Pros
The best thing about working for MSC is the vast amount of free training you get. As a merchant mariner you have to keep your training certifications up to date and being with a company that handles all of that in house is a huge plus! The other benefit of MSC is the amount of world travel available to you. In my 8 months with MSC, I got to see Jamaica, Nova Scotia, Spain, Corsica, Algeria, and Morocco.
Cons
The down side to MSC is the work life balance. You have to do a minimum of 180 day hitches and you only accrue about a month of leave for that time. If you stick to the minimum requirements, you will be working 4 months on and 1 month off, which is hard to deal with and the main reason I resigned after one extended hitch. All AB's also have to start off as East Coast sailors and hope request a west coast transfer down the road and hope the line isn't too long or that MSC hasn't frozen transfers. The last issue I have with MSC is how hit and miss the pay is. It's all based on OT. If you get a good ship with good officers and bosun and the ship's function is active you will get a lot of OT and the pay is great. If not, you're stuck making base salary and having no life to boot.
