All my studies were completed at South Tyneside College. The FD was split into 5 phases: 3 land phases and 2 sea time phases. Throughout the time spent at South Tyneside college as a deck officer, we learnt how to navigate using the stars as well as modern techniques such as GPS. We also studied other subjects such as ship construction and marine law in depth too. Throughout my 2 sea phases which totalled 19 months, I spent 13 of them at sea on different types of tankers. Here I understudied officers gaining hands-on experience in cargo operations and how to safely navigate a vessel. Throughout my sea time, I was fortunate enough to travel to all areas of the world except for the polar regions and South America. Upon completion of sea time and the FD, I sat an orals exam with a Maritime and Coast Guard agency surveyor. My hard work paid off and I passed first time. Now I am a fully qualified 3rd officer able to maintain my own watch.