Engineering Cadet
An engineering cadet is a trainee officer. You split your time between a maritime college and a working engine room, logging sea time and filling a training record book until you can sit for your first certificate of competency. The pay is modest. In return you get structured training, a clear qualification at the end and a direct route into the engineering department.
The jobWhat fills the day
Most of the work is hands-on maintenance under supervision. You change filters, take oil samples, service pumps and purifiers, check bilges and tanks, and do the daily engine room rounds. You strip down and rebuild equipment alongside a qualified engineer, then write up what you did in your training record book. Expect plenty of cleaning and painting in the early months. A good chief will move you onto generators, watermakers, HVAC and switchboards once you have shown you can be trusted with the basics.
With guests aboard the engine room keeps a lower profile. Noisy jobs stop, you run checks on the hotel systems that guests notice first, such as air conditioning, hot water and sewage, and you may help with tenders and toys at the swim platform. On a 60m yacht you will be closer to every system and get your hands dirty sooner. On a 100m+ yacht with a full engineering team the training is more structured and the systems more complex, though you may spend longer on one area.
Yachts usually take cadets through a sponsored scheme run with a maritime college, such as Warsash, City of Glasgow College or South Tyneside, or through a management company programme. Sponsors want school leavers or career changers with good maths and physics, some mechanical aptitude and a clean medical. A trade background as a mechanic or electrician helps a lot. Some yachts also take cadets from merchant navy schemes who want superyacht sea time.
The cadetship ends with an STCW III/1 Engineer Officer of the Watch certificate or a yacht route equivalent, after which you step up to third engineer. From there you build sea time and modules towards second engineer and chief tickets. Cadets who come through a full programme often progress faster than those who started as deckhands and switched, because their theory is already in place and their sea time is properly documented.
Skills captains look for
- Mechanical aptitude
- Engine room rounds
- Planned maintenance logging
- Basic electrical fault finding
- Training record discipline
- Safe isolation procedures
- Hand and power tools
A day aboardGuest trip, 75m motor yacht, at anchor off Porto Cervo, Sardinia
Morning rounds with the third engineer. Check generator readings, tank levels, bilges and the watermaker, and log everything.
Breakfast in the crew mess and a quick briefing from the second engineer on the day's jobs.
Change fuel filters on the standby generator and take lube oil samples for analysis. Write up the task in the training record book.
Guest cabin reports weak air conditioning. Help trace a fan coil fault and clean a blocked condensate drain.
Lunch and an hour off in the crew cabin.
Refuel the jet skis and check the tender engine at the swim platform while guests are ashore.
Study session with the chief engineer on refrigeration cycles, ahead of the next college phase.
Evening rounds, sewage plant check and handover to the duty engineer.
Crew dinner, then off watch unless called for a late tender run.
Pay by yacht sizeMonthly, before tips. Estimates. Bars share one scale.
College fees are usually covered by the sponsor, and food and accommodation aboard are free. Cadets normally receive a share of charter tips during sea phases, which can double take-home pay on a busy season. See the Engineer salary guide for figures from live adverts.
Tickets and visas
Must have
- STCW Basic Safety Training
- ENG1 medical certificate
- Place on an approved cadetship programme
Gets you hired
- Approved Engine Course (AEC 1 and 2)
- Proficiency in Designated Security Duties (PDSD)
- RYA Powerboat Level 2
- Mechanical or electrical trade qualification
Visas
- Schengen visa if non-EU
- C1/D or B1/B2 for US cruising
Where it leadsA typical career path
Engineer jobsOpen now on SuperyachtRoles.com
Questions crew ask
Do I need engineering experience to become a cadet?
No. Sponsors take school leavers with decent maths and physics. A trade background or time spent tinkering with engines will make your application stronger, though.
Is a cadetship better than starting as a deckhand and switching?
It is slower to start and pays less in the first years. But it gives you documented sea time, proper theory and a recognised certificate, so you usually reach second engineer sooner.
Will I have to pay for college?
On a sponsored scheme the yacht or management company normally pays tuition and gives you a training allowance during college phases. Self-funded routes exist, but you then have to find yachts willing to sign off your sea time.
Can I work on a merchant ship and a yacht during the same cadetship?
Some programmes allow it, and a phase on a larger commercial vessel can broaden your experience. Check with your college that every vessel's sea time will count towards your certificate.