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Inland & towboat jobs · built by an 18-year captain

Looking for work
on the river?
Get hired faster.

A real wheelman built this site to connect inland towboat mariners with the employers who need them. Deckhands start $160–$210/day. Free to you.

Start your profile Browse open jobs See the pay ladder
No experience needed to start We never ask for your SSN Gulf, GIWW & the rivers
The ladder

From the deck to the wheelhouse

There’s a real path here, and it climbs fast. The day rates below are what hands on the inland boats are actually making — tap any rung for the full pay breakdown.

01
Deckhand
$160–210/day
Where you start. TWIC + entry credential. No exam, no sea time.
Deckhand pay →
02
Tankerman
$310–390+/day
About a year in. Run the cargo transfers.
Tankerman pay →
03
Engineer
$400–750+/day
Run the engine room — second assistant up to chief.
Engineer pay →
04
Pilot
$650–750/day
Get your wheelman’s license. Now you drive.
Wheelman & pilot pay →
05
Captain
top of the boat
Pay climbs with what you push.

A hand who’s set on it can go from about $30k to $80k inside the first year. Schedules run 20/10, 28/14, or 20/20 — days worked, then days home. Run your own numbers in the day rate calculator → That first-year road is a whole book now — From Deckhand to $80K →

How we help

We get you through the gate

Most people who never make it aboard get stuck on the paperwork and the screens — not the work. We walk you through every step.

TWIC

Your dock access card

The ID that gets you onto the terminals. We point you to the right enrollment center and what to bring — about $125.

MMC

Your Coast Guard credential

Not needed to start decking — TWIC and a medical card get you aboard. The MMC is your move-up paper (tankerman, wheelhouse), and the entry-level one needs no exam and no sea time.

THE SCREEN

Medical & drug test

This is the wall most green hands hit. We tell you exactly what the USCG physical and the drug test look like so nothing surprises you.

THE JOB

Your application, ready to send

A clean packet aimed at the companies actually hiring near you — and if you’ve got experience, we put you in front of them ourselves.

How this board works

One application — then we work it for you

This isn’t a resume dump. You fill out one application here, hiring companies see it, and once it’s built out enough to stand on its own, we start putting it in their hands ourselves. Free for mariners — always has been.

STEP 1

You fill it out once

Your papers, the boats you’ve run, the water you know, the rotation you want. It saves as you go — start it in five minutes on watch and finish it at home. No resume needed; the application is the resume.

STEP 2

It goes on the hiring deck

Completed profiles show up on Pushboat Crews, the employer side of this board, where port captains and personnel managers go looking for crew. They see your experience and your credentials — never your Social Security number.

STEP 3

At 75%, we start sending it out

Fill your application to 75% or better and we don’t wait for somebody to find you. We start emailing it to hiring companies on your behalf. That’s the part below — and it’s the part other job boards don’t do.

STEP 4

They come to you direct

When an outfit wants you, they contact you. We are not a manning agency: we don’t take a cut of your day rate, we don’t sell your information, and we don’t stand between you and the offer.

THE 75% BONUS

Get to 75% and we go to work for you.

Every application on this site carries a Profile strength meter that fills in as you answer. Once yours reaches 75% or better, you’re not just sitting on the deck waiting to get noticed — we start emailing your application out to hiring companies on your behalf, aimed at the outfits crewing up for the work you do and the rivers you run.

You don’t pay for it. You don’t have to ask for it. Get the application to 75% and it starts.

Straight talk: nobody honest can promise you a job, and we won’t. What we can promise is that a finished application doesn’t sit still.

Finish your application →
Straight talk

We won’t sugarcoat it

The work is hard and physical, and you’ll live on a steel boat with the same few people for weeks — when you don’t get along, there’s nowhere to go. That’s what runs most new hands off, and nobody warns them.

Here’s the truth from 18 years of it: the guys who make it aren’t the strongest. They’re the ones who show up, do the basics every single day — sweep, mop, keep the boat right — pick up after themselves, and keep their head when tempers get short. Do that and you’ll move up fast. We’ll prepare you for the part of this job that actually decides who stays.

Free tools for the boat

Deck tools & wheelhouse prep — all free

Built by the same captain who runs this board — no login, no charge, made for a phone on the boat. The day rate is half the story and the rotation is the rest: set both below and see what a hitch really pays, then open any tool full-screen.

Rotation — days on / days off
Your day rate $210/day
Per hitch
$5,880
28 days aboard
Per month, avg
$4,258
smoothed over the year
Per year
$51,100
gross, every hitch worked

Estimates only. Gross pay before taxes, per diem, or travel — real checks vary by company, experience, boat, and hitches actually worked.

