Titles Don’t Matter Out at Sea

I should warn you upfront that this post is going to be somewhat of a digression from the norm in that it’s not explicitly about travelling or sailing, although it just goes to prove that travelling is indeed the gift that keeps on giving. Travelling inspires all manner of thoughts and ideas, one of which is that of what the best career choices to make are, rather ironically brought about by just how little titles tend to matter when you’re out at sea.

The only title that matters when you’re at sea is pretty much that of the captain, a figure which surprisingly holds quite a lot of power over the upholding of legalities which are to be practiced as an extension of the jurisdiction you’re sailing from, transitioning to that of the jurisdiction you’ll be entering. But the captain doesn’t hold absolute power however and by no means is the captain an extension of the law to the extent that they hold power to enforce it. It’s just a matter of this figure of authority making for the go-to person in the event that any of the elements of the law have to be tested and applied, such as how if for example some illicit drugs or other prohibited goods were found on the vessel, the captain isn’t automatically arrested and assumed guilty.

They would be roped in to try and help the authorities finger the culprit and the captain’s input is taken into account quite considerably with regards to the harshness or even the leniency of the subsequent legal course of action.

All of that said however, what I’m really getting to is that if you are one of those youngsters who perhaps still has their whole lives ahead of them and you’re not too sure about which path to take by way of your career choice, casting your mind aboard a sea vessel can make for the unlikeliest of sources for some inspiration to make a good choice. Granted, you probably have some or other passion you might have wanted to pursue, but as life often has it we don’t quite always get to go down the path we always wanted to go down, or indeed the path we believe we were destined to follow. You’ll often find yourself faced with a choice between a few options which may not have been part of the original plan.

Out at sea, it doesn’t matter if you’re an engineer, a senior engineer, a graphic designer, a marketing executive or a personal assistant, unless of course any of those positions and all others have something to do with your employment on the vessel. Basically what matters is the relevance of your knowledge, experience or skills, such as how someone like Christopher Simon Attorney at Law may very well prove to be a valued advisor to the captain of a sea vessel as a result of the specialised knowledge they carry which is valued out at sea, to help navigate and interpret international law.

A doctor is another example of a professional whose skills and knowledge could come in handy in a maritime situation such as one which involves a medical emergency, so it’s basically a matter of selecting a career path which renders your location irrelevant. If your skills matter out at sea, they’ll matter anywhere and therefore you’ll always have job opportunities to pursue.