18 Key Attributes Ship Engineers Need To Succeed In Their Career

by Alex Garcia

Saturday, January 2, 2016

Ship engineers supervise and coordinate activities of crew engaged in operating and maintaining engines, boilers, deck machinery, and electrical, sanitary, and refrigeration equipment aboard ship.

The core tasks that ship engineers are likely to carry out include:

Monitor the availability, use, or condition of lifesaving equipment or pollution preventatives to ensure that international regulations are followed.
Monitor engine, machinery, or equipment indicators when vessels are underway and report abnormalities to appropriate shipboard staff.
Maintain electrical power, heating, ventilation, refrigeration, water, or sewerage systems.
Record orders for changes in ship speed or direction and note gauge readings or test data, such as revolutions per minute or voltage output, in engineering logs or bellbooks.
Perform or participate in emergency drills, as required.
Start engines to propel ships and regulate engines and power transmissions to control speeds of ships, according to directions from captains or bridge computers.

In order to successfully forge ahead with their careers, analysts in a survey carried out by U.S. Department of Labor (via O*NET) have marked out the following as important attributes that ship engineers would need. These attributes have been selected from characteristics and requirements strongly associated with the occupation. They are

Abilities: Enduring attributes of the individual that influence performance
Interests: Preferences for work environments. Occupational Interest Profiles (OIPs) are compatible with Holland's (1985, 1997) model of personality types and work environments. Six interest categories are used to describe the work environment of occupations: Realistic, Investigative, Artistic, Social, Enterprising, and Conventional. An OIP consists of six numerical scores indicating how descriptive and characteristic each work environment (or interest area) is for an occupation
Knowledge: Organized sets of principles and facts applying in general domains
Skills: These include basic skills, which are developed capacities that facilitate learning or the more rapid acquisition of knowledge. Plus cross-functional skills, which are developed capacities that facilitate performance of activities that occur across jobs
Style: Personal characteristics that can affect how well someone performs a job

We have listed out attributes which were scored 80% or more in terms of importance by the analysts.

Having a strong preference for realistic work environments. Realistic occupations frequently involve work activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They often deal with plants, animals, and real-world materials like wood, tools, and machinery. Many of the occupations require working outside, and do not involve a lot of paperwork or working closely with others.
Attribute Type: Interests Score: 100%

Being careful about detail and thorough in completing work tasks.
Attribute Type: Style Score: 97%

Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
Attribute Type: Knowledge Score: 95.6%

Being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations.
Attribute Type: Style Score: 94.6%

Maintaining composure, keeping emotions in check, controlling anger, and avoiding aggressive behavior, even in very difficult situations.
Attribute Type: Style Score: 90.6%

Developing one's own ways of doing things, guiding oneself with little or no supervision, and depending on oneself to get things done.
Attribute Type: Style Score: 90.2%

Persistence in the face of obstacles.
Attribute Type: Style Score: 89.8%

Being honest and ethical.
Attribute Type: Style Score: 88%

Accepting criticism and dealing calmly and effectively with high stress situations.
Attribute Type: Style Score: 87.2%

A willingness to take on responsibilities and challenges.
Attribute Type: Style Score: 87.2%

Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
Attribute Type: Knowledge Score: 86.4%

Analyzing information and using logic to address work-related issues and problems.
Attribute Type: Style Score: 86%

A willingness to lead, take charge, and offer opinions and direction.
Attribute Type: Style Score: 85.8%

Being pleasant with others on the job and displaying a good-natured, cooperative attitude.
Attribute Type: Style Score: 85.4%

Creativity and alternative thinking to develop new ideas for and answers to work-related problems.
Attribute Type: Style Score: 84.4%

Establishing and maintaining personally challenging achievement goals and exerting effort toward mastering tasks.
Attribute Type: Style Score: 82.6%

Being sensitive to others' needs and feelings and being understanding and helpful on the job.
Attribute Type: Style Score: 81.2%

The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.
Attribute Type: Abilities Score: 80%