Captains are the bosses of boats and ships. They let nothing that happens on their vessel go undetected. They watch out for the safety of passengers or cargo on-board and make sure everyone follows safety procedures.
Captains oversee the functioning of all mechanical and electric devices, supervise the navigation of the ship, and keep contact with the destination port and closest coast guard services. In close collaboration with the shipmate, they manage and supervise the day-to-day duties and activities of the staff. Captains are the ones responsible for hiring, training, motivating, and eventually firing members of the crew. The promotion of crew members is the captain's decision as well.
Captains are intimately familiar with maritime law, and they are responsible for making every essential decision during the journey. They have excellent interpersonal and communication skills, as they are required to keep the crew content and efficient and passengers calm and pleased.
There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a Captain. For example, did you know that they make an average of $26.45 an hour? That's $55,025 a year!
Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow -2% and produce -1,800 job opportunities across the U.S.
There are certain skills that many Captains 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 Hearing ability.
If you're interested in becoming a Captain, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 67.4% of Captains have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 6.8% of Captains have master's degrees. Even though most Captains 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 Captain. When we researched the most common majors for a Captain, we found that they most commonly earn Bachelor's Degree degrees or Associate Degree degrees. Other degrees that we often see on Captain resumes include High School Diploma degrees or Master's Degree degrees.
You may find that experience in other jobs will help you become a Captain. In fact, many Captain jobs require experience in a role such as Internship. Meanwhile, many Captains also have previous career experience in roles such as Volunteer or Cashier.