Ship Engineers
Propulsion control, engineering-system monitoring, casualty response, and underway watch supervision transfer directly to ship engineering operations.
How to prepare: Request an official sea-service transcript or assignment history for National Maritime Center review of the appropriate engineering endorsement, since a DD-214 is not acceptable sea-service evidence and the Coast Guard determines military-service equivalence. Plan for the applicable MMC officer endorsement and usually a TWIC, with endorsement-specific experience, approved training, examinations, citizenship, medical and drug-screening requirements; open-ocean service also requires verified STCW training and the appropriate national endorsement.
What the civilian work involves
- Monitor engine, machinery, or equipment indicators when vessels are underway, and report abnormalities to appropriate shipboard staff.
- Monitor and test operations of engines or other equipment so that malfunctions and their causes can be identified.
- Start engines to propel ships, and regulate engines and power transmissions to control speeds of ships, according to directions from captains or bridge computers.