I've been going back and forth on whether to pursue SAMS certification and wanted to get honest input from people who've actually done it.
On paper, having society of accredited marine surveyors credentials on your resume looks great. But I'm wondering whether employers actually differentiate between certified and non-certified candidates in practice, or whether it just checks a box.
My current role doesn't require the SAMS but a senior position I'm targeting lists it as preferred. I've been using the sams - society of accredited marine surveyors certified vessel electrical systems questions and answers to study and the content is solid — but I want to make sure the certification itself carries weight before investing another 8 weeks.
For anyone who got the SAMS cert: did it open doors you wouldn't have otherwise had? Any salary bump or was it more of a formality for a promotion you were already on track for?
For what it's worth — I've taken the SAMS twice now. First attempt I underestimated the sams accredited marine surveyor questions. Second time I focused almost exclusively on applied practice and passed comfortably. The difference is real.
Bookmarking this. I'm still in the early stages of SAMS prep and threads like this are way more useful than generic study guides. The specifics about society of accredited marine surveyors are particularly helpful — that's the section I've been avoiding.
Really helpful breakdown, thanks for sharing. I'm at week 2 of my SAMS prep and the society of accredited marine surveyors section is exactly where I'm struggling too. Going to try the approach you described and see if it moves my scores.
The part about reviewing wrong answers thoroughly is so underrated. Most people (including me, first time around) just move on after getting something wrong. Going back to understand the concept is what actually builds retention for the SAMS.
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