Apparently tugboat "pilots" are worth 450K?
 

Yeah, tug boat pilots make a lot of money pulling boats in and out of harbors


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I know one that works in and around NY. He makes 1200 a day whenever he is called in but he is a "contractor" so he doesnt have taxes taken out, medical is expensive, and no retirement. He gets called about 3 days a week and it isn't hard to get the license but to get called for the job you need to know the right people. If you are a mope you have zero chance of landing these type of jobs.

Sadly the cargo on some of those container ships could arguably hold a higher value than human life. What a screwed up world...

Let alone those ships themselves too [emoji58]


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License isn't easy to get.

Yes harbor pilot make bank.

Job is very hard to get.

One of the few if only maritime captain positions that allow you to be home every night.

When I lived in Virginia Beach, I had a friend who was the dispatcher for the 'pilots'.
She told me how much money they make (I believe the number in the article!) and how incredibly hard (family ties/connections, training, union protectionism, etc...) it was to get into that business.

Maybe I should have taken up sailing on Oklahoma lakes growing up instead of flying???

This is thanks (no thanks in our case) to union representation and solidarity.

Not really a "tub boat" driver. You'll notice the article said there are 11 pilots for the port of LA. Eleven. If I recall correctly there are less than 20 in New Orleans so for every ship entering or leave NOLA it is one of ~20 pilots guiding it. You about have to born into the NOLA pilot's association. Many third generation pilots. No way to market the career to tens of thousands with "shiny boat syndrome."

We have three pilot groups on the Mississippi, and one on Lake Charles. Here's the umbrella association which briefly describes their history and gives links for each one:

Louisiana River Pilots' Association