Shadowing Practice: A Cargo Ship Engineer's Career Advancement | Chief MAKOi - Learn English Speaking with Video
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The merchant marine profession has a somewhat complicated hierarchy, with the ship's crew being composed of different ranks and departments,
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each of them responsible for specific tasks.
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Having a chain of command, with the captain being the highest and branching down to the entry -level positions, such as cadet and ordinary seaman,
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it traces its roots from military and naval traditions.
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Career advancement in this profession also presents unique challenges
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and not everyone who joins manages to reach the top positions as it involves a combination of competence,
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hard work, planning, making the right decisions, and sometimes just plain luck.
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I have been a seafarer for over 20 years and at present I work on board cargo ships as a chief engineer.
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The chief engineer is the head of the ship's engine department.
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It is the highest rank that marine engineers can attain while working on board a ship.
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The chief is basically responsible for all engineering related matters on the whole ship,
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making sure that each and every piece of machinery and equipment is in good working order.
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As you can see, I also have four stripes, same as the captain.
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But the captain is, of course, the overall in command of the ship, as he is otherwise also known as the ship's master.
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Technically, he is the ship owner's representative.
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In my experience, if the captain and the chief engineer have excellent teamwork, good things are bound to happen.
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The ship can easily resolve any problems, the officers and the crew will perform their jobs efficiently, and everyone will be happy.
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The way I see it, the captain runs the ship while the chief engineer makes the ship run.
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Of course, I wasn't always a chief engineer.
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I had to work really hard before I got to this level.
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I can say that I started my voyage in the maritime profession on the day
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that I entered the academy way back in May of 1996 as a probationary midshipman.
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As I have mentioned earlier, making the right decisions is essential for career advancement.
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And the first critical decision that you will ever make in the maritime profession is choosing the right school.
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Make sure your decision is based on facts and track records
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and that the school you choose has an excellent support network from the shipping companies,
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as this will more or less guarantee employment and career advancement.
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I took up
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Bachelor of Science in Marine Engineering at the Philippine Merchant Marine Academy.
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During the first year,
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different shipping companies came to our school to scout for cadets and eventually I was chosen by NYK a Japanese company,
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to be part of their cadetship training program.
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I went on board my first ship as engine cadet during my second year of study.
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I was assigned to join a container ship.
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I was only 18 years old and it was my first time to leave the country.
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I got to experience firsthand what working on board a ship really means.
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The long working hours, the isolation, and back then there was no internet,
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no cell phones, and even making phone calls was very expensive.
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But of course, it also gave me the opportunity to visit different countries and see the beautiful sights.
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I guess in my mind, it made things quite balanced.
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Back in my time, the program for education in PMMA was 1 -1 -2, meaning one year of academics, one year of shipboard training,
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and back again to school for another two years of academics.
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After completing my first contract, I reported back to the Academy to finish my studies.
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I had two years of academics left and during that period was when I met my ex -girlfriend.
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She's my wife now, so ex -girlfriend?
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I graduated in June of 2000
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and immediately got my fourth engineer license after passing the national exams
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and then after a few months went on board my second ship as a junior engineer.
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I was transferred to the tanker fleet so my second shipboard assignment was onboard a VLCC, a very large crude oil carrier.
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From there I pushed myself to learn as much as I could, not only about my job but also to prepare myself for the higher ranks.
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Now as I mentioned, back then there was no internet, my salary was also not that big
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so I couldn't afford to buy gadgets like laptops
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so no distractions meant that I had plenty of time to study back then
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and eventually it paid off even back
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when I was a fourth engineer I was already very familiar in higher level jobs
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I always assisted the second engineer
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and volunteered to be on the front lines whenever we do big maintenance jobs by doing
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that I gained a lot of first -hand experience and also a lot of confidence.
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I started teaching in 2005 at the Philippine Center for Advanced Maritime Simulation and Training ,
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which gave me additional income while on vacation.
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It also allowed me to stay land -based a little bit longer
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so I pretty much had more time to spend with my family.
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It also gave me a chance to scout for better opportunities for my career.
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As mentioned, planning is important when aspiring for promotion.