TRAINING SIM

Barge Mooring Trainer

Rig a tank barge yourself — leads, breasts, winch wires — set the tide, then send a loaded tow past and see if your mooring holds or parts, line by line.

Open the trainer →
WHEELHOUSE PREP

Rules of the Road test

20 random questions a sitting from a 100-question bank, 90% to pass — the same bar as the real steersman module, with the rule behind every answer.

Take the practice test →
PAY

Day Rate Calculator

The full version of the calculator above — position presets, bi-weekly checks on and off hitch, and every rotation compared side by side.

Open the full calculator →
TANKERMAN

Load Time Calculator

Pick your barges, punch in the rate the dock gave you, and see the whole load — topping-off slowdown, the shift between barges, and when you’ll be done.

Open the load calculator →
TANKERMAN

Cargo unit converter

Barrels, gallons, liters, pounds, short tons, metric tons — pick a product preset or punch in the specific gravity off your cargo papers.

Open the converter →

All free, no login. Estimates and practice only — your company’s procedures and the official USCG rules always govern.

Common questions

Getting aboard — answered

Is CrewChange Jobs really free for mariners?
Yes. CrewChange Jobs is completely free for mariners looking for work. A real inland captain helps you get aboard the right towboat and make it past the first hitch — you never pay a dime.
Do I need experience to get hired as a deckhand?
No. Entry-level deckhand jobs need no prior experience. We help green hands get through the paperwork and the screens that stop most people, and get your application in front of companies that are actually hiring near you.
What is a TWIC card and how much does it cost?
The TWIC (Transportation Worker Identification Credential) is the ID that gets you onto the terminals and docks. It costs about $125. We point you to the right enrollment center and tell you exactly what to bring.
Do I need a Coast Guard credential (MMC) to start?
No. To start as a deckhand you need a TWIC and a medical card — that’s it. The MMC comes later, when you move up toward tankerman or the wheelhouse, and the entry-level MMC needs no exam and no sea time when you get there.
What are the USCG medical exam and drug test like?
A USCG physical and a drug test are the wall most green hands hit. We tell you exactly what both look like ahead of time so nothing surprises you.
Get started

Get on the deck in 30 seconds

Just the basics to start — no password, no 100 questions. Add the rest whenever you want; we’ll send you a link.

We never ask for your Social Security number. That only ever goes straight to an employer if you get hired. Privacy policy →

That’s it — you’re on the board. Run by a real working captain, not a recruiting mill.
Trouble with the form? Email crewchangejobs@gmail.com.

Apps from the wheelhouse · by the crew behind this site
TowCal app icon

Know your hitch with TowCal

You picked your rotation up top — 20/10, 28/14, 20/20. TowCal turns it into a real calendar: one join date locks in your pattern, and it maps every crew change forward and back — plus what you’re owed. The math runs on your phone, and your dates and pay never leave it.

TOWCAL · 2026 SCHEDULE

Your whole year at sea — from one date.

■ May 5 → May 24  AWAY
□ May 25 → Jun 3   HOME
■ Jun 4 → Jun 23  AWAY
□ Jun 24 → Jul 3   HOME  🎂 Anna's birthday Jun 28
ONE TAP TO SHARE

The family knows when you're home.

Send the whole year to the people waiting on the bank — every crew change, every day home, birthdays flagged. No more "when do you get off the boat?"

CREDENTIAL WATCH

Never let a paper expire on you.

TWIC · expires Mar 2027 RENEW SOON
MMC · expires Aug 2028
Medical Cert · Nov 2026 RENEW SOON

Reminders up to 12 months ahead — you pick how early.

Download on the App Store Get TowCal on Android See everything it does → Available on Apple & Android — maritime rotation & pay calendar
On Google Play & the App Store

More apps for the boat

TOWCAL

Set your rotation once — see your whole year

Every crew change, every day off, and every dollar you’re owed, mapped months ahead for any rotation you run. First month free on the monthly plan — take the full tour with real screenshots.

See the TowCal page →
TOWTIDE

Tides, currents & locks — the GIWW in your pocket

Live NOAA tide predictions, real-time river gauges, and lock status for the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway. Know what the water’s doing before you get there — no cell signal gymnastics, no ten different websites.

Get TowTide on Android
PUSHBOAT LOG

Sea time that counts

Log your days aboard, collect your captain’s signature right on your phone, and generate sea-service letters formatted for the NMC. Your record stays on your device — and your next upgrade doesn’t stall waiting on paperwork.

Get Pushboat Log on Android