I actually didn’t originally want to be an Engineer!

When deciding what the next big step was after secondary school I went to the City of Glasgow College open day, and after speaking to cadets who were helping out at the event I was immediately interested and applied straight away with SSTG. As it happens I was actually in my art class when I got the acceptance email from SSTG!

It got easier to fall into a routine on ship.

My first trip to sea was definitely one to remember. In college many of the lecturers had said that it would be unlikely that we would ever experience dry dock whilst sailing as a cadet. However on my first trip I was in dry dock not once, but twice! Both were due to a failure in propulsion. It was a completely hectic experience. There were so many contractors in and out of the engine room I felt lost and overwhelmed, and didn’t know exactly what to expect.

As time went on it got easier to fall into a routine on ship with the crew, although joining a new ship was always daunting.

The crew were great!

Once qualified I was lucky enough to be taken on by my sponsoring company, and was due to join one of their ships four weeks later. The ship I was joining had only completed two trips, one of these being her maiden voyage and the other being her first draft out at the rigs. So this it meant that it was a whole new crew joining, myself included.

I had the opportunity to join a day early and spend the day with the back-to-back engineers, which allowed me to familiarise myself with the whereabouts of the machinery. It also meant that the engineers could explain any teething problems they came across.

Knowing that I had been given the approval to sail and work as a 3rd Engineer made me extremely nervous about starting this next chapter, but luckily as it was straight onto the ship and straight into an induction I didn’t have a chance to stop and think. The crew were great as everyone was in the same boat learning where everything was and getting used to the new ship. What was weird was knowing that I was qualified to sign off any cadet’s TRB if they were to sail a trip with us.

I definitely think this cadetship is a golden ticket.

I definitely think this cadetship is a golden ticket and opens many pathways into the marine industry, and I would and do recommend it to anyone with an interest in marine engineering or the deck side of things.