Career as Marine Engineer

Ships, perhaps the most ancient mode of transport used by humans to explore the earth, still have a romance about them that is unmatched by even the fastest aircraft. Modern ships are to their early-dawn cousins what the moon rocket is to the Wright brothers' glider. It is the marine engineer who manages the enormous propellant power and the intricate machinery of a ship, helping it cross an ocean within days.

Modern ships use the latest technology and equipment that the marine engineer has to understand, operate and maintain. The job demands a high degree discipline, since a chief engineer will be in charge of a ship and cargo costing hundreds of millions of dollars. Machinery include the main propulsion plant, a power generating system a freshwater generating system, boilers and turbines for pumping cargo and large cargo handling gears. This is different from the job of a deck officer, which involves navigation of the ship, receiving and discharging cargo and administrative work. A marine engineer can be assigned to a cargo ship, container ship, or oil and gas tanker. To work on a gas carrying ship, one will be required to do a short certification course.

"During the four years of training for a marine engineering degree, a student would be educated in all engineering aspects of the ship, including construction, running, operations and maintenance. But this being a life on sea, there is more to learn than just about machinery. "The student would be prepared for the career ahead, which is highly paying but hard at the same time. Career as marine engineer will keep him away from his family in the initial years, while he is sailing round the globe."

On these long trips, patience and diplomacy are as important as engineering skills of hardcore. "You have to be flexible, as everybody is homesick, maybe frustrated. Months and months of life surrounded by water does not mean that many women choose this race or go very far in it. However, there are compensations - it's substantial. First, is the salary, which is very high even at the starting level and then rises steadily as future promotions. Then there's free time is four to six months in a year. Third, as a sailor, you get to see the world.

For those who are not called away from the sea by family commitments, the top rung of the ladder is the post of chief engineer. "A marine engineer becomes chief engineer but not captain. "To become a captain, one has to do a threeyear degree programme in nautical science after Plus Two, then take an all-India entrance exam and subsequent exams conducted by the government of India. A marine engineer normally sails for 15-20 years. After the age of 40, people usually take up shore jobs, which may be in shipyards, maritime universities or in management of a shipping company. Other employment sectors are banks, hotels and power plants. With the opportunities and rewards that this line offers, for a marine engineer, it seems, the sea is the limit.