RCN looking for Engineers

Employers looking to fill Marine Engineering or related positions can do so here.
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The Dieselduck
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RCN looking for Engineers

Post by The Dieselduck »

Marine Systems Engineering Officer
Canadian Armed Forces - Canada
$51,000 a year

Marine Systems Engineers are responsible for the readiness, operation and maintenance of propulsion and ancillary systems, power generation and distribution, auxiliary systems, ship’s service systems, ship and machinery control systems, hull structure, ship’s stability, damage control, and the integration of these systems.

They analyze the state of their systems, equipment and personnel, predict their requirement for naval operations and advise Command accordingly. The primary role of a Marine Systems Engineer is to provide technical expertise, advice and leadership in support of:

Day-to-day naval operations and maintenance of marine systems in ships and submarines
The continuous renewal of the Fleet through modernization and replacement of naval marine systems and equipment, including:
Design
Development
Acquisition
Construction
Disposal
Maintenance of infrastructure needed to support naval operations and missions in times of emergency, mobilization and war


Transcript Marine Systems Engineering Officer I’m Lieutenant Navy Lance Mooney from Prince George, B.C., a Marine Systems Engineering Officer currently serving at the Damage Control School in Esquimalt.

And I’m Lieutenant Navy Jarett Hunt from Halifax, Nova Scotia. I’m a Marine Systems Engineering Officer currently serving as the assistant head of department on HMCS Ville de Québec.

MOONEY: Marine Systems Engineering Officers lead teams of highly specialized technicians, mechanics, fire fighters and electricians aboard Canadian naval ships and submarines.

Anything that keeps the ship afloat and causes the ship to move through the water falls under the purview of the Engineering Officer and the personnel that work for him in the department.

HUNT: The ship is a small city at sea, so everything that you can imagine you’d have in your home town, in your city, we have to bring with us to sea when we sail, so that’s everything from electrical power generation and distribution. There’s an electrical grid that I have to maintain. There’s all the hotel services like people like to call them in the Navy, everything from fresh hot running water to ensuring that we have air to actuate all the valves and all the systems throughout the ship, natural ventilation, HVAC –everything you can think of that you’d have in a city.

Our ships are fighting ships and engineering officers play a role in that, too. As damage control officers, we’re responsible for coordinating the control and repair of damage from fires, floods or explosions while maintaining equipment, so that our ship can continue to manoeuvre and fight as necessary.

MOONEY: It’s a huge area of responsibility. You’ll be directly responsible to the Commanding Officer for the engineering department.

HUNT: I’m divisionally responsible for over 55 personnel on the ship. I have the second-largest department on the ship next to the combat department. On a ship of over 250 people, when we sail, there’s a large component of the ship’s daily activities is under my purview as a leader.

MOONEY: You’ve got to be technically minded, resourceful and inventive with the ability to solve problems in highly demanding conditions.

HUNT: You’re not only the engineering officer per se on the ship. I’m also the environmental officer, as well as I’m also the boarding party officer on the ship, so you’re not just focused in on the technical aspects, which are a large part of your job, but you have a variety and a lot of other roles that fill your day up rather rapidly.

MOONEY: When you first get on there, obviously, you’re blown away. It’s like, I’m on a warship, this is very cool. Your first tours and stuff, I mean, your eyes are popping out of your head, learning all these new things. Every once in a while, you just stop and think, I mean, the bunk that you’re sleeping in, that night when you’re on duty, there’s missiles bolted to the deck just above your head.

HUNT: Long gone are the days of steam. We have jet engines that we use to power our ships, both the destroyers and the frigates and that’s really what I studied and really what I wanted to do with my life was to work and maintain those, but do it in a dynamic environment that the Navy offers me where I get to travel around the world and see different cultures and things.

HUNT: After your Basic Officer Training and your Naval Environmental Training in B.C., you’ll start your first Naval Engineering Indoctrination course in Halifax. That lasts about 11 weeks with 7 of those weeks actually aboard a warship.

