There are so many alluring factors about yachting, but between mandatory certifications and expenses, the financial cost can be discouraging. Crew and industry experts share the financial realities of trying to break into yachting...
It is no secret that plenty of yacht crew find themselves in privileged financial positions, benefiting from healthy salaries, sometimes tax-free, with minimal expenditure on board. And while there is plenty of financial advice and conversation once you break in, like saving charter tips and ensuring you have a financial cushion when moving up the ranks, there seems to be a vacuum of advice and help for aspiring crew.
What Are the Initial Costs to Become Yacht Crew?
So, what about before the paychecks start coming in? What are the financial challenges before stepping foot on that first passerelle? There is a long list of expenses incurred by prospective crewmembers wanting to work in the industry — from mandatory certification, relocation and living costs, visas, and medical insurance to the cost of courses promising to secure that elusive job and for the all-important networking. The financial investment required can prove daunting in a global industry, where crew enter from around the world with differing financial backgrounds and situations.
For entry-level jobs, the minimum required is an STCW and an ENG1 medical. The five-day STCW Basic Safety Training course costs approximately £700-£1,000 in the UK and $900 to $1,000 in the U.S. While the maximum set fee for an ENG is £115 in the UK and €120 to €150 in Europe, you can expect to pay between $140-$175 in the U.S.
Aside from these introductory costs, the industry has a global reach, and aspiring crew aren’t always located in a yachting hub. After five months, Paige Bell is still trying to break her way into yachting and shares that traveling from South Africa to Fort Lauderdale cost her about $2,200, excluding the visa cost because she already had one. Plus, her expenses to stay in Florida, including food, rent, and transport, cost about $1,200 a month.
Another junior crewmember from South Africa, Cameron Souchon, found himself in a similar situation, “Before getting my first job, my training courses cost me about €2,250, then flights €1,250, accommodation in crew houses and apartments around €820 for six weeks while job searching and then random expenses, so in total about €6,170.”
Relocating to yachting hubs is advised to increase the chances of securing a position and gain daywork experience. “Landing daywork is much harder than websites, podcasts, and videos say. I only got my first daywork experience after one and a half months of applying,” Jure Rothenburger says. “I think you need to be better financially prepared than you are due to a lack of daywork. I expected to at least partially finance my stay (in a yachting hub) with the money I earn, but I don’t think you can rely on that.”
The industry job board Yotspot can have over 200 applicants for one entry-level position; so competition is steep. “A constant supply of new crew has been entering, keeping salaries fixed and competition high. This could be attributed to the Below Deck effect with eager crew looking to join at any cost,” says Steve Crawford, founder of Yotspot.
Director of Quay Crew Tim Clarke suspects that a significant percentage of green crew probably aren’t successful in the job search and end up leaving without really joining the industry. “I would say that persistence pays off,” he says. “The longer you can afford to live in the South of France or similar, the more likely you are to get a good job.”
Susanne Jovanovic, head of recruitment at Hill Robinson, says, “Those who take a leap of faith and visit yachting hotspots such as a Palma, Antibes, or Fort Lauderdale, or use friends’ networks and social media with daywork experience under their belt, have a better chance of landing that first gig rather than those who rely on ‘sit and wait’ tactics.”
Although yacht crew salaries are synonymous with high wages and tax breaks in an international industry where the cost of living isn’t considered and exchange rates are a huge part of the equation, questions have been raised recently about the lack of significant salary increases and transparency.
According to Crawford, salaries have stagnated. “I haven’t seen much movement in entry-level salaries for years,” he says. “This is also true of daywork, which was around €100 a day in 2012 and is now only around €120 a day today; in real time, with inflation, you could argue salaries have gone down.” There have been multiple pleas across yachting Facebook groups for crew recruiting to raise the dayworker rates for the junior crew.
Hugo Ortega, founder of Superyacht Sunday School, says, “Eventually, the influx of new crew will plummet if salaries don’t rise. Maybe the numbers won’t plummet, but the diversity will for sure. It’s already a hard sell financially for many crew once they are past their early 20s. Why would new crew be willing to go months to find their first job when daywork pay isn’t enough to sustain the job search? Or why would crew even bother leaving their original jobs when the payoff is so small?”
Each year, the Dockwalk Salary Survey provides data across all roles and vessel sizes. While there has not been a huge shift from 2021 to 2023, there has been a slight uptick in entry-level salaries, with the minimum deckhand range increasing from $2,800 to $3,000 and, similarly, the entry-level stew salary increasing from $2,800 in 2021 to $3,000 in 2023. “Salary transparency for entry-level positions can only be a good thing. It promotes equality and fairness, allows the crew to benchmark, and can boost morale,” Crawford adds.
