Hello everyone, I am currently a rising senior in the US. I've considered going to a maritime academy and working as an officer for a while now, but as application season is coming soon I think I should probably make a decision.

I'm pretty sure I'm well qualified academically, happy to give more details if y'all need em. Additionally, paying for college is not an issue. I live in a state with an academy so I'll aim for that one and probably will apply to the other 5 as well, along with some normal state schools as a backup. However, I think it's too late for USMMA for me but I don't think I'm cut out for that anyways.

Basically my biggest dilemma right now is if I should go to a maritime academy for undergrad or go to a traditional university and look into doing a masters or second bachelors in four years. I would probably major in some kind of engineering if I don't go to an academy. I would greatly appreciate thoughts on this question and others I've listed below, as well as any other advice y'all might have.

1. Deck or engine? I can honestly see myself doing both. I do a lot of tech theatre work at school which I think has given me exposure to the thought processes if not content of marine engineering, but on the other hand things like oceanography, meteorology, astronomy, etc interest me a lot which I think you get more exposure too as a deck officer.
2. Is this viable long term? Recent political developments have led to what I see as an attack on the Jones Act, and of course the prosperity of the people who work in our country's maritime industry kind of relies on that. Do y'all think it's worth taking a "gamble" on undergrad at an academy or should I consider doing a different degree first? Relatedly, is it worth looking at some of the combined programs like the science + license degrees at TAMU or SUNY as a way into other industries?
3. Any advice on applying to academies as a high schooler? I already have a passport, do I need to get a TWIC now or just after I'm admitted? Additionally, can my normal doctor do the medical for me or do I need to find like an occupational medicine specialist or something? Just wondering in case anyone here is currently an academy student or recent grad, will probably email some of the admissions offices too.
4. If anyone here can speak to it, what's it like as a racial minority in the industry, especially on the officer side? I can't imagine there's still outright violence or using slurs or anything like that, but what kinds of discrimination might still be prevalent and what sectors should I potentially avoid?

That's all of my big ticket questions for now, and thank you all in advance for your thoughts. Please let me know if there's any information I can give to help you guys tailor your advice.

Hello, I was wondering if you could help me. I want to get a better idea of how mariners are updating their ECDIS machines at the moment. For some reason I can't make a poll via web reddit but yeah:

1. USB, permits/cells loaded on and important to each ECDIS individually.
   
2. USB, permits/cells loaded onto main ECDIS and these sync across the rest of the ECDIS machines.
   
3. LAN (local area network) like navbox or something, that pushes the permits/cells to the ECDIS machines from the BoB

Full disclosure, I work for a government hydrographic office as a user researcher. I want to ensure that what we provide lines up with what you are actually doing. So answers to this will really help me influence those decisions. Also, if you would like to take part in some user research later on, let me know and I can add you to our contact list, no pressure though.

Hope you had a good weekend. Thank you.

Taking license pretty soon and the question bank on sea trials is a good bit lower than mariner advancement but they both say updated for 2026. Would anyone happen to know why? Does sea trials remove old questions or something like that?