Diversity Of Roles in the Shipping Industry

20th Feb
Roles in Shipping

Are you interested in getting involved in the shipping industry? Here’s an interesting fact about this potential career path. 90% of everything you have purchased was brought to you through shipping. That should tell you everything you need to know about the massive level of demand and indeed the potential of choosing this career path. Indeed, many ships are able to carry 18,000 shipping containers which is absolutely staggering. Each container can be filled with everything from clothing to electronic equipment. There’s no doubt then that there could be a lot of great opportunities here for someone looking to explore a new career path. But, which job in this industry is right for you? Let’s look at a few of the best options.

Working In Operations

If you are working in operations, it will be up to you to make sure that everything goes off without a hitch. That means that you will need to handle everything from support to co-ordination, communication, customer service and indeed administration. You will also be responsible for making sure that the right back up systems are in place. You could argue that you will be working in the background of the shipping sector. However, pay levels can still be high with juniors in this field starting at twenty thousand per year. This shows how crucial this role could be and it is perfect for those who pride themselves on organisation skills.

To succeed in this job, you also need a large level of persistence. It can be quite competitive and many juniors in this field are graduates with shipping degrees. Junior offices may also be suitable for this position and can claim the jobs available in a competitive climate.

Shipping Legal Professional

As with any other field, it is important to have a high-quality legal team operating in the shipping industry. The term for this position can differ depending on which country you are operating in. However, generally speaking each team member will fill the position of a lawyer. In this case, you will represent clients in the shipping industry during court proceedings or legal dispute. You might also operate as an advisor, ensuring that they have all the information they need on different legal matters.

This is a top role in the shipping industry and you can earn upwards of ninety thousand a year completing this work. Of course, you will need to be highly qualified to gain this level of pay. The typical qualification is an LLB followed by an LPC or an undergrad law course followed by a post-grad. However, there are other avenues to explore as well. For instance, you can take a CPE which is a one year course and will allow you to gain everything you need without a full legal degree. Other master mariners can fill this role with no legal qualifications at all. Instead, they learn as they complete the job.

Superintendent

You might also operate as a shipping superintendent. Superintendents have a variety of roles in the shipping industry. For instance, they will make sure that planned and unplanned maintenance costs are taken care of the right way. They will also be responsible for major repairs, surveys, audits, budgets, environmental compliances and various other issues. With this level of responsibility, there can be quite a lot of pressure so you will need to be able to handle multiple jobs at the same time with ease.

Typically, to gain this position, you will have some form of experience at sea or potentially past history working in the engineering industry. You may also have experience as a manufacturer. These days, you do not need to have been a chief engineer to gain this position and while seagoing experience is common, it’s not required.

The pay level is certainly one of the key factors that draws people to this position. Working as a superintendent, you could earn between forty-five and sixty-five thousand. You’ll be best suited for this job if attention to detail and a keen focus on safety are two of your top priorities.

We hope this provides an idea of the type of jobs and positions that are available to you in the shipping industry. As you can see, there are various positions available for different levels of knowledge, training and experience. The shipping industry is also diverse enough to cater to a wide skill set. Whether you are focused on organization, legal matters, management or handling the needs of clients, you’ll find the perfect role for you.

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