An engine cadet is a future marine engineer doing the sea service needed for the first engineering certificate. The engine room is loud, hot and demanding, but engineers are in short supply worldwide — which makes the engine department one of the more reliable ways into a sea career. Here is what the job involves and how to land it.
What an engine cadet does
The engine cadet works under the Second Engineer and the Chief Engineer, usually alongside the motormen and the engineer on watch:
- Engine-room watchkeeping under supervision — rounds, readings, the engine log, starting and stopping auxiliary machinery.
- Planned maintenance — overhauls of purifiers, pumps, compressors and auxiliary engines.
- Workshop work — the lathe, welding, fitting parts.
- Bunkering and transfers of fuel and lubricating oil, under an engineer.
- The Training Record Book — tasks signed off by the engineers; it is what turns months on board into recognised sea time.
How much sea time you need
Under STCW (regulation III/1), an engineer officer of the watch needs at least 12 months of combined workshop skill training and approved seagoing service as part of an approved training programme with a training record book — otherwise 36 months, of which at least 30 must be seagoing service in the engine department. At least six months must be engine-room watchkeeping under supervision.
Documents and what agencies check
- Passport, seaman's book, seafarer medical certificate.
- STCW basic training and security awareness.
- A referral from your maritime academy or college — a common requirement for cadetships.
- English for a short interview or test.
- Hands-on skills. Agencies like to see workshop practice, welding and lathe hours, and any experience with engines or electrics — even from a garage or a factory.
Where to look
- Shipowners' cadet programmes — the most reliable route, often run with maritime schools.
- Crewing agencies — say "engine cadet" in the subject, and list your school, year, English level and practical skills in the first lines.
- Job boards — current offers are on the engine cadet vacancies page, with the vessel type and stipend. The stipend varies a lot: it is typically a few hundred US dollars a month and is higher with large owners and on gas carriers.
Questions at the engine cadet interview
Expect a short technical conversation, usually in English:
- "How does a four-stroke diesel engine work?" Intake, compression, power, exhaust — and how a two-stroke main engine differs.
- "What is a purifier for?" Separating water and solids from fuel and lubricating oil.
- "What would you check on an engine-room round?" Temperatures, pressures, levels, leaks, unusual noise or vibration.
- "What do you do if you discover a fire in the engine room?" Raise the alarm, inform the engineer on watch and the bridge, follow the fire plan.
- "Which tools and machines can you use?" Be specific: lathe, welding, measuring instruments.
Honesty works better than bluffing: engineers will quickly see what you really know.
What comes after
After the cadetship and the exams you can apply for a certificate as engineer officer of the watch and work as Fourth or Third Engineer. From there the path runs to Second Engineer and Chief Engineer — one of the best-paid positions at sea. See how the engine department is organised in our other guides.
Never pay anyone for a cadet place — no honest company charges a seafarer for a job. When your documents are ready, browse the engine cadet vacancies and apply directly.