<p>So as I near the end of my highschool career, I am letting my vague dreams of fame and fortune with ivy league diplomas become more abstract. I am now focusing more on actual careers. Ever since I was a youngster, I've loved cruise ships and the ocean. I love visiting places, and I love operating boats. I got my boater's license the day I turned 14 (legal age here). I was planning on working on wall street, but I realized that I would hate it. </p>
<p>Then my dad started telling me about the military, and I kind of ignored him, because I'm not exactly Conservative Carl. I'm more of a Libertarian Lou... but that's beside the point. </p>
<p>I want to be a cruise ship captain. That's my dream. How hard is it to get there? I don't want to work on some budget cruise line, I want to be on something nice. Do Americans even become cruise ship captains? The last few cruises that I was on had mostly european captains. </p>
<p>Would it be more advantageous for my career if I went into active duty in the military first and obtained a higher rank before looking for a job in the cruise industry? If so, what branch of the military?</p>
<p>How hard is it to get into the Academy? My stats are suitable for Ivy League, but I know KP and the other academies are more than numbers. </p>
<p>And how does the sea year affect varsity athletics?</p>
<p>it would be very, very difficult to become a cruise ship captain from any active duty side. Coming from Kings Point would be the absoluet best bet. There are very few cruise ships that are manned by Americans, the only ones right now are out in Hawaii. The road would be long, you could probably get on a cruise ship early on, but it would take a long time to move up the ranks as someone has to retire or move on for that slot to open.</p>
<p>One more thing. I want to have a family one day... What am I supposed to do then? I'm not very keen about leaving my wife at home for months at a time, and not being there to raise my children. Are there other jobs that pay well, but have more of a weekly kind of weekly work obligation? </p>
<p>How possible is it to double major at KP? I would love to have an english degree to fall back on and become a teacher someday.</p>
<p>Visirale: Obviously, to be a top dog on a cruise ship requires lots of time at sea (thus hurting family life at home) as well as the politics of ships - most cruise lines aren't US (except Hawaii as noted - it is a very long story). If you want a family life, there are many "shore-based" marine transportation jobs and majors at USMMA. Cruise around the USMMA website on the majors, obligations as well as some of the posts here on CC. But you are correct, it is hard to have a normal life if you are on a ship 6-9months a year.</p>
<p>you can forget KP if you want to major in english. I was going to say that you have obviously not done much research on your own here if you were asking about that, but I'll give you the benefit of the doubt as I know how difficult it is to find anything about USMMA anywhere. </p>
<p>There are several options where you can have a job and be home every night as a graduate of KP; however, you would most likely have to give up the dream of being a cruise line captain.</p>