A bosun, also known as a boatswain, is an unlicensed member of the deck department. He/She is responsible for supervising the unlicensed deck crew of the merchant ship. He/She oversees the planning, scheduling, and assigning of work on the ship. Additionally, he/she inspects the work to ensure it complies with the approved operating procedures. Furthermore, he/she regularly inspects the vessel and maintains areas of the ship not maintained by the engineering department, including painting and cleaning. His/Her responsibilities include the ship's anchors, cordage, colors, deck crew, and the ship's boats while on board.
For this position, you need a high school diploma or its equivalent. You must have two years of marine experience. Having relevant certifications is a plus. You must possess communication, multitasking, organization, and time management skills. A bosun earns an average salary of $69,177 per year, equivalent to $33.26 an hour. This ranges between $56,995 and $99,293.
How to Become a Bosun
What is a Bosun
There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a Bosun. For example, did you know that they make an average of $26.32 an hour? That's $54,745 a year!
Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow -2% and produce -1,800 job opportunities across the U.S.
What Does a Bosun Do
There are certain skills that many Bosuns have in order to accomplish their responsibilities. By taking a look through resumes, we were able to narrow down the most common skills for a person in this position. We discovered that a lot of resumes listed Customer-service skills, Hand-eye coordination and Manual dexterity.
How To Become a Bosun
If you're interested in becoming a Bosun, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 40.6% of Bosuns have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 3.1% of Bosuns have master's degrees. Even though some Bosuns have a college degree, it's possible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.
Choosing the right major is always an important step when researching how to become a Bosun. When we researched the most common majors for a Bosun, we found that they most commonly earn Bachelor's Degree degrees or High School Diploma degrees. Other degrees that we often see on Bosun resumes include Associate Degree degrees or Diploma degrees.
You may find that experience in other jobs will help you become a Bosun. In fact, many Bosun jobs require experience in a role such as Mate. Meanwhile, many Bosuns also have previous career experience in roles such as Able Seaman or Deckhand.
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Average Salary for a Bosun
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Choose From 10+ Customizable Bosun Resume templates
Zippia allows you to choose from different easy-to-use Bosun templates, and provides you with expert advice. Using the templates, you can rest assured that the structure and format of your Bosun resume is top notch. Choose a template with the colors, fonts & text sizes that are appropriate for your industry.
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Find the best Bosun job for you
Bosun Jobs You Might Like
- High Paying Bosun Jobs - $144K and Up
- Entry Level Bosun Jobs
- Part Time Bosun Jobs
- Actively Hiring
- No Degree Bosun Jobs
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