HOW DO YOU BECOME A MERCHANT MARINE?

Question

HOW DO YOU BECOME A MERCHANT MARINE?

Answer 1

There are many ways to become a merchant marine, it depends on what you want to do. There are various Merchant marine  Academies around the country, Massachusetts Maritime, Maine Maritime, New York Maritime, California Maritime, Texas A+M, Great lakes maritime, and kings point federal maritime academy. Thes are accredited four year colleges, and whether you choose deck or enging as a major, you will get everything you need to go to sea. Another option is to accrue sea time on small boats and take a six week course for 100 ton masters "captains license".  If you really want to work your way up from the bottom, or "through the Hawse Pipe", you can go to your nearest U.S. Coast Guard Regional Exam Center(REC), with a completed physical, and drug test, and get evaluated for an Ordinary Seamans Document(O/S). This will get your foot in the door as a deckhand on commercial ships, tugs and other offshore vessels. As you accrue seatime, and learn the job from the officers and other crewmembers, you can go back to the REC, be evaluated for higher ratings, and take the exams. either way, you can look any of the academies, or coastguard requirements up online.  All this is assuming that you want to be a United States Merchant Marine.

Answer 2

Merchant Marine Academy

http://www.usmma.edu/