Assalamoalikum and welcome back to Orange Shots
Previously i shared my Journey from CADET to Captain with you guys
I also shared all the hurdles that I had to cross to reach there
apparently you guys liked it
but then there are many other stories in merchant navy
and every other story is more inspirational than the previous one
these success stories are very inspirational
the stories of how the individuals fought against the hurdles they faced
Most of my audience is Young
many of them are young aspirants wishing to Join merchant Navy
Whether it's Pakistan, India or Bangladesh
The Job situation in Merchant Navy is Grim
there are heap of candidates waiting to Join their first ship for years
I consider myself luck enough to have achieved my goals
and establish myself in a reputed company
but everyone is not so lucky after all
& every now and then you meet a fighter whose story needs to be told
Job situation isn't improving anytime soon
but every now and then you encounter a blessed brave person
who kept fighting with determination and resilience to get his goals
One of such guys is Capt. Assad Hamid
his Journey is about 15 years long
a few chapters of his journey are very interesting
Talking of interesting chapters, i believe most interesting is the fact that he was a model
He was a model working for commercials and I believe he was on a good career path
He was a bodybuilder and a trainer too
He stayed at good posts in very good Gyms
But still he chose to become a Mariner
His journey to the rank of captain was particularly different because he had
to take this route via becoming a crew member first
Capt. Assad belonged to far flung area of Mansehra
a town in the province of KPK
it is common perception about far flung areas that people over there
lack the information and awareness
there was a time when this used to be true
making the way into mainstream jobs used to be difficult for guys in those areas
Assad knew a 2nd officer by the name of Wajahat Ali Khan
Assad felt attraction in this profession after meeting with Wajahat
and that is the point where the struggle begins
right after you feel the attraction to sail in the seas
Some guys immediately back off When they see the hurdles in the way
others keep trying and keep failing to cross these hurdles
and then there are a few
who smash all of those hurdles like Capt. Assad did
Capt. Assad arrived in Karachi in 2007
He took admission in maritime institute to get his SSB
the beginning of this journey fascinated him for sure
He continued his bodybuilding along with his studies
In April 2007 he got a chance to do a photoshoot for his Gym
In June of the same year, he got chance to Do a photoshoot as Model
That was the beginning of his Career as a model
and that surprises me....
I mean the guy had a fascinating career ahead of him
As a model he had the chance to further groom himself & grow
and of course he could earn handsome amount of money too
but as he said, it was his "Dream" to Join merchant Navy
and I believe chasing the dreams is very very important
in Sept of 2007 he got his SSB (Seaman service Book)
This is the point where many people make a mistake and so did Assad
Many boys suffer the illusion that now as they have SSB
the Jobs will pour from all around
but that's not how the things work in real life
Assad left his Job as a Trainer
He applied everywhere he could and went back home
in a hope to get calls for the Job
but all of us who are aware of the Job situation
and who have gone through this phase know that
Companies never call and freshers always face job problems
after getting no call from anyone he realised his mistake
and we all have made such mistakes too
but there's one good thing about Capt. Assad's attitude that's noticeable
and that is, he is a quick learner and his fight for a pursuit never ends
He quickly learns from his mistakes
and so, he returned Karachi
now he was ready to do the same drill that I did, Roam in Karachi & hunt a job
tough times were ahead
he joined another bodybuilding club as a trainer
but there was no Merchant Navy Job in sight
In search of one shipping company he practically went through every building
at Sharah-e-faisal from morning till evening
To his dismay, he was told that they employ "Officers" Only
Of course those shipping agents are not to be blamed for this
but just imagine what this young kid must have gone through
dragging feet on a road in Karachi for the whole day
only to realise that this office was not what he was looking for
they employed "officers" only
this is very disappointing.. all of you who have gone through this ..
