Shipbuilding students should consider affiliations and relationships between the shipbuilding school and professional maritime societies. Organizations such as the Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers, or its British counterpart, the Royal Institute of Naval Architects, carry a long history of successful boat building and engineering. For the student considering a lifetime career in the maritime industry, these affiliations ensure the student will be exposed to a qualified education and successful transition into the maritime industry.
Students interested in designing large ocean going vessels such as cruise ships, yachts and freighters must master a diverse field of knowledge. Modern shipbuilding skills include technical engineering, advanced mathematics, physics, statistics and material dynamics. Each of these fields affect the design and assembly of large oceangoing vessels. Additionally students should gain understanding in meteorology in order to understand the stresses that come to play during the lifetime of a large ship. Twenty-first century watercraft are also dependent upon the latest innovations in computer design electronics and global positioning communications.
The market for wind-powered craft and pleasure cruisers is the most successful and possibly most profitable maritime market segment. In pleasure watercraft consumers expect the latest innovations in comfort to enjoy their on weekends and vacations. Maritime schools that produce this classification of watercraft should also include courses in ergonomics, interior design and even psychology.
As opposed to those seeking a career building commercial and oceangoing maritime vehicles, students of all ages find personal satisfaction building handmade wooden boats such as canoes and small sailboats. The students' love of the sea finds no greater fulfillment than by handcrafting wooden vessels using techniques unchanged for centuries. A sense of personal pride and ownership becomes part of the watercraft as the student becomes a craftsman, and a craftsman becomes a qualified sailor.