It isn't so much what, as the time. Education is always expensive, it is either expensive in time and opportunity lost, it is expensive through making mistakes for lack of basic knowledge or it is expensive by paying for it up front. Just from what I learned already I figure it would have taken me a very long time to learn, if at all, because if you don't know what to ask and when to ask it you will never ask and if you use the Internet or other methods you might never find the question or relate, and not know to ask the question and a single mentor would either not think to tell you or assume you already know.
It is the same as with my Merchant Marine license I had to have minimum of 1440 days underway with 720 days on vessels before I could take the test but even though I had been at sea I would not have passed the test without paying Houston Marine for the test prep which cost $$$
All of these endorsements from the United States Coast Guard are required and after paying for the courses the USCG costs for the actual endorsements at $165 min each. 1600 ton Master $9,500 STCW $1,900.00 Able Bodies Seaman $799 Advanced Firefighting $799 RADAR $799 Proficiency in Rescue/Lifeboat $999 So to get my license I had to spend $14,796.00 and I lost sea time to automatically renew, after 10 years of sailing, when my parents were sick and died in 2007. To get my license reinstated I would have to start over to work on a Merchant Marine vessel it would cost me that much again. A 1600 ton vessel:
