Marine needs to know-boating careers?

[cokeydawg57]

im 22yrs old currently serving my last tour in iraq as a corporal in the marines. its comin close to the end of my service and im looking at possible careers in boating. im from the georgia coast(darien) and i love the water and i love boating. i was thinking maybe becoming a boat mechanic but who knows? i was just wondering if anyone could give any input on that particular career ex. pay, hours, benefits, reasons why you like it. or maybe someone could tell me about some other boating\water related jobs are out there. thanks.

 

[dwaldo]

Re: Marine needs to know-boating careers?

How about a career with the Fish and Wildlife commision of Florida?They will keep you on a boat and pay the gas bill too. Go to "MYFWC.COM" for details
dave

 

[JB]

Re: Marine needs to know-boating careers?

Howdy, Gyrene.

Welcome to iboats.

I don't have any particular advice about marine related careers, but I want to thank you for your service.

Best of luck to you.

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: Marine needs to know-boating careers?

1st from a Viet Nam Corpsman (incountry marine duty), i would like to thank you for your service. i'm in Jacksonville. you other guys don't take offense to what is say. there are mechanics, and there are outboard technicians. a mech is a wrech turner imho, technician, is a mechanic with great trouble shooting skills, and can actually find the problem and fix it. with the electronics of the new motors, is going to require great training.

there are several good schools, that you could use your education bennys, Or you can try to get in with a dealer, who if he is willing, can sponsor you to the factory school. but that only trains you on that Brand.

you also have the opportunity to get into repair and restoration of the boats themselves.

and as mention the is the law enforcement side. or you could get on with one of the "rescue" companies like Seatow.

i do restoration as a hobby.

why do i do it. it becomes a passion.

 

[tommays]

Re: Marine needs to know-boating careers?

Were you live is a big part of the deal

Up here the work is very seasonal and while you will work year round the pressure is very high in the spring and it would be hard to call it fun during that time of year

 

[QC]

Re: Marine needs to know-boating careers?

From a plane jane ordinary citizen, I also want to thank you for your service . . .

I sorta like the tech school ideas, but I really like the dealer one. Many boat dealers carry a variety of brands, so that can still work. I preferred dealer training than tech school guys when I was hiring technicians. Most tech schools teach what happened yesterday, dealers get warranty work, and factory support on the newest stuff. I could put a Dealer guy to work making money immediately, tech school guys we had to feel out longer and sometimes had to knock 'em down a peg 'cause they think their "certification" put them ahead of school of hard knocks guys. Fact is, I didn't care what they had as far as training, I needed guys who could make us money . . .

The one school I have personal experience with, that also has a good marine program is UTI.

 

[Jarhead44]

Re: Marine needs to know-boating careers?

if you go the fish and game route hopefully you were am MP. The law enfocement helps out. I'm a former Marine out of Jacksonville. 46 squadron. got out a corporal. Sempre FI, and good luck

 

[mpsyamaha]

Re: Marine needs to know-boating careers?

i went to MMI, which is a division of UTI. i feel that it was good training in a wide variety of boat related repairs. it will definitely open doors for you. it wont however automatically make you into an "A" tech. i have found there is no substitute for real world experience. i learn new things every day on the job. if you go to work for a dealer, make sure they are going to send you at least yearly to dealer training.

i enjoy working on boats because its what i love to do. the pay can vary a lot depending on location and also the type of place you work for. generally though, you can start at a pretty decent wage and after a few years experience should do quite well.

 

[BMJ]

Re: Marine needs to know-boating careers?

I've been in the boating field for about 10 years. Started washing boats and general yard duties.(yard rat) From there moved to rigging and small tech work. moved to FL five years ago and been doing sales every since. I really love what I do, however it can be stressful (like any job). One thing that my Grandpa told me long ago. If you like to fish, stay out of the boating industry. At times I should've listened.

The hours can be long, and at times it seems like flipping burgers would've been a better option.

PM me with any questions I can answer.

Thanks for your service.

 

[TonyNoriega]

Re: Marine needs to know-boating careers?

Tashasdaddy, thank YOU for your service! This time around (with Iraq) the left has at least figured out that our servicemen are doing commendable work - notwithstanding their political bias, while when you and I were comming back from VietNam they were spitting on us. It's good to see this soldier getting pats on the back but I wanted to let you know that you deserve applause as well........

 

[larryo]

Re: Marine needs to know-boating careers?

Fish and Game has to be the most secure way to go . Thanks for everything , sorry you had to go thru it . Am a Vet from the Nam era and never saw a Vet spat upon live or on TV . Don' t believe that crap, when done it was a rarity . We honored our Vets , hated the War . My Marine roommate was killed in a car accident a month after returning doing Nam Recon for 13 mos. Can you believe that ? Larry