Education and Employment

[professorbob7]

Greetings,
I am 20 years old. My best friend and I got hooked on sailing 4 years ago. We have since built a couple small boats of our own, and want to build something larger to live aboard and eventually cruise with our future families. Obviously at this age, we aren''t living off retirement money :-) I was wondering about higher education and employment. I am in college, finishing a bachelor''s in education, but I''m guessing this won''t be very useful in most places. We both have lots of general life skills (have worked construction, worked in auto shops) but neither of us are certified in anything. How does this affect what jobs you can get? Especially in places outside the states? What types of education/certification have others found useful in generating income while cruising? Or, have you found lots of places you don''t need anything other than being willing to work and learn? As a final note, I just learned that it can be illegal for americans to work in many small countries. I definately don''t want to get invovled with that. Thanks for all the input!

Robert J Espe

[starcresttoo]

so you are in school....lets see.....lesson number one:a boat is a hole in the water into which one pours money.lesson number two......there are no small mistakes on a big boat........lesson number three.......ther are many strongly built well-found seaworthy boats on the bottom.there will be a test on on thursday and many unannounced pop quizzes.any questions.....see lesson number one

[sailortonyb1]

For starters, i certainly hope you intend to buy plans for your cruising boat. But anyway;
I''m a firm believer in education, so get your bachelor''s first. And yes, it probably wont do you any good in most places. Can you get a job in a foreign country? Theoretically yes, actually , probably not. Getting a capt''s license? I have a 100 ton masters license... pretty close to useless in the real world except for comml jobs. Like you are gonna go to a strange place and just get a job on a private yacht working for a stranger? yea, right. Miracles happen, but dont count on it.Good woodworking skills are nice if you tow a barge behind you for all your tools. If you want an income in some far away place as well as here in the states, you will need some sort of laborers skills and you seem to have them. Try the construction industry, maybe some welding and also as mwolf said...a diesel mechanic. A good mechanic can make a nice comfy income almost anywhere without compromising your price. Fiberglass skills are also nice to have but most cruisers already have those.Or do what i do... consider working offshore in the gulf of mexico. 2 weeks on and one week off for as long or short as you want. Good food, good working conditions, nice facilities on the rigs and platforms. Easy to get jobs such as welding, mechanics, electricians, etc. You and your friend can work together if he/she wants to work out there also. Nice weight and excercise rooms, great fishing, cable TV, high speed internet, all the comforts of home and no place to spend money.If you want more info, let met know.
Good luck in whatever you decide.
Tony B

[tadd16]

where exactly do you work? on an oil rig? i am a welder and i will be in florida soon where do i go for that kind of work?