An Overview of the Profession of Steward on a Ship
To put it simply, in layman terms, a Ship’s Steward is a person who is supposed to be in charge of organizing and preparing the task of dinner arrangements. There can be cabin Stewards too, whose main job requirement is to take adequate care of the passengers’ cabin rooms i.e. maintain the general cleanliness of the room and so on and so forth. In other words, a Ship’s Steward is like the housekeeper of the ship and just like a housekeeper’s role in a house, a Steward’s role in the smooth functioning of a ship is indispensable.
How to Become a Steward on Ship?
In order to become a Steward one needs to have a simple list of qualities. A person aspiring to be a Ship’s Steward should be able to interact with the public well. This is the first and the foremost quality that any aspirant for the profession of a Steward needs. Since the job requirement necessitates a person mingle with the passengers so as to provide them with good infrastructure aboard the ship, the ability to interact amicably is something that any Steward and any potential aspirant needs to possess in large amounts.
In addition, a person aspiring to be a Steward should be adept in a variety of languages as in his profession, he will be meeting and interacting and helping people from various nations across the world, some of them who might not know how to speak English. Also, an aspiring Steward should have basic computer knowledge along with politeness and an ability to work as a good team member. These three requirements are also very important when it comes to choosing the profession of a Steward as they would help an aspirant to settle in the job well without compromising on much.
Advantages and Disadvantages
In terms of compromising, advantages and disadvantages the profession of being a Ship’s Steward promises a lot of lucrative incentives along with a few token negatives. Since a ship travels through many places, some of them really exotic, the profession offers a person the chance to see new places without worrying about traveling expenditure and other such financial details. The employment covers all that is required to be covered thus allowing the person to view the world from one’s own eyes than through posters and pictures displayed by others. Also, there is the chance to meet and interact with people from various nations and understand the culture of the nation to which the voyager belongs to.
At the same time, one major disadvantage of being a Steward is that one would not get that much free time as one would want to have. Because of the nature of the job, a Steward is mostly restricted to heavy line of duty and is place of stay in the ship is also not advantageous. A Steward’s cabin is located in the depths of the ship as opposed to being a part in the top rooms. Therefore, these aspects make it very difficult for a steward to participate in the many activities happening in the ship which could lead a person getting bored with the nature of the profession.
Salary of a Steward
As regards to the payment, the payment that is offered to a Ship’s Steward is quite lucrative because of the nature of the profession. Therefore when it comes to payment, a person aspiring to be a Steward will find it quite generous. Also, there is the aspect of tips involved. If a passenger likes the services provided by a particular Steward, then the amount of tips given increases substantially thus adding more money to the pocket of the Steward.
In terms of experience, while it is not mandatory that a Steward needs prior experience as a housekeeper, it would be to the advantage of an aspirant if he has prior housekeeping experience as it would help him in his current profession considerably.
Choosing a profession is something that everyone takes very seriously. Choosing a profession like a Ship’s Steward is like choosing a unique profession because the nature of the job is completely unlike the more routine CPA, MBA programs. Therefore it is important that one chooses being a Steward with more care and responsibility because a Steward being responsible is important for the well being of the passengers in a ship.
References: Samplejobdescriptions, Answerbag
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