“Saving to survive” seems to be the consensus among most crew searching for their first position. But not being able to estimate the reserves you will need to job search can cause additional pressure on finances. Alongside known expenses and unexpected costs, there can also be pressure to spend money to socialize and network with other crew.
Do I Need To Pay For Additional Training?
There is also the issue of the aspiring crew trying to upskill and understand which non-mandatory courses, if any, to invest in. “I encountered a few unexpected costs trying to break into the industry; a few times I was invited to ‘free masterclasses’ which were actually presentations trying to sell you a product to get your first job. I never invested as I was trying to keep costs low,” Lowe says. “I invested in a stewardess course and courses which I thought would improve my chances, like bartending; my costs increased to around £6,400. Ultimately, my visa ran out when I came close to running out of money, so it stopped my search.”
Dasha Didier reflects on her additional costs and says, “Looking back, I would not have taken the interior stewardess course as I think it was extremely overpriced and ultimately unhelpful for me personally. I think I found something so fast because I invested a lot of time and money into the research and preparation stages.”
The landscape for additional, non-mandatory courses is unclear, and many entry-level crewmembers return home for financial reasons. Hayley Fawcett was lucky and secured her first job in her first week. “The organizations that offer the courses make it appear as though there are many opportunities available in the industry, making the courses seem like an unnecessary cost to worry about,” she shares. “This is very untrue, and I heard rumors that about 80 percent of people who went to Antibes went home after three months without permanent positions or daywork.”
As if things weren’t difficult enough, uninformed greenies may be misled into take unnecessary courses. “Young crew are often lied to and misled by countless ‘training centers’ and yachting ‘schools’ that have popped up, especially in South Africa,” Ortega says. “Their websites and information market additional courses as necessary, which confuses crew.” Noticing this trend, he was inspired to create Superyacht Sunday School, which offers students free resources and training before they subscribe to an online course.
Standing out in the competition is at the forefront of many crewmembers’ minds when trying to get a position, and most recruiters advocate for experience-building. “Not all courses are bad, far from it, but we need to stop telling all crew they need so many certificates,” Ortega adds.
Clarke notes, “Doing your Yachtmaster will probably help you get a job, but it is a significant financial outlay and beyond the means of most. The courses that have the least value are the stew and deckhand courses, lasting one or two weeks; they cost a fortune and cover 20 different topics in a short time frame.”
Quay Crew has recruited hundreds of new crew over the years and have never had a yacht ask for those courses. Clarke strongly suggests getting six to 12 months of relevant work experience instead, and Jovanovic agrees that value lies in experience.
“While entry-level training is not imperative, secondary skills and relevant work experience can increase the chances of finding a good role on a reputable yacht,” she says. “Certain courses like mixology or floristry may be good for sprucing up a CV. However, in-depth work experience and a recreational passion for the water are more valuable.”
While crew try to break into the industry, it is evident that they need a financial support net, which means the industry may be attracting only financially mobile candidates. But what about the talent pool that aren’t as financially mobile?
Some countries have taken steps to encourage young people to get into maritime work; for example, residents of Mallorca can access free STCW courses and various other maritime-related courses. Similarly, in the UK, certain areas have support schemes in place. Foster explains, “I did my STCW and didn’t have to pay for any accommodation. I was part of a scheme by Cornwall Marine Network that encouraged people to enter the maritime industry, and they reimbursed 40 percent of the cost of the STCW.”
UKSA has several funding options, including bursaries and interest-free loans, to make maritime training accessible. In its latest September intake, 80 percent of students had received funding. Meanwhile, in the U.S., Viking has said its latest plans include an initiative that will help and financially support aspiring crewmembers.
Those who make sizeable investments and successfully break into the industry can reap the benefits. Madison Brauer, founder of the Shore to Sea program, explains, “Yachting allows you to save a lot of money with expense-free living and a great salary. It isn’t always easy to save when you’re living on land finding work; it is a short-term sacrifice for the long-term gain.”
Didier thinks her more expensive decisions helped to speed up the process of finding a job for her, and she was able to repay her parents within five months of working in yachting.
When considering the ongoing crew retention issue, certain financial roadblocks might serve as a positive force, attracting individuals seeking a longer-term career commitment over those with a short-term cash injection of a “summer job” mentality.