guys like ME
they can truly realise the magnitude of this disappointment
In the Gym a guy told him that his cousin's ship is calling Karachi
and he can pull some strings to let him work on his cousin's ship
This was April 2008 and Assad was still hunting for job
Long story short
He started working on that ship without Salary
Ship was getting ready for Dry dock
he used to take transport to and from the ship paying all by himself daily
and was offered no salary in lieu of this work
after a month or so, the captain gave him testimonials
and referred him to PNSC Head office
At the head office, he was told that 2 more of their ships were coming in for repairs
and if he agreed to work on those vessels without Salary, he may get a Job
Assad immediately realised that there was no Job on offer
and they just wanted to take his advantage being a fresher
With prayers in his heart he left PNSC never to set his foot there again
by the end of June he gets a call from his parents that one of their
family friends Capt. Nasir Mahmood has found a job for him in Zakher Maritime
He was interviewed in July and he left for his first Job on 26th July
the vessel was a small supply boat but he was extremely happy to get this job
this was the realisation of his dream
that he saw when he was in class 12
he dream of working at seas was coming true
he told me that he was so so excited on his first flight to Join at sea
Joining his firs vessel was exciting indeed
18 months and 2 vessels later he was informed that his sea time
was not acceptable how big of a shock is that!!!
I must salute Assad at this point
he faced the situation bravely
I'd be broken had someone told such a thing to me
he faced this bravely and continued working
he knew that Pakistan was not the only country where he could take his exams
and in a hope to take exams elsewhere he kept going
By 2011 he completed his sea time for officer's exam
Approximately 36 months service is required in Pakistan
for taking officer's exams if you have served as a crew member
but he knew that his sea time was not acceptable in Pakistan
so he couldn't appear for exams over here
he resumed his modelling career once again
he did an Ad for Warid
After considering his Pre and Post production Skills
and directorial skills, he was offered a Job as Assistant Director at Formula Films
He had a thriving career ahead of him
as a kid he used to imagine how would his photo look on a billboard
and then came the time when he had to imagine No More
His photo WAS on the Billboards
despite all of this success in Showbiz
His heart was still longing for merchant Navy
In my view the guy would be earning much more as an assistant director
and as a model
comparing to what he would earn as an OS, a crew member
but he still kept pursuing his career
during this whole pursuit he also kept looking for a country to take his exams
being not eligible in Pakistan
& he finally succeeded in finding out that he could indeed take exams from the UK
Now he didn't belong from a native English speaking country
and he also didn't get formal Merchant Naval Education from PMA or a proper institute
These were hurdles in his way to successfully complete his exams
He fought them by dedicating full time to studies even during the Christmas and
Easter holidays in the UK
He dedicated his time to ship stability, OSN and all other studies
the way he dedicated his time is awesome
During a telecon I asked him "Captain, in how many attempts did you clear your exams"
He surprised me when he told me that "in first attempt"
Consider how much hard work he may have put in to do this
As he sailed only as a crew member
But he still managed to pass his officer's exam in his first attempt
that is awesome
He continued his job in the same company
and in 2020 Allah blessed him with the promotion to the rank of Captain
He's still sailing in the same company and serving as a Master
I have shortened the story after 2nd mate's exams as after that
you start getting settled in a company
and things become easier for you
but he still had to go through a lot ever after passing the exams
as now it was time to convert all that he learned into a practical thing
and fill up that gap in his education
He put extra hours at work to achieve that
and to fully understand DP vessels and perform his job professionally
Just to remind, This video is neither a promotion nor an advertisement
I talked to Assad last year for the first time
and he expressed his interest in telling his life story to the people
I'm sure people will enjoy knowing how many hurdles one has to cross to arrive
specially the youngsters waiting for the job opportunity
Last year I asked him to tell me his life story
and if i found it interesting I would share that with my audience
because inspiration is always good for the audience
He sent me this book of his "Able Seaman to Ambitious Master Mariner"
I have gone through this book twice
and i have tagged all that i found interesting
I have put remarks and notes at many places
I have thoroughly read this book
after reading the book and after talking with Capt. Assad
I agreed to share the story with my audience
but of course, this is a very small video
I cannot narrate everything here in any possible way
It is impossible to share everything with you guys in a 10-12 minute video
if you're interested in purchasing this book, you can buy at liberty books in Pakistan
In India, this book is available at Amazon Flipkart and shopsify
You can also place order on Instagram
Again, it's not an advertisement but purchase it only if you're interested
I think it is necessary to clarify all this, because many keyboard warriors
start posting anything that they want to without even thinking
if you guys want to know my Journey from Cadet to Captain
tap here
if you guys wish to know about EID UL AZHA on ship
then tap here
until the next video, take care & keep me in your prayers
with tonnes of love for my orange shots family and to be orange shots family
this is me "Zahid Nisar"
You are watching "Orange Shots"
& until the next video
Allah Hafiz