I joined through an agency after two and a half months of being considered for a newbuilding — then a call came about an urgent vacancy on another vessel and everything moved in days. The interview itself was quick and superficial. On board: back-to-back works for all officer ranks, internet is 10 GB a week with usable video calls in the evening, Saturday is a half day and Sunday only the duty engineer works. Paperwork is moderate. Promotion can be fast — engineers are sometimes moved to Second without gas experience — but it is luck-dependent. Most of the crew on my ship were Ukrainian, with Greek senior officers and Filipino ratings.