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There will come a time that you are ready for the next higher rank,
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but unfortunately, the timing is not good as there might be no vacancies in your company.
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If that happens, you either have a choice of transferring to another company or waiting for the slot to open,
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which could take months and deplete your finances.
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Or just go on board at your present rank and hope you get promoted next time.
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The opportunity will always come, but it's a matter of positioning yourself to be available and ready to deploy at the right moment.
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After three contracts as fourth engineer and two contracts as third engineer,
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I was given a break by a Greek company to go on board as second engineer back in April of 2007.
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It was my first contract as a senior officer, this time on board an oil and chemical tanker.
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I just turned 28 years old back then.
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It was perhaps one of the toughest contracts I've ever experienced, and not because of the job.
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It was difficult because of personal conflicts between me and the chief engineer, who, on the very first moment that we met,
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blatantly shouted that he doesn't like me, just because I graduated from PMMA.
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I mean, seriously, I have experienced discrimination many times before, but usually behind my back.
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I was just amazed that this guy just declared war on me the minute that I introduced myself to him.
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He didn't even know me.
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I guess he was already planning something bad as soon as the ship received the message
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that I was the one joining a second engineer.
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He definitely did make my life a living hell up to the point when he tried to sabotage me.
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Of course I wasn't going to take any of that crap lying down so I fought back.
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Not physically, no, nothing like that.
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So eventually he laid low.
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But of course, I never trusted him, not one bit, so I never let my guard down.
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And because he was a really terrible person, pretty much everyone was angry at him so I had a lot of support,
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especially from the other engineers who came on board a few months later.
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Both of them were my classmates in the academy, so I had that going for me.
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Still, I spent five long months on board with that guy as my chief engineer.
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It was by far one of the worst experiences in my entire career.
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I did five contracts as second engineer because I knew that that level was where I will learn the most, not only about technical stuff,
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but also on the management side.
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I took the licensure exams for chief engineer on May of 2010, and finally, on June of 2011, at the age of 32,
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I went on board for the first time as chief engineer.
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Back then, I felt like it was the culmination of all my hard work.
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But in reality, it was just another chapter in the story of my life at sea.
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After completing my first contract as chief engineer, I started work as a professor in PMMA back in 2012.
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It was sort of my personal commitment that when I became chief engineer,
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I would go back to the academy and do my part in molding the future generations of officers,
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sharing what I have learned and maybe even inspire or challenge them to do better.
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In addition to teaching engineering subjects, I was also a tactical officer and appointed as the disciplinary director,
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which made me in charge of the leadership and discipline training of the cadets.
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I served there twice, first for a whole school year from 2012 to 2013, after which I went on board for another contract
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and then again for one semester from 2014 to 2015 for a total of almost two years.
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It was a very fulfilling experience to impart knowledge and get in touch with the younger generation.
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The time I have served in the academy was just a personal promise
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and although I wasn't really required to make good on that promise, I gladly did so and would do so again in the future.
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I left PMMA in 2015 to focus on my shipboard career, which brings us to the present day.
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Since 2011, I have done a total of seven contracts as chief engineer.
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I might have made it sound easy going through the ranks, but in reality, it wasn't.
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Like I said, I encountered a lot of challenges along the way and in some cases,
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even outright hostility from a few people just because of professional jealousy and,
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you know, crab mentality. But I'm still here.
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So obviously, I managed to fight my way through all of them.
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I was able to reach the rank of Chief Engineer 11 years after
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I graduated from the Academy at the age of 32.
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I managed to do that in a pace that I was comfortable with.
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I planned ahead and studied and worked hard and went for promotion when I was absolutely ready for it.
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I made calculated choices and positioned myself so I could grab the opportunity as soon as it presented itself.
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Actually, it's not really a big secret.
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I mean, anyone in any industry can go for advancement if they really set their minds to it.
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But I think the key factor here for me is my family especially my wife who is very supportive
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and also willing to make adjustments and even a few sacrifices.
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I mean being smart, being well trained and working really hard could get you far in whatever endeavor you undertake.
