Life Onboard
I Turned Down University for a Superyacht - Here's What Happened
In short
A student with a confirmed university place chose superyacht crew instead. A year on: no debt, real savings, travel to a dozen countries, and a clear industry path - with the option to study later still wide open.
She had the offer letter. A place confirmed, halls booked, the whole plan lined up. Then she deferred it, did her STCW and ENG1 in a fortnight, and three weeks later was folding towels into swans on a 45-metre motor yacht in the Mediterranean. This is what actually happened next.
"Everyone thought I was making a huge mistake"
Family, teachers, friends - the reaction was almost universally the same: why would you give up a guaranteed university place for a job you'd never done, on a boat you'd never been on? The honest answer was that university wasn't going anywhere. It would still be there in a year. This particular door - young, no ties, no debt yet - wouldn't stay open forever.
"I kept thinking: worst case, I hate it, I come home in three months and start uni a year late. That's not actually a bad worst case."
The first month was harder than expected
Long hours, a steep learning curve, and being the newest, least experienced person on board. But the pay landed in her account tax-free from day one, food and accommodation were covered, and by week three she'd stopped being the one everyone had to double-check.
What she has now that a first-year student doesn't
Zero student debt. Meaningful savings, because there was almost nothing to spend money on. Passport stamps from a dozen countries. And a professional reference from a captain who'd vouch for her work ethic to any future employer, in yachting or otherwise.
University is still on the table - just later, and on her terms
Nothing about this closes the door to study. If anything, having savings and a clearer sense of what she wants makes that choice easier to make well, rather than by default at eighteen because it was the only path anyone mentioned.
Considering the same thing?
If you've got an offer sitting in your inbox and a nagging feeling there's another option, let's have an honest conversation about what's actually possible.
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Nick went from zero experience to working in the superyacht industry, and now coaches young Kiwis through the same journey - honest, one-on-one and industry-backed.