I was fortunate enough to be recommended for promotion to 2nd Officer after 1 trip as a Junior Officer, and took my first Officer Position on board M.V North Promise, a larger platform supply vessel operating in the north sea, where I stayed for 2 trips.I was then given the opportunity to transfer onto a Geodetic Drilling Survey Vessel operating internationally, predominantly working for the renewables industry.My duties include responsibility for the vessel's life saving appliance & fire fighting equipment, which need inspection and maintenance routinely. I also have close contact with clients and their representatives during my watch, so being able to maintain a professional relationship at all times is very important, even at 2nd Officer levelIn my position of 2nd Officer on PSVs, I also had the opportunity to train cadets on board, a job which is vitally important to maintain the high standards of safety and professionalism on board company vessels.

As a Junior Officer, I've got the opportunity to learn how the ship's second officers operate before taking up the position myself. It also gives me the opportunity to rack up my Dynamic Positioning time needed for the DP advanced qualification

So far I have served on 7 different platform supply vessel within the UK sector, all within the North Sea. Each vessel has offered different challenges which have meant that each trip is interesting and varied. As a Deck Officer cadet, I have been given opportunities to work with both Paper charts and ECDIS, and I have had informal training on Kongsberg K-Pos Dynamic Positioning equipment. I have also been directly involved with cargo handling equipment for both wet and dry bulk cargo and deck cargo.I also had the opportunity to sail on an Anchor Handler in the North Sea. During this time I was hands on with a number of rig moves and towing operations, with each one being a huge learning curve and the right mix of fear and excitement which keeps things interesting.I have recently completed my cadetship, passing both my SQA written exams and my MCA oral exam first time.

Before I started at Planet Leisure, I was working with a local entrepreneur providing Go Kart parties for children between the ages of 4 and 9. I took the skills I learned there to Planet Leisure, where I started working in all departments; Kitchen, Restaurant, Front of House, but after a few weeks I found myself specialising in the Laser Quest department. Working as part of a small team upstairs, we had 30 guns letting us keep 30 players in the arena at one time. The players could be as young as 8 or as old as 80, and they all had different needs. I developed skills in keeping scared children happy, keeping over-excited children under control, stopping teenagers from swearing at over-excited children, stopping adults swearing at teenagers, and keeping 30 temperamental electronic guns working for a full 10 hour shift.By the time I left Planet Leisure to start a career at sea, I was able to fix nearly all of the fixable problems the guns could present and operate a laser arena full of 30 children on my own. But it was always easier to have a team behind me.I was only working here for a few months before I started my Cadetship, but it taught me a whole lot more than I expected;1. Its harder that in looks to pull a pint2. Kids fuelled with birthday cake can play laser tag for a lot longer than you'd think3. Even when things aren't going your way, keep smiling. It stops everyone else from panicking