Is marine transportation a good career path? This got us thinking eventually, but If you’re looking for a great career that can last a lifetime, you may want to consider a best paying career in marine transportation. Marine transportation is one of the industries that people are looking into because it pays well and can be extremely rewarding if you treat it seriously.
When deciding on a career, several factors include location, salary, hours worked, and growth potential. Let’s look at the details of this career path to help you try to make your mind up.
What Is Marine Transportation?
Marine transportation is the transportation of goods and passengers across waterways. It includes small craft operating on rivers and canals, larger oceangoing ships and barges, ocean liners, and ferries. The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) has defined it as: “the movement of passengers or goods by sea from one place to another with the help of ships.”
Marine transport is vital for many countries economies. Approximately 90% of international exports of goods and services are conducted by ship. Roughly 80 percent of all oil transported by sea goes through the Strait of Hormuz, off Iran’s southern coast, according to the US Energy Information Administration.
Marine shipping can be defined as all water-borne traffic between points worldwide involving more than one trip for which a specialized vessel is required. The definition covers commercial services such as liner services and container shipping and non-commercial or auxiliary services such as offshore installations and supply vessels (OSVs).
What Types of Marine Transportation Are Available?
There are many different types of marine transportation available. The most common methods are shipping, barging, and tugging.
- Shipping. The much more frequent technique of carrying things by water is going to ship. It involves a ship carrying goods from one location to another with a large crew on board to handle the operation.
- Barging. Barges are enormous ships converted to transport goods rather than people. They typically have flat bottoms and can hold more than one type of cargo at a time because they have no decks or cabins.
- Towing. Towing is when one boat pulls another boat through the water using ropes or chains attached to both boats’ sterns or bowsprits (front poles). This is done when smaller boats need assistance getting around obstacles in shallow waters such as sandbars, reefs, shoals, or rocks to continue traveling without damaging the hulls of their vessels or harming their passengers or crew members.
The Benefits of working in Marine Transportation
Marine transportation is an industry that has been around for thousands of years, and it is still growing. Participating in marine transportation has numerous advantages. Here are a few of our favorites:
Job security
The marine transportation industry has been around for thousands of years and continues to thrive today. You should know there are a wide range of jobs available within the industry, from deckhands to captains, so there’s something for everyone. If you’re looking for a secure career path with job security, becoming a member of this industry is a good choice.
Variety
A wide variety of vessels are used in marine transportation, including cargo ships, cruise ships, and oil tankers. These vessels travel worldwide, carrying goods and people from one place to another.
Flexible Schedule
Compared to other jobs that require physical labor outdoors or indoors all day on your feet, this job offers a more flexible schedule. You also can work part-time hours if you want to spend less time away from home but still get paid for full-time work.
Travel Opportunities
Many people who work in marine transportation travel frequently for work or pleasure purposes because they love being on the water.
High-paying jobs
Marine transportation jobs pay well, and the pay rates can be as high as $85,000 per year. The average salary is around $58,000. Those who work as captains or pilots have even higher salaries, with pilots earning between $100,000 and $150,000 annually and captains earning between $150,000 and $200,000 annually.
Is Marine Transportation A Good Career Path For You?
Marine transportation is a great industry to work in, but it can also be challenging. You need to have a lot of patience and dedication because you will often work long hours and on weekends. That means you want to select your career as a marine. If you want to be a marine transportation worker, then you must have the following qualities:
- Good at Dealing with People: As a marine transportation worker, you will often be dealing with different types of people, so you must be good at interacting with them. You ought to be willing to speak with them and comprehend their expectations for their work.
- Organized: Your job as a marine transportation worker requires that you are collected. This means that you should always be prepared for any possible situation and have all the necessary equipment ready before working on it.
- Hardworking: It is not easy being a marine transportation worker because there will always be deadlines to meet, and deadlines are usually strict, so if you are not hardworking, then it can prove to be difficult for you in the future.
Are you suited to a career in maritime transportation?
If you want to build a career as a marine transporter, here are the skills you need.
A Good Memory
The first thing that a marine transporter needs are a good memory. This is because they have to remember everything they learn in their training. For example, they need to remember how to use the ship’s equipment and control it so that they do not damage the vessel or injure themselves during their work.
Math Skills
A marine transporter must also be good at math because they will have to deal with weight and volume measurements when loading cargo on ships or unloading it from vessels into docks or trucks. In addition, they may have to calculate costs per pound or kilogram depending on what kind of cargo he or she is transporting.
Good Communication Skills
Another skill that all marine transporters must possess is good communication skills. This will enable them to interact well with customers and other people involved in their work, such as dock workers and other sailors helping them load and unload ships and boats for transport across oceans and seas.
Problem-solving skills
Manufacturing companies need workers who can solve problems without being told what to do. They must be prepared to think for themselves and arrive at an answer.
Organization skills
When working in an office setting or warehouse environment, the organization is extremely important because it helps keep things running smoothly and efficiently between departments or divisions.
Careers Currently In Demand for Foreseeable Career
If you are looking for a career in shipping, marine transportation offers you a lot of career posts. You should be able to get work on one of the vessels. You could go around the entire globe and do activities you’ve always desired to do.
In this profession, there’s a whole variety of various types of jobs available, such as:
- Port Engineers
- Naval Architects
- Port Captains
- Ship Captains
- Marine Surveyors
- Ship Security Officers
- Ship Superintendents
- Deck Hands
- Ship Fitters
- Able Seamans
- Ship Mates
- Vessel Operators
- Marine Service Managers
- Waiters
- Scuba Divers
- Sailors
- Fishers, etc
Bottom Lines
Is Marine Transportation A Good Career Path? The response is that it varies on your goals for your profession. The choice to go into the marine transportation field will shape your future. In this article, we discussed what a maritime transportation career entails and how to make an informed decision on choosing a career path. Continue exploring all of your options when determining what way you would like to take. You never know when to find your dream job or if another opportunity may present itself down the road.
