Here are five ways you can increase your income.

1. Earn 3x or 4x just by changing your mindset

The average person with a job ashore is able to save about 10% of their salary, once they’ve paid taxes, rent/mortgage, clothing, food, electricity, water, gas, WiFi, home insurance, daily commute, housekeeping and bathroom products, etc.

Because you work on a superyacht, your outgoings are much less. Everything from food and clothing to accommodation and utility bills is paid for by the yacht while you are on board.

So you are left with a lot more disposable income than most people in shore-based jobs.

Let’s say you set aside $1,000 every month in savings (or better still, investments). That level of savings is possible for everyone in yachting.

Keeping the 10% figure in mind, someone ashore would a monthly income of $10,000 to be able to save $1,000 each month.

In other words, your ability to save money, even as a deckhand, is the same as someone who has job ashore earning $120,000 a year.

Because of the unique professional circumstances of superyacht crew, a $30,000-$40,000 annual salary gives you three or four times the savings power as someone ashore.

Of course, it is amplified if you earn and save more.

So, just by changing your mindset, you’ll start seeing your salary as being far more valuable, simply because your job takes care of many of the daily expenses shore-based folk need to pay for themselves.

2. Earn more by asking for a pay rise

The simplest way of being paid more is to get a salary increase. Simple, yes. Easy, maybe.

The easiest way is to ask for one at your (annual) job review, if only to cover inflation. You could also argue that you have a year’s more practical experience in yachting, so you are more valuable.

You can give yourself a better chance of success if you can back up your request with freshly earned certifications and diplomas relevant to the industry.

More or higher skills make you more useful and therefore more valuable, so you should be able attract a higher salary. If not on your current boat, then perhaps on another.

Speaking of which…

3. Earn more by moving to another (bigger) boat

Bigger boats tend to pay more for the same role. Not always, but often.

That’s because a bigger yacht requires a deeper pool of knowledge and experience to keep it running smoothly and safely. So the owners or operators are willing to pay more for more accomplished crew.

That’s not to say you can’t earn more by skipping to a similar sized boat to the one you are already on.

You’ve probably already noticed that every crew salary overview gives a salary range for each position. One of the main reasons for this is how owners and operators view crew: cost or asset.

If the owner thinks you’re merely a cost, they won’t value you as much.
If the owner sees you as an asset, you’ll be treated accordingly.

Consequently, the rate of pay for the same job various from boat to boat.

You might find a chief stew on one boat is earning $5,000 a month, compared with someone on a similar-sized boat with similar responsibilities who is being paid $10,000 per month.

So you may well be able to earn more doing the same work you are now on another superyacht.

4. Earn more by investing in yourself

A surefire way to earn more in yachting is to get yourself a promotion.

In some instances, you could even double your salary by going up a rank. A first office or chief officer who lands a captain’s job can most definitely do that.

Regardless of the step up, you will earn more money.

But doing so comes at a price.

You can only progress up the ranks if you have the right certificates. And certification like Master 3000 or Office of the Watch is expensive. And we mean really expensive, requiring an investment of $10,000-15,000 or more.

That said, your investment will pay off. Besides, we’re only talking the equivalent of one or two months’ salary in your new position. So it’s worth the upfront cost.

Looking at it from that point of view, the return on investment is absolutely massive when you take it over the number of years you’ll benefit from it.

Your $15,000 investment, could turn into five, 10 or even 20 years of earning $15,000-25,000 per month.

5. Earn more by investing in a portfolio

(You knew it was coming.)

Letting your money do the work for you is a great way to earn more money.

A carefully planned investment portfolio will earn you money over time, even in times of financial headwind.

Eventually, the value of your investments may even allow you to retire. That’s how pensions work.

You don’t have to wait until old age for your investments to be paying out useful sums of money, but you will need to commit to a financial plan to reach that point.

Obviously, we can help. In fact, we’d love to help. We’ve dedicated our lives to helping superyacht crew like you achieve their financial goals.