On the average Superyacht / Megayacht you will find six main categories of jobs on board:

Captain: the officer in charge of the yacht and all who sail in her.

Engineer: The world’s fleet of big boats and superyachts, typically over 23 metres in length, has more than doubled in the last ten years, with nearly 6000 large luxury vessels afloat on the world’s oceans. The continuing worldwide boom in the superyacht market, together with changes to the manning requirements of large commercial and leisure yachts demanded by the international convention, has led to a substantial rise in the number of job opportunities to work on board these luxurious sail and motor yachts. Indeed, there is now a global shortage of qualified engineers able to work on superyachts.
Engineers are very much in demand and the potential earning reflect that with some engineers able to command salaries higher than those of their captains. However engineers cannot legally hold the position with approved qualifications. There are a variety of training courses for Marine Engineers.

Mate / First Officer: Just a step or two away from the position of captain an officer has to be qualified and hold relevant papers to hold the position. salary good, in charge of exterior crew, reports to captain.

Deckhand: General exterior duties on board. Working as a deckhand is entry level for almost every captain in the industry, your apprentice position. Deckhands have risen to Captain in very short periods of time and have seen equivalent returns on training investment.
The minimum requirements for deckhand training is the STCW but there are many other sailing courses that will enable you to climb the career ladder quickly and easily.

Steward and Stewardess: interior crew in charge of the interior and caring for guests. Working as a stewardess can be a very rewarding experience. More than almost any other member of crew you get to meet owners and guests. The service you provide is vital to the quality of the guests stay.
As a steward or stewardess your duties will include everything from Silver Service to bedmaking, from ironing to PR.

Chef and crew chef: provisions yacht and prepares and cooks for guests and crew.

Today most crew are expected to have, at the very least, the minimum STCW95 recognised qualifications. These qualifications include the B.S.T. (Basic Safety Training) which covers four modules, namely basic firefighting, elementary first aid, personal survival, and personal safety & social responsibility.

The STCW has been put in place to protect both crew and passengers/guests. STCW (S.T.C.W.) stands for Standards of Training, Certification & Watchkeeping

There are many people who would wish to work as yacht crew. The lifestyle is fabulous and the pay package is great.

In view of this high level of competition for yacht crew positions there is significantly more to finding a job on yacht, working as professional paid crew, besides sending the odd email and/or cv's and sitting back and hoping for the best.

Working as yacht crew can be one of the most rewarding experiences offering travel, a good to excellent salary and a wonderful opportunity to explore far flung corners of the globe. But finding the right crew or the right job can sometimes be a battle.