<p>Congratulations to Hannah and ggspin... good job!</p>
<p>Yes, please schedule your overnights as suggested ... best of luck in your decisions.</p>
<p>yay! another potential classmate! (excuse my dorkiness)</p>
<p>My son has been accepted to KP. Also I'm a KP grad class of '81 and currently sail as Chief Engineer for a shipping company on the West Coast. I sail with KP cadets all the time. Just finished sailing with two great cadets from the class of '07. If you have any questions about Sea Year or anything about shipping, I'll be glad to try and answer them.</p>
<p>KPCheng - welcome aboard! You are a 2fer! Alum and parent! My son is at sea ('08) and we try to give everyone helpful advice and moral support! We have only a few alums finding us -- since you are out there in the real shipping world, where do you see opportunities for KP grads these days? </p>
<p>Hope you AND your son will troll around the KP area and add your 2 cents!</p>
<p>I'll speak to shipping because I'm familiar with that. If you want to ship after graduation you most likely will have to join one of the officer unions. I belong to MEBA (engineers with some deck on the passenger ships). There is also the AMO (both deck and engine) and the MMP (deck). Becuase of the current war in Iraq and the required sealift to sustain that operation shipping (jobs) are pretty good. The shipping industry cycles just like everything else and right now it is up. It is a good time for someone just out of school to ship out. They won't have to wait that long in the union hall for a job or in the case of the AMO wait by the phone. It takes a few years of sustained shipping to to become a full union member. Full members have first choice of jobs and applicants get the scraps. You can't be picky when first starting to ship or you'll find yourself passing over jobs. Believe me, someone will take that job. Another option instead of going the union way is start with the navy's Military Sealift Command (MSC). You better like to ship if you choose this option because you will have to stay for 6 months. You are a federal goverment civil service employee. The pay is lower and the vacation is less than a union ship. The advantage of shipping MSC is that you get a lot of sea time quickly and can advance your license faster than in the union. </p>
<p>I think you'd be hard pressed to find an unemployed Kings Pointer. The Alumni association puts out the "KP Log" which documents the current employment of almost every graduate. They are in every field you can think of. Lots of guys and gals start out shipping and then move shoreside. I think the possibilities are endless and certainly more open than a graduate from one of the other service academies. The service obligation is a little more stringent than when I got out, so I think more grads are shipping which is a good thing. </p>
<p>Of course there is always the option of active duty in ANY branch of the military (not just the navy), provided you jump through the necessary hoops at school and they want you. </p>
<p>So much for a quick reply.</p>
<p>Hi to weski. Missed you over the last few days! Is your son back yet?</p>
<p>KPcheng, how can my son get on your ship? Because I'm thinking how great would that be to have a real KPer to ask questions about his sea year project. LOL Seriously though, can you tell us where you sail and how long your trips are? How do you find security in ports outside of the US? What types of duties do the kids have on ships such as yours?</p>
<p>kp...81,</p>
<p>Check out this thread started by a KP grad of '01 concerning "every field you can think of."</p>
<p>kp..81 ( I posted this about 10 min. ago, but it's not here!?!?)</p>
<p>Anyway..hell-o and congrats to both you and your son.
Thanks for the offer to answer our questions regarding sea year...as I wrote before, no doubt you will be inundated with questions :)</p>
<p>I love it when we can get alums in here! Such useful information that we landlubbers are totally clueless about! Unions and MSC are alien concepts to me - but we will all learn!</p>
<p>Son still out there on the Atlantic working on his sea project...but work calls me...</p>
<p>Jamzmom</p>
<p>I sail for Matson Navigation. They are the major shipping company to Hawaii. They also run three ships to China. They have a pretty good website at <a href="http://www">www</a>. matson.com Click on "ocean services" and at the bottom of the page look for GPS tracking and click on select a ship. All the ships will be displayed. Currently 11 ships are operating.</p>
<p>The Hawaii ships are on a 2 week voyage. They never leave the country but only go back and forth between Honolulu and the West Coast ( Seattle, San Francisco or LA) The China ships are on a 35 day run and stop in Japan, and two ports in China. I'm on a Hawaii ship (Matsonia) so I don't get overseas much except for shipyards. The Matsonia will be leaving for a 6 week yard period in China in July. I was in China in 2002 with two cadets and they went wherever they wanted without problem. I think most asian countries would be okay. I'm not sure about Africa or the middle east. Probably don't even allow you ashore in some ports there. Europe or the Med., no problem.</p>
<p>The engine cadets are usually assigned to the First Engineer. They are mostly on daywork. They better not have a problem with getting their hands dirty and their coveralls covered with grime and sweat. They help with the start up and shutdown of machinery and the overhaul of pumps, pipes, compressors, winches, engines, etc. They also help during arrival and departures. They will stand a few watches and learn what the assistant engineers are responsible for. Usually in the evenings they work on their sea project. The sea project is pretty detailed and requires a lot of drawings and sketches. I've had cadets wait too long to start theirs and they end up running out of time. If they start early it's not that much time out of the day. For some kids this is their first time when they are truely on their own. No one is making sure they do anything or nagging them to get things done. Some handle it okay and some don't. It's a great learning experience. I think you will notice a change after the first sea year. Things start to click together for them. First time cadets require more oversight and instruction but they are usually eager learners and want to pitch in and be accepted. Cadets on their 2nd sea year are usually a great help to the engine department. They have matured, have their sea legs and are comfortable with their abiliites. </p>
<p>Deck cadets are usually assigned to the Chief Mate. They will stand bridge watch with the mate or the 2nd Mate, attend all arrival and departures, and assist the Mate with all cargo loading and unloading. Their project is also pretty involved, especially the navigation end of it. Like the engine cadets they don't want to wait too long to get started.</p>
<p>It's not all work and toil though. They have lots of free time. They also get time off in port. Honolulu is a great port stay for cadets. The west coast is where most of the work is done and cadets don't usually get the day off there. Matson ships are also known for good food or "feeders". The run is a good weather run which allows for great cookouts.</p>