Felipe Castanho

Thanks a lot for all that valuable information sir! I will check the AMC website. ****Sorry, no facebook links allowed****

That is what worries me. We don't have any bachelor course here on this occupation. However we do have post degree and diplomas. This is the complicated part. Vetassess say the applicant can have higher then degree, so a post degree will do, but post degree is not 4 years they are 18months or 2 years. Now, here in Brasil we DO HAVE post degree BUT it is technically worst then a diploma because the post degree and the diploma are BOTH 18 months HOWEVER diploma have DOUBLE the time post degree have, in one night I study almost 4 hours while a student of post degree get only 2 hours. See? Also, if you have post degree you can't work here in Brasil but if you have the diploma you can. Both are recognized by the Ministry of Education but only the diploma is recognized by the Ministry of Labor. By the way I need to make a few corrections. When I say post degree I mean Graduated Certificate or Graduated Diploma and when I say diploma I am actually refering to Advanced Diploma.

Hy Luke, thanks for the reply! LOL I don't have any family member in Italy but I have origins in there, my grandparents was Italians. Why did you asked this? I had the same understanding as you, but I am afraid if they look at the duration of my course they will deem it as not at the same level, even if my knowledge is enought, I say this because I know I will have to study australian regulations, laws and protocols alongside my main course in order to have any chance to score good points. Nominated? I have to be honest with you this is all soo confusing. What I understood soo far is that if a skill/occupation is in the SOL list I have much more chances to get a working visa then if it is listed on the CSOL. But I know nothing about the nominated occupations. I also would like to ask you something that is confusing to me. What CEILING means on the SOL and CSOL list? Means how much visas for that occupation is available and the amount already issued? Thanks a lot!

Hy CaptainC, thanks a LOT for such a complete answer to my questions. It is very disappointing to realize I decided what I really want for my life soo late, I mean, even if I get my Captain certificate AND a job in 10 years, how much more time I have left to actually work? 10 more years? Do companies keep captains with more then 60 years? Feeling a bit sad I am training for Health and Safety Advisor, this is a scholarship and with that by the end of 2016 I will be ready to apply for Australian Imigration, this skill is in high demand. After I get there I am planning to start study and keep working until I need to go to sea. OR something different can happen and I get a study visa and got straight for the studies, but then only time will tell. Do you think it is easier to get a job as captain for a yacht instead of a ship? Which one is the best naval school in Australia in your opinion? Junior officer=deckhand? Thanks a lot!

Hello everyone. My name is Felipe, 39, living in Brasil and doing everything I can to one day live and work legally in Australia. I am attending a course (1 and half year) called Occupational Health and Safety Technician and then I saw that in the SOL (Skilled Occupation List) they also have Occupational Health and Safety Adviser which is related. I checked Vetassess website and it says "This occupation requires a qualification which is assessed as comparable to the educational level of an Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) Bachelor degree or higher degree, in a field highly relevant to the nominated occupation." I don't understand this very well and I must be sure about this because this information will help me determine the best actions to be sucessfull. The part that is confusing to me: Do I need to somehow verify the certificate I get on my course is related to a bachelor degree AQF independently from my knowledge? OR My knowledge will be evaluated to check if it is at the same level of a bachelor degree AQF independently of my course level in my country? I sent an email to Vetassess to check this and got no response whatsoever. This is important because if I can be evaluated by my knowledge then I can keep on my course because even it being closest to a diploma course in Australia, it is considered to be excelent and at same level as a higher then bachelor degree and I can also study harder to make sure I get a good score in Vetassess. HOWEVER if that is not the case and Vetassess absolutly require that the course in my country must have an official bachelor or higher the bachelor degree then I must stop what I am doing right now and start a new course that will be accepted by Vetassess. The problem is I am unemployed ATM and my course is free, higher the bachelor degree is very expensive. Thanks for any help!!!!

Hy CaptainC and all others! Can you help me with some information? Ok lets start by saying I am a complete noob on this matter. My name is Felipe and I am 39, I actually live in Brasil but I want to leave my country, I would love to go to Australia as I identifield myself with this country, but I am also considering USA or Canada for that matter. My 1st question is: is 39 too old to start studies to make a career and make myself a ship captain? I am asking this because here in Brasil we have only 2 specialized schools and none of them accept applicant older then 26 and I also read in some australian website that it is suggested to start study before 29 years old. Soo I am too old or not to become a ship captain? My 2nd questio is: I had heart problems in the past, my heart is ok now and I make yearly checkups. Do you think this is a no go to become a ship captain? 3rd: Do you know how much money a luxury yacht of more then 50 meters earn per year or week in compar to a ship captain? Thanks a lot for all the info!