Pick your department

Green crew ask me which department pays most. Wrong question. All four feed you, and all four ladders end in a real title: bosun, chief stew, head chef, chief engineer. The real question is which day you can repeat for eleven months without going flat. Here is that day, four times over.

The four departments

Deck

The day. Outside, from first light. You wash the boat down before the sun is properly up, because salt dries in blotches and the owner might walk down the passerelle at nine. Then teak, varnish, fenders, lines, tenders and paint you may not scratch. On charter you run guests to the beach and collect them wet.

Who fits. People who already worked outdoors. Tradesmen, surfers, divers, sportspeople, anyone who can be told to do the same thing again, better, without sulking. Water confidence is not optional.

First rung. Deckhand, often advertised as junior deckhand.

The ladder. Deckhand, lead deckhand, bosun, third or second officer, chief officer, captain. Those officer rungs are not bought at a desk. They are logged sea time plus an oral exam. As of 2026 the MCA route to your first Officer of the Watch ticket, yachts under 3,000GT, wants 36 months of yacht service with at least 12 months of proper seagoing service inside it, and the Efficient Deckhand certificate held for 18 months before the ticket is issued. Nothing about that is fast, and nothing about it is for sale.

What breaks people. The boat is never finished. You wash it, it rains, you wash it again, and nobody thanks you for either. If you need to see a job completed to feel good, deck is hard.

Interior

The day. Inside, on your feet. Cabins, laundry, silver, glassware, table settings, flowers, the crew mess, and a standard measured in fingerprints. Off charter it is deep cleaning and stock counts. On charter it is service from before breakfast until after the last drink.

Who fits. Hotels, restaurants, retail, events, nursing. People who walk into a room and see the crooked cushion. Service under pressure is the skill. Liking travel is not a skill.

First rung. Junior stew or junior steward. Men do this job, and good ones get hired quickly.

The ladder. Junior stew, second stew, chief stew, purser. Purser is the office on a moving hotel: accounts, payroll, flights, guest schedules, customs paperwork.

What breaks people. Perfect work is invisible and one smudge is not. And you are an arm's length from the guests all day, still expected to be pleasant at 23:00.

Galley

The day. Alone, early, hot, on a deadline three times over. Provisioning in a port where you do not speak the language, then plating dinner for twelve while the boat rolls at anchor. Crew food matters more than new chefs expect. It decides whether the crew like you.

Who fits. Trained cooks with real kitchen time behind them. Not people who cook well at home. Allergies, preferences and last-minute changes are the job, not the exception.

First rung. Crew chef, or cook on a smaller boat where you feed everybody.

The ladder. Crew chef or cook, sous chef, head chef. Larger yachts add a second and third chef.

What breaks people. There is no cover. If you are sick, dinner still happens. And you are marked three times a day by people who eat your work and tell you about it.

Engineering

The day. Below, in noise, in overalls. Engines, generators, watermakers and air conditioning. Also the sewage plant, hydraulics, tenders, and every light bulb somebody reported. Rounds, logs and planned maintenance in the quiet hours. Then something fails and the list waits.

Who fits. Qualified trades. Diesel mechanics, electricians, refrigeration and HVAC people, plumbers, marine engineering graduates. Hardest department to enter with nothing, easiest to get hired into once you can prove a trade.

First rung. Junior engineer, called third or fourth engineer depending on the boat.

The ladder. Junior or third engineer, second engineer, chief engineer. Big boats also carry an ETO, the electro-technical officer, who owns the electronics, AV and networks.

What breaks people. You are the one called at two in the morning. The fault stays yours until it is fixed, and it is fixed when it is fixed, not at knock-off.

From the bridge: Nobody has ever been hired on my boat for owning a Powerboat 2 certificate. Plenty have been hired for standing on the passerelle at 07:25 for a 07:30 start.

Which one am I

Six questions. Answer fast, not cleverly.

1. Wet and outside all day, or dry and inside all day?
2. Somebody points at a mark you missed. Do you fix it, or explain it?
3. Do you hold a trade ticket, a chef qualification, or neither?
4. Can you work alone for six hours without needing company?
5. Are you happier when a room looks right, or when a machine runs right?
6. Do you want to be near the guests, or as far from them as the boat allows?

Read it like this. Outside, fix it, no ticket: deck. Inside, fix it, near the guests: interior. Chef qualification and happy alone: galley. Trade ticket, machine runs right, away from guests: engineering. Split between deck and interior? Take whichever hires you first. I have watched crew cross over in their second year and nobody held it against them.

From the bridge: Interior is the fastest ladder I see in practice. Deck takes longer because the officer tickets need sea time, and sea time cannot be bought.