Working at sea is fun and adventurous. However, clocking long hours and spending time away from friends and family can take a toll on you. As a result, many maritime professionals at sea dream of transitioning to shore-based careers but also fear the challenges that may arise with these transitions.
If you are one of these professionals, yearning to join your colleagues at the shore, don’t worry. The transition may seem grueling, but the tips below will facilitate a smooth process.
5 Tips that Facilitate a Smooth Transition
- Contact a Maritime Job Search Agency
You may have the expertise to thrive in the maritime industry, but you will start from scratch when you quit your job at sea. Therefore, unless you transition within the same company, you must have a plan, and working with a maritime executive search company is effective. Maritime search companies like Core Group Resources work with various maritime companies to recruit qualified professionals.
Therefore, when you contact an agency, they can recommend you to shore-based companies that require your qualifications. In fact, if you’re lucky, you can disembark from the ship and into your new shore-based career.
- Settle On A Shore-Based Career
Your shore-based role may differ from your seafarer role, but you don’t have to deviate from your interests. A wide selection of shore-based maritime careers requires your seafarer skills, and others offer challenging opportunities to keep you engaged.
For example, you can find careers in fleet management, maritime sales and marketing, and surveying. Additional careers include marine school lecturer, naval architect, marine engineer, or ship broker. The maritime executive search agencies are also highly effective in helping you narrow down a suitable career.
- Start Training
Working at sea is tasking, but it would help if you find time to pursue online maritime courses. These courses illustrate the dynamics of working in an office and broaden your knowledge of career-specific fundamentals. In addition, the online courses could primarily base on your soft skills, such as leadership, critical thinking, communication, and time management.
Moreover, enrolling in an online course while at sea will help you decide whether or not a shore-based career is a right decision. Familiarizing yourself with your new career path beforehand will either get you excited or change your decision.
However, remember that you don’t have to complete your courses at sea. Instead, you can take time to study before you launch a shore-based career.
- Where Will You Work?
It is easy to assume that you will transition into a maritime career in your country or home. However, what happens when your maritime career sends you further from home? Seafarers travel often, and choosing to relocate to a different state or country is not a far-fetched decision.
However, you need to weigh your options before deciding. For example, do you have a family? How’s the work culture in the new country? Or can you integrate back the work environment into your home area? Liaise with your maritime executive search agency and explore all location prospects, analyzing the pros and cons.
Transitioning into a new career is challenging for professionals across all industries. However, preparation and support are crucial for your transition if you have outgrown your time at sea. Apply the tips above or contact an experienced maritime recruiting agency for career-specific job search guidance.
