Marine Electrician Requirements: Education, Job and Certification

Marine Electrician Requirements: Education, Job and Certification

This post provides exhaustive information on the requirements you will be expected to fulfill if you are building a career as a marine electrician.

It focuses on the educational, job, and certification requirements you will need to meet to have a great marine electrician career:

Please, continue reading:

Marine Electrician Requirements For Career Success

If you are interested in becoming a successful marine electrician, here are major requirements you will be expected to fulfill in the course of your career:

Marine Electrician Educational Requirements

Most electricians gather their experience in a 4 or 5 years of apprenticeship program.

However, there are educational requirements aspiring marine electricians are expected to meet, they include:

High School Diploma or Equivalent Graduate Education Diploma (GED): Studying for a High School diploma or GED courses in Physics, Computers, Chemistry, and Mathematics instills the basic knowledge you can apply to your career as a marine electrician.

Admission requirements for High School diploma or GED:

To enroll for this program, the applicant must have completed a High School program and must pass the required courses like Physics, Mathematics, Computer, and Chemistry.

Technical School: Some electricians start their career by attending a technical school. Technical schools provide programs related to circuitry and safety practices, and basic electrical information for aspiring marine electrician.

Admission requirements for Technical School:

Meet minimum age requirement of 16 years and 17 for some programs, and you must hold a high school diploma or GED.

Marine Electrician Job Requirements

Are you seeking a job as a marine electrician and you want to know the requirements and chances of getting the job based on the attributes you possess, which are usually assessed by most employers.

The outlined requirements below are attributes you need to possess to be considered by employers:

High School education or equivalent
Strong client service skills
Current driving license
Ability to work in any physical body posture like bending, twisting, and standing
Minimum of five years working experience as a marine skilled worker
Must pass a drug activity check
Must pass background check if need be
Experience with Fiber Optics and Exotic connectors inherent to the industry.

Marine Electrician Certification Requirements

Certification is a process by which a person develops the knowledge, experience, and skills to perform a specific job through an accredited body.

When you complete a course of study, you will receive a certificate earned by passing an exam that is accredited by an organization that monitors and upholds prescribed standards for a specific field.

The programs below prepare students to work on electrical projects associated with boats, ships, and other marine equipment:

Certification in the American Boat and Yacht Council’s (ABYC) standards: Professional ship and boat builders, technicians, and electricians follow ABYC standards.

Employers require their staff to be ABYC certified. Acquiring this certification before applying as a marine electrician puts you a step ahead of your contemporaries.

Requirements: You must have been practicing as an insurance specialists, boat builder compliance specialists and marine surveyors.

Transportation Workers Identification Card (TWIC): This certification qualifies marine electricians to be employed aboard vessels at sea rating.

Transportation Workers Identification Card (TWIC) qualifies candidates depending on the size of the vessel and their particular role.

The two Coast Guard-issued certifications cover the general safety at sea and are required for all merchant mariners regardless of specialty.

Requirements: To be eligible for this certification, you must present a valid commercial driver’s license with a Hazardous Materials Endorsement (HME), or a Free and Secure Trade (FAST) card.

Standards of Training, Certification, and Watchkeeping (STCW) Certification: This certification provides knowledge on: safety and maintenance, electrical distribution, generators and main circuit breakers, ancillary electrical services, and special electrical practice for oil, gas, and chemical tankers.

Requirements: To enlist for this program, you must not be less than 18 years and must have completed approved education and training programs, meeting the standards of competence specified in section A-III/6 of the STCW Code, or have experience serving on board in a ship for not less than twelve months.

Marine Corrosion Certification: This program impacts a good understanding of all of the various types of corrosion and be able to perform thorough corrosion analysis on boats of all types.

Requirements: Minimum of 3 to 5 years practical experience in the marine field.

A candidate must already have ABYC electrical certification before attempting the corrosion certification program.

Marine Electrician Responsibilities

Marine electricians are charge with the duties of installing and maintaining wiring and electrical systems on ships and boats.

They work with water pumps, motors, electronics, wiring, and fixtures throughout the ship, and they are responsible for installing and configuring generators and shore-power connections to deliver energy to the boat systems.

Marine electricians maintain and repair marine equipment.

Typical responsibilities of a marine electrician include repairing equipment using the require hand or power tools and diagnostic equipment.

They are responsible for diagnosing damaging machineries and systems, directing or supervising subordinate coworkers and conducting routine inspections.

The list shown below gives major responsibilities performed by most marine electricians:

They repair or replace wiring equipment or fixtures by using the proper hand tools or power tools
Examining of electrical systems and circuits in electrical wiring using testing devices like voltmeters, oscilloscopes or ohmmeters to ensure proper functioning of the electrical system and other safety measures
They work with other crude and non-technical equipment like ladders, scaffolds, or roofs to maintain or repair electrical wiring, equipment, or fixtures
They construct instrument panels using hand tools, rulers, dividers, and power drills following blueprint instructions
Troubleshoot electrical systems and circuits using designated test equipment to detect and repair or replace the faulty components
Conduct insulation resistance measurements of electrical cables to determine condition and effect repairs or replacements as required
Maintain adequate inventories of electrical spare parts and request replacements if necessary
Maintain electrical system maintenance records notating date, and the extent of repairs and alterations
They use sketch or follow blueprints to see the placement of wiring or equipment
Connect power cables to equipment and work on installing ground leads
Directs or train other employees and co-worker to put in effort, maintain, and repair electrical wirings, equipment or fixtures.