For Crew
Guides to Building a Career in Yachting
Written from experience on board rather than from a desk. Honest about what the work is really like.
Starting out
How to Get a Job in the Superyacht Industry
To get a first yacht job you need STCW basic safety training, a valid ENG1 medical, and to be physically present in a yachting hub before the season starts. Most first jobs come from day work and dock walking rather than from online applications.
Read guideApplying
How to Write a Yachting CV
A yachting CV is one page, includes a professional head-and-shoulders photograph, and lists vessels by size and type rather than by job title alone. It differs from a shore CV in format, length and the level of detail expected about each vessel.
Read guideApplying
Free Yachting CV Template
This template follows the standard one-page yachting CV format: contact details and nationality, a short profile, certification with expiry dates, sea service listed by vessel size and type, and contactable references.
Read guideStarting out
How to Get a Yacht Job With No Experience
Deckhand and junior interior roles are the realistic entry points with no experience. You need STCW basic safety training and an ENG1 medical, and you need to be in a yachting hub before the season starts rather than applying from home.
Read guidePay and progression
Yacht Crew Salary Guide
A yacht captain earns roughly $60,000 to $150,000 a year. A chief engineer on a 100m+ yacht earns €12,000 to €15,000 a month, against €4,000 to €6,000 on a 30–40m. Pay is driven by vessel size, rotation, charter versus private, and certification.
Read guideTraining
Superyacht Training Courses: What You Actually Need
Only two things are mandatory: STCW Basic Safety Training and an ENG1 medical. Everything after that is optional, and only some of it changes what you can be hired for. Deck crew should add Powerboat Level 2; engineers need an AEC or a Y-ticket; interior crew need Food Safety Level 2.
Read guideCareer path
How to Become a Yacht Purser
Most pursers progress from senior interior roles rather than entering directly. The route is chief stewardess or senior stewardess experience, plus purser-specific training such as the GUEST programme, on yachts large enough to separate administration from service — usually 60m and above.
Read guidePractical
Yachting Visas and Right to Work
The two documents that decide which jobs you can take are a B1/B2 visa for United States programmes and your passport nationality against the Schengen 90/180 rule in the Mediterranean. A seaman’s book records sea service and is separate from either.
Read guidePlanning
Mediterranean or Caribbean: Choosing Your Season
The Mediterranean season runs roughly May to September, with crew hiring from March. The Caribbean season runs December to April, with hiring from October. Arriving before the hiring window, not during the season, is what decides whether you find work.
Read guideStarting out
Day Work and Dock Walking
Dock walking means presenting yourself at yachts in person, early, with a printed CV. Day work is casual paid work that follows from it. Almost every first permanent position comes through one or the other, because captains hire people they have already seen working.
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