Guest mike2153 Posted February 3, 2013 Share Posted February 3, 2013 Hi guysjust after some info on what sort of careers you can hev in the fishing industry ie deckhand on a charter boat or working for fisheries etc. How would one with no experience get a job on a charter boat. Ive been fishing my whole life but in the last year just really gotten into it heavily, fishing every weekend etc and I would like to give it a go as a job im a Fitter by trade also a qualified mechanic and im looking for a sea change. Cheers guys Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lostproperty Posted February 3, 2013 Share Posted February 3, 2013 It probably sounds glorious however think about this, after all week on the water pulling up 38cm flatheads and 28cm bream all week are you gona want to go out and chase kings on the weekend? Probably not I'd say. I would advise keep fishing and do a degree in marketing while fishing everyday, build yourself up as a brand using online media and create yourself as a tv personality and hope that Paul W decides to retire in 5 years time and take over iFish If you love fishing, find a job that will allow you to do it as much as possible. Go ask the bloke down at the local tackleshop about his recent fishing events, the last guy who spooked up my reel was pretty envious of the kingies I'd been getting into while he hardly had time to chase tiny bream All the best to you mate. If you don't have any family go wok in the mines for 12 months $$$$ then fish as much as you like, they need plenty of fitters over there Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elferoz777 Posted February 3, 2013 Share Posted February 3, 2013 The only thing I can think of is a fishing charter business??? Then you could enjoy it with novices like me when I book in!The only thing is you will need a crap load of capital to get that going. If you love fishing, find a job that will allow you to do it as much as possible. Thats what I did, Located in port kembla right near the break wall and hill 60. Now with my split shifts starting I will be able to fish like mad. The other reason I dont get into a fishing career is that based on my current fishing streak my family would starve. I used to want to get my R licence and go roo culling. A long week of shooting out west soon cured that...became too monotonous after a bit. Not I hunt 3- 4 times ayear and its something I can say I spen all year waiting for. Good luck with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
port hacking addiction Posted February 3, 2013 Share Posted February 3, 2013 Hey mate if u watch hook line sinker on foxtel they usualy have some uni career thing.its usualy always on in the add breaks, its jobs to do with all marine stuff like fish stocks,marine engineers,big cruiser drivers,not so much fishing but careers on the water Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nbdshroom Posted February 3, 2013 Share Posted February 3, 2013 There's probably a whole lot of things you could do to do with fishing besides being a charter operator. Maybe work/open a bait/tackle store, work at a fish farm, research to do with marine life, write fishing articles for journalism, multimedia... or even start a fishing website! .... only kidding about the last suggestion! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scratchie Posted February 3, 2013 Share Posted February 3, 2013 Hey mike2153, If you end up finding something that's good, let me know and I'll try the same. I'm looking for work now and that would be right up my alley! Cheers scratchie!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slinkymalinky Posted February 3, 2013 Share Posted February 3, 2013 Hey Mike, In my time I worked as a deckhand on a fishing boat, was good friends with a couple of Tassie professional trout guides, and got to know guys in Tasmanian fisheries. If you're serious about it there's 2 things to do... first, get experience on boats and the quickest way to get a deckies job is to go down to the docks and just ask all the skippers you can find. Working as a deckie is hard work and the pay is crappy but what it gives you is time on the water and that leads to part 2... you need to get a coxswains ticket or better so that you can operate commercial vessels. Check with maritime what the requirements are and start working towards them... one of the requirements is log book time so see point 1. As a guide, you need to be a) good at finding fish for other people incredibly patient and at times, tolerant c) qualified if boats are involved d) insured e) willing to live on not very much income f) membership of an appropriate association will help g) able and willing to run a small business professionally (there's a heck of a lot more to it than just taking people fishing) As for jobs in fisheries of similar, the best advice is education!! Check with the sort of organisations you're interested in and ask them what qualifications you might need... depending on the job you might need anything from nothing special to a marine science degree. Cheers, Slinky Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest mike2153 Posted February 3, 2013 Share Posted February 3, 2013 Yea thanks for the help guys heaps of replies so quick! I think what i would like to do is maybe work on boats ie mechancial repairs etc that way im near the water and thats not a bad office to have, or maybe work for fisheries doing various things, Im not to sure at the moment actually i would like to do alot of things as we all would lol. Does anyone know what the average marine mechanic gets paid? Is anyone on here a mechanic? Surely it couldnt be much different as working on cars? All the same basics and im sure you could adapt quickly to working on boats? Cheers guys. