Your course to becoming a pilot requires hard work and determination. After receiving a marine careers certificate, you will spend years working your way up the ladder afloat. Experience as third, second and first mates will prepare you for a master’s ticket, which will qualify you to serve as a ship or tugboat captain. From there you may be able to advance to a position as a pilot.
As a student at MITAGS you might attend state pilot courses on a quarterly schedule. The school maintains training facilities at Baltimore, Maryland, and Washington, D.C., and provides training for state pilot organizations in the United States. Pilots take courses and train on simulation facilities to ensure that they have experience with the latest knowledge and technology for handling ships. During training you will learn a variety of skills you'll need as a ship pilot, including ship handling, emergency ship handling, radar operation and plotting, legal aspects of pilotage and bridge resource management.
The Maritime Institute of Technology and Graduate Studies
692 Maritime Blvd.
Linthicum Heights, MD 21090
866-656-5568
mitags.org
This online site offers a wide variety of training packages that cover rules of the road, course plotting, general navigation and general deck rules and practices. As you progress you take quizzes and an online module exam to prepare for the final proctored exam at a Mariners Learning System location.
Mariners Learning System
866-732-2278
marinerslearningsystem.com
You can earn a Bachelor of Science in the department of maritime transportation at this academy. You will train in classrooms, on marine simulators, in lab sessions and on the academy training ship and working commercial ships. Courses develop personal confidence and the leadership skills necessary for a career on the water.
The California Maritime Academy
200 Maritime Academy Drive
Vallejo, CA 94590
707-654-1000
csum.edu
You will find additional schools offering accredited marine courses in Florida, Louisiana, Virginia, Texas, Washington, Oregon and New York.