..off? I assume for 6 months you're working non-stop?

 

Yeah, if you go to work in the oil industry, on a rig, drill ship or supply boat. Outside the oil patch it's not quite as lucrative but still plenty to be comfortable.

Rotations break up differently. I typically do a 10 week on 10 week off rotation. I work ten weeks then get ten weeks of vacation. Oil patch is typically 4 weeks on, 4 weeks off. The foreign stuff is usually longer on the rotations, normally 3 or 4 months a hitch. It's not unheard of for people to work more, but honestly after two months most people need a mental break. I did 135 days once and won't do that again.

It's not for everyone. A day off at work usually means I only work 8 hours. 12 hour days are the norm and you're on call if things really go south. There have been plenty of times where I wish I had a weekend off to decompress. It can be tough on relationships.