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But if your family doesn't function as a team, if your spouse doesn't support you and doesn't act like a partner,
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then you are basically fighting battles in multiple fronts and that could make things a lot more difficult and unstable for you.
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In the words of the self -made billionaire
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Warren Buffet, the most important business decision you will ever make is choosing the person you marry.
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They can either make you or break you.
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So always keep in mind that in any endeavor, good teamwork, especially from your partner and family is essential.
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Because career advancement, especially in the Merchant Marine, is not really an individual achievement.
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It actually takes team effort and the key players who will support you is right there at home.
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So do yourself a favor, find a good team.
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Thank you.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This speaking lesson is built on the video “A Cargo Ship Engineer's Career Advancement”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: engineer, chief, ship, board, contract. This video has 136 sentences and 1943 words to shadow. The speech runs for 14:21. The speaker talks at a steady 135 words per minute, a comfortable pace for shadowing. 83% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English; the rest is worth studying before you start.
Key vocabulary in this video
15 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| rank noun | /ˈɹæŋk/ | A row of people or things organized in a grid pattern, often soldiers. |
| advancement noun | /ædˈvæns.mənt/ | The act of advancing; promotion to a higher place or dignity |
| profession noun | /pɹəˈfɛʃ.ən/ | A promise or vow made on entering a religious order. |
| merchant noun | /ˈmɝt͡ʃənt/ | A person who traffics in commodities for profit. |
| maritime adjective | /ˈmæɹ.ɪˌtaɪm/ | Relating to or connected with the sea or its uses (as navigation, commerce, etc.). |
| promotion noun | /pɹəˈmoʊʃn̩/ | An advancement in rank or position. |
| exam verb | /ɪɡˈzæm/ | Shortened form of examine |
| scout noun | /ˈskaʊ̯t/ | A person sent out to gather and bring back information; especially, one employed in war to gain information about the enemy and ground. |
| endeavor noun | /ɛnˈdɛv.ɚ/ | A sincere attempt; a determined or assiduous effort towards a specific goal; assiduous or persistent activity. |
| complicated adjective | /ˈkɑm.plɪˌkeɪ.tɪd/ | Difficult or convoluted. |
| guarantee noun | /ˌɡæɹ.ənˈtiː/ | Anything that assures a certain outcome. |
| commitment noun | /kəˈmɪtmənt/ | The act of sending a legislative bill to committee for review. |
| plain noun | /pleɪn/ | An expanse of land with relatively low relief and few trees, especially a grassy expanse. |
| assist verb | /əˈsɪst/ | To help. |
| ordinary adjective | /ˈɔɹdɪnɛɹi/ | Having regular jurisdiction; now only used in certain phrases. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| fight back verb | /faɪt bæk/ | To defend oneself by fighting. |
| go back to verb | To stem from; to originate in. | |
| go through verb | To travel from one end of something to the other. | |
| pay off verb | To bribe, especially to deter oversight. | |
| plan ahead verb | To schedule or plan extensively for problems before it is needed; to come up with solutions before problems occur; to prepare for future situations. | |
| take up verb | To pick up. |
Sentences worth repeating
Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:
- Of course, I wasn't always a chief engineer.
- She's my wife now, so ex -girlfriend?
- He didn't even know me.
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | being composed · are bound · is based |
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | have been · have mentioned · I've ever experienced |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 12 contractions and reduced forms, such as doesn't, wasn't, couldn't. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: profession /pɹəˈfɛʃ.ən/, promotion /pɹəˈmoʊʃn̩/, vacation /veɪˈkeɪ.ʃən/, discrimination /dɪskɹɪmɪˈneɪʃən/, shout /ʃaʊt/
- Long words — get the stress right: complicated /ˈkɑm.plɪˌkeɪ.tɪd/, ordinary /ˈɔɹdɪnɛɹi/, discrimination /dɪskɹɪmɪˈneɪʃən/, technically /ˈtɛk.nɪˌkəl.i/, isolation /ˌaɪsəˈleɪʃən/
How to practise with this video
- Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
- Shadow it sentence by sentence at normal speed, repeating each one until your rhythm matches the speaker.
- Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like rank, advancement, profession.
What is the Shadowing Technique?
Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.