steel to watermelons can be a valuable business experience.

"I'll be able to tell companies that I have management skills under pressure -- when you're out there in the middle of the ocean doing 40 degree rolls, you have to keep your cool -- that means a lot to a company,'' Howard Pitcher says.

For nearly three months, 20-year-old Howard has slept and worked on the Oleander , a 389 foot cargo ship belonging to Bermuda Container Line.

His stint on the ship is part of a requirement for his degree in Marine Transportation Operations and International Business Logistics at Maine Maritime Academy.

Howard plans to spend about six years at sea after graduating, before wiping the salt off his glasses and planting his feet firmly upon land to join the business world.

"It's a career that leads into a lot of other things,'' he says. "It's a good basis for business, port management, insurance, admiralty law and becoming a shipping surveyor. Basically by choosing this career, it leaves me open to many careers after I go to sea.'' "With all the booming business in Bermuda, there's lots of opportunities for anybody in the field.'' A life on the ocean can be a strange one, however.

"It's difficult -- I don't think I'd have a family and do it,'' Howard says.

The cadetship on the Oleander is one of the requirements for Howard's four year degree, which he is midway through. The degree also qualifies him with a 3rd Mate's Unlimited Licence, which means he is capable of being a deck officer on any size vessel in any ocean.

On board the Oleander , Howard assists with navigation, cargo, docking, un-docking, and general seamanship tasks. He also spends hours each day on watches -- plotting other ships' courses and making sure the Oleander's cargo is secure.

The Oleander makes the weekly trek between Bermuda and Port Elizabeth, New Jersey. Each week Howard sees the Manhattan skyline as the vessel passes under the Verrazano Bridge. If they get in at night, Coney Island is lit up.

Howard says returning to Bermuda is a good feeling, however.

"I live in St. David's, so when we're coming in, I grab out the binoculars and see who's walking around. I see who I know who's out fishing.'' Out in the open ocean Howard has seen dolphins, whales and turtles studding the waters off the bow.

"A couple of miles out from Bermuda there's usually one or two longtails trailing the boat,'' he says. "It's a good omen.'' This is not the first time Howard has lived on the ocean. A year ago, he spent part of a summer on the heavily trafficked waters of the Mediterranean Sea, slipping between the rugged coasts of Northern Africa and Southern Europe.

He was granted this internship on the Oleander after he contacted Robert Lewis, Vice President of Bermuda Container Line. BCL awards internships on ships to any individual who is attending a recognised nautical programme.

Howard invites anyone interested in a nautical career to contact him at raveing98 yyahoo.com.