Have you ever imagined your dream job being a constant adventure, sailing around the world on a luxurious yacht, earning money and visiting several countries around the globe in the process? That is exactly what Seattle born stewardess Emery Wallerich is doing. The 24-year-old stumbled upon the yachting industry in her senior year, right before graduating from Oregon State University where she spent 4 years playing soccer.
Many people end up working a 9-to-5 job, because it’s the logical and maybe the easiest next step one can take. However, Emery chose a different career. “I chose to be a yachtie because, at the time I found out about it, I was working in an office for the sports team social media. And though I loved doing social media management I didn’t like going into the office. So when I heard about this job where you can constantly travel while getting paid I was totally hooked. We had some family friends that moved in next to us who were yachties and I think their stories really inspired me to make the jump,” said Emery in an interview with Yachting.mt.
Aboard the yacht, Emery fulfills the role of stewardess. “The stewardess role entails beach set ups, cleaning, organizing, cocktail making, service, entertainment, laundry. There is a lot to it but once you get your bearings, it’s very fun! It’s fast paced and challenging at some parts and then more slowed and relaxed at other parts. Like doing dinner service vs going down to do some ironing,” she went on to say.
What does a day in the life of a stewardess look like?
Emery then also explained what a day in the life of a stewardess looks like. “A normal work day for me when guests aren’t on starts off with an 8 AM crew meeting, then I clean and restock the crew mess, currently I am doing crew and guest inventory so I go down to the guest cabins and organize under the beds until 10 AM, and then we all go back to the crew mess for a quick tea/breakfast. We take a lunch break at 12, where our chef, coming all the way from Italy ensures we are fed WELL. After that I then maybe knock out a few monthly duties like clean the dishwasher or detail the vacuums and then back to inventory. We have a tea break at 3 and then finish up our day at 5PM.”
Living on a yacht most certainly brings with it a whole lot of perks. For Emery, the main perk is the travel which she describes as “addictive”. She explained how through her work, she also got the opportunity to meet so many international crew members on the boat. She considers herself truly lucky to have worked with so many people coming from so many different countries around the world.
Prior to accepting a permanent position on the yacht, Emery was fulfilling her role on a freelance basis. She started off with working 3-4 months on the yacht and then taking 2-3 months off where she returned home. At the moment, her role has become more permanent and therefore she will get to return home 2 or 3 times in a year.
Asked whether her permanent role means she constantly lives on the boat, she explained that she’s a livaboard. “So I technically live on the boat. When we do get off work we go explore wherever we are docked/anchored and then come back “home” at the end of the night. When we do have weekends off though sometimes I like to go stay at hotels around the area! It’s fun to treat myself to a weekend away!”
Constantly living at sea might make one think that it can get lonely because the mass of humans that one can interact with essentially live on land. However, Emery explained that it doesn’t get as lonely as one would think. Onboard you are able to make a lot of friends and therefore it’s hard to feel lonely. She explained that through her work on yachts she has made some truly life long friends, especially if they happened to be coworkers on a yacht. “I’ve never felt lonely but I have felt homesick so that kind of sucks when that hits,” she went on to say.
It’s hard to feel sad or bad when you are constantly distracted by new places and people! In fact, Emery has visited many countries while sailing around the world. “I’ve visited Canada, I’ve done both the west coast and east coast of the states, Bahamas, BVI’s, Mexico, Panama, Costa Rica and soon we will be crossing to Spain for our Mediterranean summer in a couple weeks!”
For those enticed with this kind of lifestyle and career, Emery has started her very own TikTok channel where she shows everyone what being a stewardess is all about. “The way my channel has grown this past year has been INCREDIBLE! I never thought that so many people would be so interested in what I do for a living but it’s so much fun. I decided to start posting on Tiktok because I saw there weren’t any videos about yachting apart from a couple people. So I thought it was a good opportunity to teach people about what I do and the world I live in! I love how much fun everyone has watching my adventures ! I always get asked the classic “Is your job like Below Deck?” Which is super fair to ask because it is, just less drama (usually). It’s sort of like a “too good to be true” job because it’s traveling while getting paid which I feel like a lot of people are searching for so people are always excited to learn about it!”
Another great perk that Emery benefits from through her job is that every single penny she earns she is able to save. While living aboard the yacht, she doesn’t need to pay for anything besides when she wants to go out or do some shopping. She doesn’t need to pay rent, for food, cover gas bills or electricity. Therefore it allows her to save a lot of money and set herself up for a future that will come once she decides to step out from the stewardess role.
Asked to give out some valuable advice to people intrigued to apply for a role that would land them a job on a yacht, Emery encouraged everyone to follow her TikTok videos. “I have lots of tips and tricks about this industry. I always see people say they can’t do it because they have no experience when in reality when I started out, I had no experience as well so don’t let that scare you away!”
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