Research cruise intern
| Highest | $5,000 / mo · United States |
|---|---|
| Experience | 0–1 yrs |
| Degree | Required |
| First paycheck | 2 years study (AAS) + STCW certification |
Pay in the destination countries
Monthly, in US dollars. Each country is an Imora admission package — open one for that route's fees, language requirement and deadline.
| Country | Monthly |
|---|---|
| United StatesTOEFL 80–100 · $10–70k | $5,000max |
| AustraliaIELTS 6.0–6.5 · AUD 30–50k | $4,700 |
| SwitzerlandIELTS 6.5 · CHF 0.9–8k | $4,600 |
| CanadaIELTS 6.0–6.5 · CAD 20–40k | $4,600 |
| NorwayIELTS 6.0–6.5 · NOK 130–260k | $4,500 |
| Hong KongIELTS 6.0–6.5 · HK–200k | $4,500 |
What does the day look like?
Operations on a research vessel run 24/7 on 12-hour shifts (typically 04:00–16:00 or 12:00–00:00) or rotating 4-hours-on / 8-hours-off watches. About 35% of the shift is dedicated to physical deck rigging, winch signalling, and deploying or recovering heavy CTD rosettes (Sea-Bird SBE 911plus) and acoustic Doppler current profilers (ADCP). Another 25% involves troubleshooting sensors, electronics soldering, battery checks, and terminating cables in wet and dry labs.
Data hygiene, cruise logging, sensor rinsing with deionised water, and converting raw files using Python, MATLAB, or Bash take up 25% of the day. Routine deck cleaning, safety drills, and transit watches account for 15%. The glamorous aspect teenagers often imagine — watching marine wildlife or diving — accounts for under 5% of actual working hours.
Where does this lead?
Next step up
What do you make of this job?