Work while cruising

[FF]

"Yes, but does FF consider it cruising?"

For those that prefer docks to the hook Its cruising,

still cruising to me but with my preference for anchoring out its simply not my style.

Like "trawler ", "cruising" covers a load of options. ALL GOOD!

 

[refugio]

Backfill bartender - Usually a cash job and can make $200 or so a night. I like the thought of this as I am a people person. Not sure I want to close a bar down at 2am though.

I can see this. I'm a licensed bartender, but not a great mixologist. I actually like tending bar at our YC.

Delivery captain - Really appeals to me as I can work on getting the necessary licensing and reputation, I love boating, and wife wants to work as mate. Would allow us to travel together and make a few bucks here and there.

I think the reality of this role is a lot less glamorous than you think, at least on the West coast. Lots of ocean deliveries on newly purchased old vessels, lots of mechanical issues, darned near zero sightseeing and fun and almost always under time pressure. For surprisingly little money.

I have IT skills but in the last 8 years have been in a functional managers role. I could figure out something in this field, however, not sure I want the responsibility of having to answer the call when the customer experiences issues of some sorts and needs immediate help.

Of the three, this is the one that offers the most potential income - but at the expense of an extremely short life for your skill set. Sure, there are businesses out there running outdated IT, but a lot of that is because they don't want to pay the cost of keeping up. And let's be honest, how smart would they be if they let some itinerant boating drifter in to their systems?

The good news is that today, and even more so in the future, IT skills will be cloud skills, which are the ultimate in portability. The bad news is they face the ultimate in competition - the entire ROW (rest of world).

To do the movable IT thing right I would recommend getting some sort of reputation in an area before retiring. Set up a blog, create original content, get followers, et cetera. In essence, all of that small business investment that you don't really want to do.

If you don't want to make that investment, that's fine - but then you might want to look at partnering with someone who has and would be willing to subcontract to you. They'll take a big chunk off the top up front, but then you won't have to look for work. Lots and lots of subcontractors out there.

 

[n36511]

I can see this. I'm a licensed bartender, but not a great mixologist. I actually like tending bar at our YC.


I think the reality of this role is a lot less glamorous than you think, at least on the West coast. Lots of ocean deliveries on newly purchased old vessels, lots of mechanical issues, darned near zero sightseeing and fun and almost always under time pressure. For surprisingly little money.


Of the three, this is the one that offers the most potential income - but at the expense of an extremely short life for your skill set. Sure, there are businesses out there running outdated IT, but a lot of that is because they don't want to pay the cost of keeping up. And let's be honest, how smart would they be if they let some itinerant boating drifter in to their systems?

The good news is that today, and even more so in the future, IT skills will be cloud skills, which are the ultimate in portability. The bad news is they face the ultimate in competition - the entire ROW (rest of world).

To do the movable IT thing right I would recommend getting some sort of reputation in an area before retiring. Set up a blog, create original content, get followers, et cetera. In essence, all of that small business investment that you don't really want to do.

If you don't want to make that investment, that's fine - but then you might want to look at partnering with someone who has and would be willing to subcontract to you. They'll take a big chunk off the top up front, but then you won't have to look for work. Lots and lots of subcontractors out there.

Great advice. My apologies for the delay...I missed this response. From an IT perspective I am trying to find the perfect match....I have lots of experience in VOIP, server support, and desktop support. But I also have a lot of time to develop new skills and moonlight some using my existing network of IT professionals that would take me under their wing as I learned.

Thanks again for the great feedback!