Hey sorry about the slow reply, I typed a nice long comprehensive reply, then it vanished from my screen >:(

I will try to answer some of your questions

1. the progression of jobs began as a deck hand on a commercial fishing boat when I was 15 and from the I spent the next 25 yrs working as a Profesional Mariner. *

2. As a newly licensed capt. its a lot easier to get a mates job or get on a tug as a second capt. or wheelman. *There are always tour and dinner boats that will hire most anyone but they pay cr$p. One word of advice, if you come upon a person or company who really needs someone and is willing to take a risk on you and put you on their boat. Give some serious thought to whether or not you are positive you are ready for it. Once you cast of those lines, youre the man, there is no one to ask for help or advive. I tell you this because I have been in that seat *a few times and there was nothing in the world I wanted more than to turn around to someone and say "you take it" it can get scary.

3. Advice. *tons, but a few highlights, if you can go to sea school or somewhere similar, they do alll the paperwork, that a lone is worth the money. If you cant do a prep school, go to a west marine (one place I know that has them) and get a large green soft cover book "how to get your license" or something like that. the book you want has a CD in the back. *Put the book on a shelf and dont touch it again. Break out that CD and run the program, let it test you and test you, it literally is the USCG question bank. *Focus on rules of the road and chart work, you have to score 90% on rules and 80% on chart work.

one more time, don't get put in a position you are not ready for, they will do it to you if you let them.
Take a look at this website also

http://maritimeemployment.com/