Author: Deepak Kumar Sharma | Managing Director, Bainbridge Navigation
As we live our own story each day, journeying through career and life, knowledge of others’ narratives at times proves fruitful. I wish to thank Ms. Neetu Jaiswal for allowing me the pleasure of sharing a slice of my narrative, reflecting on a crucial question that most individuals in the shipping industry face – career as a sailor or a shore job, which of the two is a better pick?
As I look back on my journey of 20 years in this industry, a perspective emerges, which I intend to share. And as I put across my thoughts, I wish it may prove helpful to someone facing a similar conundrum as I did many years ago; whether to make a switch to a shore job or not. What are the pros and cons of each? What factors should guide this decision? What are the eventualities of both jobs? These are some questions I’ve tried working out.
One acknowledges that influencing the job choice are primarily two concerns – job satisfaction and the expected financial gain. On most occasions, it is tough to find both these boxes checked simultaneously, in a single job. One of the two factors is at times compromised. But a sailor’s job comes with this rare double advantage. Someone who is passionate about seeing the world, working with people of different nationalities, and seeing amazing Sunrises and Sunsets, while also taking home a great pay package. For someone who might just be embarking on a professional journey, a sailor’s job proves a good head start, as you get the opportunity to attain monetary stability early in your career. It is observed that shore jobs do not match up to the financial promise that comes with what you get on board. Along with the commercials, there is another perk of exposure to varied cultures and geographies. Not only does one travel to different countries, but also gathers exposure to working with people of different nationalities. Spending numerous days, with a twenty-four seven-time engagement, one acquires unique people skills, forging friendly bonds that often last a lifetime. The charm doesn’t end here – once you are done with your contract, you get to spend quality time with your family without being bothered about any office calls or duties.
Having enjoyed the above perks of an onboard job, one hits upon the thought of making a switch to a more stable life – where you are rooted in a particular place for work, instead of being on the move mostly. At such a stage in life, one might look beyond the adrenaline of sailing and money and yearn for a settled life; geographical stability and familial moorings become important concerns. In some cases, fatigue also sets in, making one wish for a career that comes with the comfort of returning home after the day’s work. That is when a sailor’s job starts to lose its sheen. Further, the option of an onboard job might run its course as soon as one acquires the designation of a Captain or Chief Engineer. Quite often, this feat is achieved at the age of thirty itself, after which no scope of further growth is in sight. So, for an ambitious individual, the glass ceiling is reached too soon, and new opportunities of growth fail to surface.
This limitation makes one wish to explore the other side of the industry – the corporate aspect of sailing, or the shore job.
While eyeing the other side of the line, it is crucial to be cognizant of the changes one might come upon as you opt for a shore position in a shipping company. The foremost difference is the pay cut; the money that one makes in this job segment is nowhere close to what a sailing career would offer. At such a juncture it is best to approach your position in comparison with your non-sailing colleagues. That would be a prudent method of quantifying the return on labor one might be investing in the job. It’s my personal observation, that most of the colleagues from the sailing compare their expected pay for a shore-based job on the fact of what they have been getting on board and how many cuts they can take in. I would like to make a point here that they should use the benchmark of the shore pay scales of non-sailing personnel for the comparison. It is important to understand that a commercial job may not necessarily need the experience of sailing background (which is a preferred but not an absolute criterion).
From an employer’s perspective, it is the money that matters; hence it is important to compete with the non-sailing people who are able to get an equally good commercial job but on a much lesser PayScale of what we receive during sailing.
This affords a pragmatic view of one’s choice. Having done that, the next thing to be remembered is that working in an office is a different world altogether. To most, it might even appear as starting from scratch. Despite one’s practical knowledge of sailing, this new job role calls for a different skill set, one involving an understanding of the commercial nuances. I would repeat again – while the on-board experience might be advantageous in some respects, it may not make significant value addition to one’s job role at shore. You need to be mentally prepared to start from rock bottom and climb up the corporate ladder organically.
Some other obvious challenges of this segment of work include team shuffles and odd work hours. The former operates quite the same as in any other corporate setup. One often works in different teams, depending on the requirements at a given point of time. While you have the luxury of a peaceful vacation after a sailing contract, at shore you need to be on the go at all times. The corporate set-up of a shipping company often demands availability at odd hours as the vessels are in different time zones and some contingencies call for one’s availability according to that time frame. Additionally, meeting work targets and consistent performance proving one’s worth to the company continue to be parameters of value in this job throughout.
Having shared the story of both sides of the fence, I recommend you weigh the pros and cons before arriving at a decision of opting for either of the two jobs. It is crucial to give oneself sufficient transition time to think through and evaluate all parameters involved. Not rushing into a decision is key. And, should you make the decision to shift to a shore job, I would strongly recommend to take your family into confidence, have enough monetary resources for backup, brace up for the new challenges and give at least 2 years to stay put in a shore job and not go back to sea in this time as this would help you see the real perspectives and make an informed conclusion if it is worth or not. Let us acknowledge that the move from an on-board work to a shore one spells not just a career shift but also calls for a major lifestyle overhaul.
Hence a still pressing need to make a conscious, well-thought-out choice and own one’s journey thereafter!