MOONEY: The next course is called Marine Systems Engineering Applications. It starts in Halifax for about two months and then continues in Portsmouth, England, for another four months. That’s where you begin to apply your knowledge of engineering to specific naval components. You’re learning about all the onboard engineering systems and the technicians who operate them.

HUNT: When you’re done in Portsmouth, you’ll be ready for your first posting to a Canadian warship. You’ll be assigned as a member of the ship’s company sailing out of either Halifax or Esquimalt.

MOONEY: You’ll spend your next year as a junior officer in the Engineering Department. First year is your Phase 6 engineering training. Typically, your ship will have one or two Phase 6 engineering officers training. During that year, you’re getting very vast system knowledge, learning a bit about the administrative side of the job and having some very basic divisional responsibilities.

HUNT: After that, you might have a brief shore posting or you could go directly on to another one-year posting on board a ship – this time as the Assistant Head of the Engineering Department. That’s the job I have right now onboard Ville de Québec. It’s an opportunity to focus more on the leadership and management parts of the job and learn how to run your own engineering department.

MOONEY: The best part about this job is just the diversity of it all. You’re never in any one position too long in which you’ll get bored. If anything, it’s challenging, because you’re always learning something new, trying to find ways around or getting good at each of these new jobs.

HUNT: It’s pretty phenomenal the amount of responsibility that you’re entrusted with at a really young age, especially in the Navy. I mean, I’m given responsibility for a billion-dollar piece of federal property. In the worst-case scenario, I’m responsible for the lives of 215 people on this ship, including my own.

MOONEY: Beyond that, though, the job just opens up into any number of different directions and there’s certainly no shortage of challenges that await me. Our most modern ships are approaching their mid-life refit point. A couple of our older ships are due for replacement and there are projects ongoing to replace them, so there’s no shortage of various engineering jobs, project management jobs and just filling the challenge of keeping the ships that we have going.

HUNT: I’d say the best part of my job is really the people that I work with. It takes a very unique mindset to work in this environment. You’re constantly challenging yourself to do more, you’re constantly challenging yourself with new experiences.

MOONEY: Just being thrown into these various positions, that has really challenged me, helped me become a better person and that, so just from a personal growth standpoint, it’s certainly been a good experience.

HUNT: I would say that my experiences have exceeded my expectations when it comes to the Navy. In the three or four years that I’ve been in the Navy so far, I’ve visited over 20 countries around the world, I’ve spent time off the coast of Africa delivering food to impoverished people in Somalia. I’ve done all kinds of interesting experiences, both in a combat role and in a humanitarian role. And that’s in just a short time.

Overview Working environment Marine Systems Engineers are employed in ships and submarines as the Head of the Marine Systems Engineering Department, where they are responsible for the leadership and well-being of a large team of highly trained technical professionals committed to assuring the equipment’s peak performance.

Marine Systems Engineers may work in a range of roles in support of the continuous maintenance and renewal of the fleet including providing expert engineering advice, project management, advising on the acquisition of new equipment, training and administrative positions requiring engineering expertise.

Pay and career development The starting salary for a fully trained Marine Systems Engineer is approximately $51,000 per year; however, depending on previous experience and training the starting salary may be higher. Regular promotions through the junior officer ranks take place based on the completion of required training and on the length of service as an officer. Once promoted to the rank of Lieutenant (Navy) their salary is approximately $74,000 per year. Marine Systems Engineers who demonstrate the required ability, dedication and potential are selected for opportunities for career progression, promotion through the senior officer ranks and advanced training.

Related civilian occupations Although this occupation has no direct related civilian job, the management, leadership and instructing skills developed in this position are highly valued by employers.

Training Basic military officer qualification After enrolment, you start basic officer training at the Canadian Forces Leadership and Recruit School in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec, for 15 weeks. Topics covered include general military knowledge, the principles of leadership, regulations and customs of the Forces, basic weapons handling, and first aid. Opportunities will also be provided to apply such newly acquired military skills in training exercises involving force protection, field training, navigation and leadership. A rigorous physical fitness program is also a vital part of basic training. Basic officer training is provided in English or French and successful completion is a prerequisite for further training.

