Experiences with NOAA Corps?

February 25, 2013 2:35 PM

I'm looking for more information on what it's like to work on NOAA Corps ships (as corps members proper, or as ancillary ship staff). Anything more than what's on their official pages would be very helpful (culture, day-to-day life, etc). I've seen this question, but it's 5 years old and didn't get any real answers.
posted by unknowncommand to Work & Money (5 answers total)

Where are you? Near the coast? I'm tempted to suggest driving out to a NOAA station near you to just jump in and ask questions. I know that NC has a NOAA office in Beaufort for example.
posted by oceanjesse at 6:02 PM on February 25, 2013

The position I'm asking about (which is not for me, dear employer!) would be based out of the Norfolk office, which is a bit too far to go for investigation. I've heard that things vary in between ships as well? It's a good suggestion though, thanks.
posted by unknowncommand at 7:30 PM on February 25, 2013

Give them a call, you might as well.
posted by oceanjesse at 5:05 AM on February 26, 2013

If you want some deep background, this book goes into detail about working on a NOAA ship. The subject of the book is ocean currents, but Dallas Murphy (maybe my favorite author today) writes a lot about the work of NOAA ships, and about life aboard them.
posted by Danf at 7:46 AM on February 26, 2013

One of my best friends from college is a NOAA officer. They all seem like a pretty tight bunch, as you'd expect from people stuck on 60-300 ft ships together for months at a time. If you have any specific questions I'd be happy to pass them along.
posted by This Guy at 9:04 AM on February 26, 2013