Assignments are only made after you successfully pass Academy, but the planning process starts earlier.
During the spring, before Academy begins, we review each student’s Work Availability (from your Quarterdeck profile). Based on this, we create a tentative work plan and announce it.
You’ll see yourself “assigned” to certain weeks at this stage. This gives you a sense of how much work you can expect and in which destination, so you can plan ahead.
At this point, the week is tentatively planned, but the details — such as your specific yacht or booking type (full yacht vs. cabin bookings) — may change later as bookings and operational needs evolve.
What determines when I start?
Your start date depends first and foremost on your availability. If you have full availability, you can theoretically start working immediately after Academy — and we always try to optimize assignments to match your preferences where possible (destination, timing, role).
However, we can’t guarantee any specific start date or number of weeks, because we can only assign work when we have confirmed demand and suitable bookings.
Statistically, Quarterdeck often offers work soon after Academy. If you’re travelling a long distance (for example from the US/Canada/Australia/New Zealand), we try to accommodate that and plan as early as possible — but again, there are no guarantees.
There are also many practical factors that affect whether we can place you immediately, including:
Yacht type/size requirements (you must be suitable for the yachts available that week)
Guest language preferences (some bookings require specific languages)
Destination staffing needs, guest booking mix, last-minute changes, and overall demand
How many weeks will I get?
This depends on the number of staff requests Quarterdeck receives. We generally aim to offer at least 5 weeks of work to each student, and often more, but this cannot be guaranteed.
Students with high season availability (June, July, August) usually have a better chance of receiving more work, but again, it is not guaranteed.
Timing of first work:
Some students will move straight from Academy into their first assignment, especially if their availability and performance align with immediate needs.
Others may need to wait a bit longer until the right week or destination becomes available.
Once Academy is complete and you’ve passed, your assignments are finalized and confirmed as part of Quarterdeck’s operational planning.