I came across a crew agency in Canada that charges a $60 "administrative fee" When I first got into this industry 10+ years ago a few agencies did charge small registration fees, I thought that had ended until now. Does anyone know if it's legal to charge crew for placement? Honestly it puts me off that agency all together.
Hi, Even though here in Europe there is some sort of legislation against the charging for finding you a job many agencies still do it and get away with it. I would go as far as to say it is the norm.
Every agency I know of charges the boat owner a fee to place a crewmember. They never charge the crew from what I have seen although one I know of charges a very small fee to register on their website.
there are some that do charge the crew. it is legal to do this but crew agencies get around this by calling it an "administrative fee'' to set up your file. $60 is very high.
Generally speaking any agency (and not just in this line) that charges you (the prospective employee) a fee either doesn't expect to find you a position or at least not one that will last.
In the US comericial marine industry, the placement agencies charges you on a percentage of your first months salary. The marine company that hires you through the agency sends your first check to the placement company then the placement company sends you what is left of your money after there cut, which I believe is about half a months worth, if not more.
So you've given away 2 weeks pay for a job that lasts how long on average? Something tells me that if it were a job that you'd be encouraged to work for a long term (more than 2 years) the employer would be paying the fee.
I have dealt with most of the major crew placement agencies in the USA, the Med, the UK & Australia. It is normal that the Yacht pays the crew placement fee. This fee ranges between 50 to 100% of the first months salary depending on the agency. All agencies offer a guarantee if the placed candidate leaves within a specified period, which ranges from one to six months. The Canadian placement agency is the rare exception that charges candidates. I do not use them I can only say that there are many crew placement agencies out there. A crew member has no need to pay for this service.
A lot of the work the comercial agencies try to place people on is the Gulf of Mexico work. Running supply boats for the oil wells. Those job can be very good one (as far as working for good companies) You could retire on the right job possibly. A months pay, what ever could really be something worth while..
How long does the average guy stay on these jobs, and what kind of money are we talking about that I could retire from. I'm hearing about a lot of guys pushing a lot of barges down rivers with no nav equipment for 20 to 30 bucks an hour, being on board 24 hrs but paid for 8 to 12 hour shifts and precious few steady gigs. Even out in the gulf I haven't heard of too many rich lifers. Any gulf workers on line that we can get the real scoop from?
"I haven't heard of too many rich lifers." Most guys who finish their career at sea don't hang around the docks or bars and brag about their retirement benefits, and no one who works for a living gets rich off salaries or wages. Most of the current retirees in my union (Marine Engineers Beneficial Association) collect their pension in a "buyout" of between 1 and 2 million after 20 years at sea. The average pay is well over $100k with day for day vacation. Quite a few of them have gotten rich not by working but by making their income work for them. Nowadays there is little reason for a qualified mariner to pay an agency but just a few years ago it was difficult to find work. The agencies that handled professional mariners could charge substantial fees but they had good contacts and provided well vetted candidates to companies that could not afford to take chances with unknown employees. The fishing and offshore industry as well as the deepsea fleet used these guys, the jobs were good, the pay was generally outstanding, and jobs were hard to find. The fee was peanuts compared to the income and benefits and the jobs lasted as long as you wanted to stay. In the case of seasonal jobs, if you were any good at all you were rehired the next season without going through the agency. Even the oil patch is now paying between $400 to $600 a day with full benefits, professional training and development, and retirement plans. They are providing day for day vacation in many instances and at least 1 for 2. "... being on board 24 hrs ..." Uh ... we are talking about working offshore here, not headboats doing 4 hour trips to the fishing hole.
I was offered a job running a crew boat in Louisiana about 7 years ago. I forget the details exactly but the offer was very good. It worked out to about $120k a year. You worked a schedule of something like 14 days on and 14days off if I remember correctly. The money was very good (considering it was 7+ years ago). It just wasn't something I was interested in doing.