Following basic officer training, official second language training may be offered to you. Training could take from two to nine months to complete depending on your ability in your second language.

Naval officer training All officer candidates in the Navy attend a nine-week Naval Environmental Training Program held at the Naval Officer Training Centre in Victoria, British Columbia. This course introduces the naval environment and includes four weeks on board a minor war vessel for officers to experience life at sea.

Professional training The professional training for Marine Systems Engineers consists of several courses held at the Canadian Forces Naval Engineering School in Halifax, Nova Scotia. The first course, Naval Engineering Indoctrination, lasts 11 weeks and introduces the systems, equipment and personnel of the two engineering departments of the ships in the Fleet. This course includes seven weeks on board a major warship.

The next course, Marine Systems Engineering Applications, lasts 22 weeks and provides detailed instruction in the theory, application, operation, maintenance, personnel and management of Marine Systems Engineering in the Navy. On completion, officers join the ships of the Fleet for one year in order to consolidate their skills and knowledge of Marine Systems Engineering.

Throughout training, officers develop the general and personnel management skills required to successfully fill engineering positions.

Specialty training Marine Systems Engineers who demonstrate the required ability and potential will be offered specialized training in the following fields:

Marine propulsion control system analysis
Cargo management
Vibration analysis
Gas turbine engineering
Reliability centered maintenance
Advanced ship production

Advanced training Marine Systems Engineering may also be offered the opportunity to further enhance their engineering credentials through fully funded post-graduate education in Canada or abroad, in the following fields:

Naval architecture
Marine engineering
Heavy electrical engineering
Control and instrumentation engineering


Entry plans Direct entry If you already have a university degree, the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) will decide if your academic program matches the criteria for this job and may place you directly into the required on-the-job training program following basic training. Basic training and military officer qualification training are required before being assigned.

Paid education Regular Officer Training Plan

Because this position requires a university degree, the CAF will pay successful recruits to complete a Bachelor degree program at a Canadian university. They receive full-time salary including medical and dental care, as well as vacation time with full pay in exchange for working with the CAF for a period of time.

Typically, candidates enter the Canadian Military College System as an Officer Cadet where they study subjects relevant to both their military and academic career. In some instances, the CAF is able to pay for Officer Cadets to attend other Canadian universities in a relevant degree program. Officer Cadets who attend other Canadian universities typically attend university during the regular academic year and participate in additional military training during the summer months. If you choose to apply to this program, you must apply both to the CAF and the Canadian university of your choice. For more information, see Paid education .

https://www.canada.ca/en/department-nat ... ficer.html
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JollyJack
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Re: RCN looking for Engineers

Post by JollyJack »

So, 33 weeks of Engineering training, won't learn very much in that time, these Halifax Class ships are quite complicated. (I was a Trials Engineer at St John Shipbuilding when they were built) I can see why TC doesn't accept RCN Officer's Engineering qualifications. It takes a 4 year College course to get QL5, (MI, St John's) which is the equivalent of a Cadet programme, then a guy needs watchkeeping time for Cert. 1 to become the lowest of the low Stoker.
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Halifax_Stoker
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Re: RCN looking for Engineers

Post by Halifax_Stoker »

The funny thing is a couple years ago I applied to the RCN. I released from the Navy in 2005 so I figured I was within the 10 year window where if I re enlisted I could bypass basic training, etc. I heard they were desperate for engineers and I thought I might as well rejoin and work towards a pension. When I released I was waiting for my QL5, I released at the end of my contract so it was a release with full honors. Either way after going to the recruiting office they said they would call me for an interview. Almost a year later is when I got that call, by that time I was no longer wanting to return as I realized how low the re entry salary was. But to wait 10 months to call me, when I had already served 7 years in the military including 5 as a Marine Engineer in the Navy was very sad, considering they are crying for engineers (apparently)
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