More often than not luck is where opportunity meets preparation. Others have said, "the harder I work, the luckier I get."  In summary each of us must contend with circumstances within and beyond our control.  The ability to cope in an environment of rapid technological, economic, international, and social change will have an important bearing on your career progress.

The Ocean Institute at the Academy has established itself as a cutting edge in the development and sponsoring of advanced level, short course training programs designed to improve the professional afloat and ashore.  Our Master's Degree in Maritime Management, Marina Management & Small Vessel Operations Programs are the first of a kind in the country.  DO NOT BE AFRAID TO BE FIRST.  YOUR MIND AND IDEAS are an endless resource that must be tapped in order to reach your professional and personal goals.

You should take the initiative in goal setting and know where you want to be in terms of job position at certain times in your life.  The immediate short-term goal should be the next level of employment responsibility and the preparation required on the job and after hours to merit promotion to that level of responsibility.

You should make a personal commitment to give your best in each job you accept and for as long as one or two years.  At that point of time, you can make a go or no-go decision on continuing employment with a particular organization.  This is in fairness to you, as well as, to your employer.  Obtaining a reputation for competent, dependable performance of duties will move you along rapidly to positions of greater responsibility.

A major ingredient in any formula for success in your chosen field is having enthusiastic interest in the work you are doing and in the business in which you are engaged.  You should avoid falling into the trap of the "It's me against them" attitude, them being the senior managers and owners.  Trying to do your best in any job you undertake, learning something new every day, and being alert to opportunities for advancement will contribute substantially to the achievement of your career goals.

MANY GRADUATES of this Academy HAVE ACHIEVED OUTSTANDING SUCCESS.  YOU have the opportunity to achieve above average compensation and to obtain other rewards and general satisfaction from your work if you take some time to plot your course rather than aimlessly drifting through life, buffeted by tide and wind.

Oliver Wendell Holmes sums up this message in the poem "Driftwood".
 

 "I find the great thing in this world is not so much where we stand, as in what
direction we are moving... We must sail sometimes with the wind and sometimes
against it, - but we must sail, and not drift, nor lie at anchor."

                                  Oliver Wendell Holmes (1858)

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