How to become a Steward / Personal Trainer
Nobody starts as a Steward / Personal Trainer. The usual path starts as a Junior Steward / Junior Stewardess, a job you can get with no yacht experience, and reaches Steward / Personal Trainer at about year 1 to 2 of a yacht career.
The pathFrom no experience to Steward / Personal Trainer. A typical path, not a rule.
Junior Steward / Junior Stewardess
Year 0. Pay from about US$3,200 a month. Entry-level interior crew on a superyacht, handling cabins, laundry and guest service under the chief stew while learning yacht interior standards.
Steward / Personal Trainer
Year 1-2. Pay from about US$3,800 a month. An interior crew member who runs guest and crew fitness sessions alongside service and housekeeping, found mostly on 45m to 90m motor yachts.
Before you applyWhat a Junior Steward / Junior Stewardess needs, from the Junior Steward / Junior Stewardess guide
Must have
- STCW Basic Safety Training
- ENG1 medical certificate
Gets you hired
- STCW PDSD
- Food Hygiene Level 2
- GUEST Introduction to Yacht Interior
- WSET Level 1 or 2
- Silver service or barista course
Later, for Steward / Personal Trainer
- STCW Basic Safety Training
- ENG1 medical certificate
- Level 3 Personal Trainer or equivalent (NASM, ACE)
- Current first aid and CPR
Visas
- B1/B2 US visa
- Schengen right to work or valid visa
What counts instead of yacht experienceOur advice
Captains hire a Junior Steward / Junior Stewardess for cabin housekeeping standards, laundry and pressing and silver service basics. With no yacht job behind you, show the same skills from work ashore. A background in five-star hospitality is the closest match, for example work as a front of house team member.
Write each job on your CV as what you did, with numbers: how many guests, how many boats, how many covers. Then list every skill below that you can prove.
- Cabin housekeeping standards
- Laundry and pressing
- Silver service basics
- Table setting and styling
- Attention to detail
- Stamina on long shifts
- Discretion with guests
Your first stepsIn the order we suggest
Get the tickets a Junior Steward / Junior Stewardess must hold
You need STCW Basic Safety Training and ENG1 medical certificate before a yacht can put you to work as a Junior Steward / Junior Stewardess.
STCW and ENG1: what they are and what they cost →Write a first Junior Steward / Junior Stewardess CV
Keep it to one page. Put your tickets and your start date at the top, then the work that transfers: five-star hospitality.
See a Junior Steward / Junior Stewardess CV example →Create your crew profile
Upload that CV and we build your profile from it. Your name and contact details stay hidden. Captains and recruiters contact you. It is free.
Create your crew profile →Apply and look for daywork
Apply to open jobs and to crew agencies, and take daywork: a few paid days on a yacht is how most first-time crew get a reference.
Junior Steward / Junior Stewardess guide →Step up to Steward / Personal Trainer
The usual path puts Steward / Personal Trainer at year 1 to 2. Pay starts from about US$3,800 a month.
How to become a Steward / Personal Trainer →
QuestionsMore in the green crew guide
Can I become a Steward / Personal Trainer with no experience?
Not directly. Steward / Personal Trainer is mid level work. The usual path starts as a Junior Steward / Junior Stewardess, which you can get with no yacht experience, and reaches Steward / Personal Trainer at about year 1 to 2.
How long does it take to become a Steward / Personal Trainer?
The usual path puts Steward / Personal Trainer at about year 1 to 2 of a yacht career, after Junior Steward / Junior Stewardess. It is a typical path, not a rule: time on busy yachts and the tickets you pass move it.
What does a Junior Steward / Junior Stewardess earn at the start?
From about US$3,200 a month, by our Junior Steward / Junior Stewardess guide. Charter tips are shared equally among the crew on most yachts and can add several thousand dollars a month in a busy season. Permanent jobs usually come with 30 to 45 days' leave a year and flights home.
Other paths from Junior Steward / Junior StewardessAll roles
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