Re: Merchant Marine
I hold a Third Mate Unlimited Tonnage Oceans license, a Master 100 tons Oceans license, an Able Seaman Unlimited Oceans and am a certified USCG upper level instructor. Getting an AB Unlimited license isn't easy and qualified AB's are very much in demand. The hardest thing for most folks trying to get an AB is the mandatory sea time qualification. Most of those who do qualify (myself included) did so with military sea time. The first thing you need to do is contact NMPC (assuming you're former Navy) and get a "Transcript of Sea Time". This will document every single day you have spent at sea. Go through it carefully and make sure they didn't miss anything. Once you've done that, contact your nearest USCG REC (Regional Exam Center) and see if you can't get them to take a look at your transcripts. Some of the smaller REC's would do this as a courtesy, saving you lots of time and money, but since 9-11 they don't do this as much any more. The key is to find out if you've got sufficient sea time, and if so, then submit an application and start going through the qualifying process. You'll need to complete some training (lifeboatman, BST (Basic Safety Training), etc.) as well as take a written examination. I think it cost me about $1K for everything way back when, but it's probably a lot more than that now-a-days. The other route is to join the Seafarers Union and go through their training, which IIRC ended up being a fair bit cheaper.
I stopped teaching a couple years ago and haven't sailed on my license for about that long also. The reg's have changed a fair bit recently, so you'll want to get the latest info from the REC or their website. When I last looked, AB's pretty much had their choice of jobs and the pay wasn't that much less than what I got as a 2nd or 3rd mate.
