Superintendent engineers manage port or marine engineering and require a bachelor’s degree in naval architecture or engineering, as well as hands-on experience with ships. They oversee mechanical, safety, and performance aspects of vessels and must be familiar with procedures and laws.
A superintendent engineer is a management role in the field of port or marine engineering. Successful candidates for this role will need to have at least a bachelor’s degree in naval architecture or an engineering discipline. Some of these jobs may require extensive travel, and before choosing a career in this field, you may want to research the travel details of different positions. Due to the highly technical nature of this career, you will need prior experience with ships and other vessels to become a superintendent engineer. Most of these positions have an office on the vessel and act as a liaison between the ship and shore.
There are several fields you can pursue in school to become a superintendent engineer, but the most common is naval architecture, which combines engineering with the science of ships. You will need to complete several math and science courses before enrolling in advanced courses, including introducing ship systems, marine design, marine structures and marine hydrodynamics. Some of these courses may be accompanied by lab work that will begin to train you to become a superintendent engineer. After completing several advanced courses, consider applying for an internship with a marine engineering company.
Although the majority of your internship will take place on land, this hands-on experience will begin to familiarize you with various ship structures and the engineering components of a vessel. Most internships in this field last up to months or the equivalent of a college semester and you can continue with courses while you gain experience. Some of the other courses you may need to complete include marine electrical engineering, fundamentals of ship design, and nearshore environmental dynamics. Upon graduation, you may need to accept a lower-level position to gain experience aboard a ship.
Hands-on experience is extremely important in becoming a superintendent engineer because of the stress that can occur at sea for long periods of time. The ship’s superintendent is responsible for overseeing all mechanical, safety and performance aspects of the vessel’s personnel. The duties of this position are countless and multitasking is a requirement because the superintendent needs to be available to help the crew, engineers or ground staff. The main objective is to guarantee the general safety of the ship and the crew; therefore, there are many procedures and laws that you will need to be extremely familiar with before joining this profession.
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