Career in Naval Architecture

[jmiele3]

Keep learning, never stop

If you really want to be a good and proactive NA, the simple answer is no. No so much the location part, but working in a shipyard.

If you have no understanding of how a boat is built, the real day to day stuff, which is never taught at Uni, how will you know how to design one? I spent the best part of my first ten years on the shopfloor. Learning how and why and where theory and practice clash etc. You wont learn this stuff, well not quickly, sat in an aircon office day in day out.

If you stay in a consultancy type of company, you will do small bits of design and bits of design that you’ll never see being made, rarely see the project through. Even a large project you’re exposure many still be limited, save for still learning under supervision. You really need to work for a shipyard preferably in the 100-300 employee size with a small to medium size DO. Whether it is GRP, Steel or Ally doesn’t matter, unless you have a preference.

I have met many very good and experience NAs whom have spent most of their working lives at consultancy type of companies. They are very very good at what they do. But they do lack the hands on practical skills and it does show in their designs. But that is my personal opinion.

The only way you will learn and quickly, is being in a shipyard, there is no substitute. There are many yards in Asia, all very busy, where I am sure you could apply….just send them your CV or visit them.

But as Alik pointed out, being a NA is not always all singing and dancing….we still have to do the mundane and dull stuff, just like any other job.

Ad Hoc stated this best of all... Think about the marine industry, where your knowledge from school places you, and how those skills are not only transferrable, but bring value to potential employers.

I personally know a number of employers who would jump at the chance to hire a NA with some engineering skills / experience. Same in reverse, of companies who would love an engineer with some naval architect experience.

The industry is broad, and there are many different directions your profession can take you. Sales, building, design, and yes, the science and day-to-day routine stuff. Different market segments: defense, commercial, racing.

When it comes down to it, though, you not only need to provide enough value for a company to hire you, but you need to sell yourself into a position. This is where Ad Hoc's advice is so important: Learn, learn, learn, and never stop learning. Get a foot in the door into the industry, beyond just showing a diploma.

 

[CDBarry]

One of my interns from a long time ago went from naval architecture to cargo brokering (at Baltic House, no less) after a few years of doing tanker structural stuff at an oil major. I don't know how interesting it is, but he makes a huge amount of money, and lives in a very expensive neighborhood in London.

Could be worse career paths.

 

[CDBarry]

As part of the thoughts re routine work, at one point the design office I was working at in Seattle was doing an inclining experiment and the related stability workup/booklet about twice a week. Not exactly new stuff, the naval architecture equivalent of cleaning teeth for a dentist. However ther was someting interesting in every job; at one point I called my father (who had been a merchant marine officer after WWII) and let him know that I had had the chance to use traditional deck cargo gear, just as he had used, on one small freighter (to move the weights). A small, but fun item, since there are almost no ships that still have boom and vang systems instead of hydraulic cranes.

Learned a lot about practical ship design by walking around in the vessels (during the deadweight survey) with my eyes open listening to the crew as well.