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockfisherman Posted February 3, 2013 Share Posted February 3, 2013 How bout a part time job at a tackle shop? Fishingphase Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LungFai Posted February 3, 2013 Share Posted February 3, 2013 Get a Job at a Wharf somewhere, especially one that transports coal. Do your shift and then throw in a line after work, the warm water caused by the cooling of the coal at the wharf produces massive un-edible fish but damn are they fun to catch. I remember back in my younger days when we were allowed into the Coniston Coal Terminal boat ramp to throw in a line, and the days when Jetty 6 in Port Kembla Harbour was open to the public. Man were tehy the good ol days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justin80 Posted February 4, 2013 Share Posted February 4, 2013 (edited) Hi Mike, I went through the same thought process as you are now about a year ago. I'd spent 10 or so years working in finance and decided I'd had enough. I was fortunate enough to be able to take a few months off work and attend TAFE to undertake a Coxswains course. This took 7 weeks full-time. You can, however, simply do the Deckhand course, called a GPH (General Purpose Hand). This can be done in two weeks I believe. Longer if you would rather do it part-time of an evening, or shorter still if you attend Sea School instead. Be aware that most boat operators look more kindly upon those who get their tickets through TAFE as it is more thorough. The course is interesting, and regardless of your experience level you will learn at least something. I myself learnt an awful lot. Remember, you MUST have at least a GPH in order to work on a commercial vessel. I found my first job working as a deckhand on a fishing charter vessel on gumtree. They were advertising for a Master 5 to skipper the boat. I sent through an e-mail explaining my background and got offered a trial run the following weekend as a decky. I still work on this boat. As others have said, it's not all sunshine and snappers.The starts are early and you WILL get your hands dirty. Expect to earn between $20 - $25 an hour initially. But it can also be very rewarding and is definately a nice change from sitting in an office 45 hours a week. I also work on a 75' luxury cruiser doing corporate cruises, buck's parties and the occasional 3-day trip. The money for this type of work is quite good, but the work is both casual and seasonal, obviously. I have had offers to drive water taxis and ice cream boats around the Hawkesbury River, so there is plenty of work around for the right type of person. I'm knocking back work most weeks. Water Taxis in particular are quite lucrative and the work is easy and pleasant. Coming from a mechanical background you'd be an excellent fit. As you say, a lot of your knowledge will translate well to marine engineering. You will work with lots of big diesels of course, which should be a walk in the park for you. Also pumps, valves, etc. You must be good with lines, or you must be willing to get good at them. I have heard of skippers kicking deckhands off boats at marina's for either failing to listen to instructions or pure incompetence while coming alongside a wharf or while berthing. If you listen and pay attention you should have no problem. There is a certain pride in working with an experienced skipper and springing a 80 tonne vessel onto a wharf in a 50 knot southerly. Oh, and I almost always come home with fish and/or beer in my bag. The first year or so you will need at least part-time work during the week to supplement your income from boats. Or be prepared to move home to your parents place! I have just accrued my hours as a deckhand in order to sit my Coxswain examination with Maritime. The money gets a lot better from here on and more options become available. My brother is a Tug Master with the largest tug company in Australia and let me tell you, he does very nicely thank you very much. And I mean very nicely..... and he works less than 6 months in the year. Any more questions, let me know. Edited February 4, 2013 by Justin80 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elferoz777 Posted February 4, 2013 Share Posted February 4, 2013 Mate Port kembla has wharf jobs all the time or transport jobs. You would be a stones throw away from good fishing spots and close to the water. