How to get into Merchant Navy? Find Career Prospects & Salary Here!

Heard about this amazing and high-paying job from your friends that not only allows you to earn while you are studying but also opens up a lot of traveling opportunities. Merchant Navy can be the best field for you if you want to earn big and traveling through oceans for months does not bother you.

Merchant navy is a fleet of ships that is responsible for transporting heavy goods from one country to another. It is one of the essential parts of international trade as most of the import and export is done through ships.

A career in Merchant Navy can be most beneficial if you are looking for lucrative jobs. There are three modes of entry into the field. You can join Merchant Navy at any level starting after class 10 to graduation. Let’s find out the career path and opportunities in this field:

Following are the Merchant Navy Courses that you can apply for:

1. Admission through entrance exams and merit:

If you want to apply for technical courses for entering Merchant Navy, then you will have to appear for entrance exams. Exams like IMU CET, JEE Advanced, MERI Entrance Exam, TMISAT, etc. are conducted for admission to marine engineering programmes after class 12. However, there are a few colleges that also take students on the basis of marks secured in class 12.

2. Sponsorship based entry:

Entry is also possible if you apply to either of the popular maritime institutes for maritime programmes. You can apply for sponsorships at the institutes started by shipping companies to train potential candidates for the merchant navy. The sponsorship to go on a ship will be provided to you by this company only if you have completed a course from their institute. You can also apply for multiple sponsorships at different companies.

3. Lateral Entry (LE) into 2^nd year of Marine Engineering:

Direct Admission can also be taken into the second year of marine engineering programmes approved by the Directorate General of Shipping. There are two ways of securing LE seats in Marine Engineering programmes:

• After completing the first year of engineering from electrical or mechanical branch with minimum 60% and
• Pursuing a diploma in electrical, mechanical, marine or ship-building engineering with minimum 60% aggregate marks

Also Read:Find out the Career Prospects & Government Jobs after Studying Economics

Career opportunities and expected salaries in the field of Merchant Navy:

Sailors serving in merchant navy get tax free salaries if they spend 183 days of a year in international waters else the salary is taxable as per the laws of the Government of India.

Also Read:Marine Engineering: Career Guide, Exams and Colleges

Merchant Navy being a field that required exhaustive traveling, there are well paying off-shore options that one can look into after taking an early retirement from the job or on completion of the contract.