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest mike2153 Posted February 4, 2013 Share Posted February 4, 2013 Hi Mike, I went through the same thought process as you are now about a year ago. I'd spent 10 or so years working in finance and decided I'd had enough. I was fortunate enough to be able to take a few months off work and attend TAFE to undertake a Coxswains course. This took 7 weeks full-time. You can, however, simply do the Deckhand course, called a GPH (General Purpose Hand). This can be done in two weeks I believe. Longer if you would rather do it part-time of an evening, or shorter still if you attend Sea School instead. Be aware that most boat operators look more kindly upon those who get their tickets through TAFE as it is more thorough. The course is interesting, and regardless of your experience level you will learn at least something. I myself learn an awful lot. Remember, you MUST have at least a GPH in order to work on a commercial vessel. I found my first job working as a deckhand on a fishing charter vessel on gumtree. They were advertising for a Master 5 to skipper the boat. I sent through an e-mail explaining my background and got offered a trial run the following weekend as a decky. I still work on this boat. As others have said, it's not all sunshine and snappers.The starts are early and you WILL get your hands dirty. Expect to earn between $20 - $25 an hour initially. But it can also be very rewarding and is definately a nice change from sitting in an office 45 hours a week. I also work on a 75' luxury cruiser doing corporate cruises, buck's parties and the occasional 3-day trip. The money for this type of work is quite good, but the work is both casual and seasonal, obviously. I have had offers to drive water taxis and ice cream boats around the Hawkesbury River, so there is plenty of work around for the right type of person. I'm knocking back work most weeks. Water Taxis in particular are quite lucrative and the work is easy and pleasant. Coming from a mechanical background you'd be an excellent fit. As you say, a lot of your knowledge will translate well to marine engineering. You will work with lots of big diesels of course, which should be a walk in the park for you. Also pumps, valves, etc. You must be good with lines, or you must be willing to get good at them. I have heard of skippers kicking deckhands off boats at marina's for either failing to listen to instructions or pure incompetence while coming alongside a wharf or while berthing. If you listen and pay attention you should have no problem. There is a certain pride in working with an experienced skipper and springing a 80 tonne vessel onto a wharf in a 50 knot southerly. Oh, and I almost always come home with fish and/or beer in my bag. The first year or so you will need at least part-time work during the week to supplement your income from boats. Or be prepared to move home to your parents place! I have just accrued my hours as a deckhand in order to sit my Coxswain examination with Maritime. The money gets a lot better from here on and more options become available. My brother is a Tug Master with the largest tug company in Australia and let me tell you, he does very nicely thank you very much. And I mean very nicely..... and he works less than 6 months in the year. Any more questions, let me know. Mate that's what im looking for. I might investigate that TAFE course right now, I was thinking about doing the TAFE course then ringing around places to see if they wanted a deckhand for weekends and the occasional weekday, that way I can slowly get my hours up and work full time as well because im trying to save for a house and have a personal loan so I need a steady income, (plus I like to live fairly well). Thanks for your help mate has been a good read. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justin80 Posted February 4, 2013 Share Posted February 4, 2013 Glad to help mate. I picked up a 4-day a week gig in a factory while I started working on boats. It's not hard once you get a start to make $450 a weekend so long as you're willing to work both Saturday and Sunday. I do Friday night fishing trips sometimes if I have nothing better to do and earn $200 or so for 5 hours work. (I also like to live fairly well!) I don't know whereabouts in Sydney you are but I did my Coxswains at Northern Beaches TAFE behind Warringah Mall. I believe Ultimo TAFE also does Maritime Studies. My Coxswains cost me $700 - 800 dollars I think. A GPH might only be $200 - 300 but you'll have to check. Either way, you'll make that back quickly. Once you start working on a boat all future courses will be tax deductible. On that note, I deduct everything. And I mean EVERYTHING. I'm talking all my personal fishing equipment, bait, tackle, fuel, personal boat running costs, etc. So, all my earnings this year should be tax free! Good luck mate. Any more questions, let me know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrsswordfisherman Posted February 4, 2013 Share Posted February 4, 2013 Thanks Justin for sharing very good info Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockfisherman Posted February 4, 2013 Share Posted February 4, 2013 Couldn't have found a better response. Fishingphase Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hottyscotty Posted February 4, 2013 Share Posted February 4, 2013 Goto Alsaka and work on the crab boats. Maybe you'll be on TV too! I think Discovery webpage has a link to express your interests. If TV is true, their pay is insane for a few months work. Thats if you get to be on one of the better crab boats. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now