- #1
Bab5space
- 111
- 12
In scifi, the crew jobs depend on the kind of vessel flying. For the purposes of discussion, a starship is any spaceship capable of interstellar flight within about the time it takes to travel by car to a another state or country hours or days away.
The issue is that the typical starship in media scifi is usually militant and armed to the teeth.
So let's discuss the bare minimum jobs you need for ANY crewed ship first.
Basic jobs:
Captain: Directs where and when a ship goes here or there. Ship safety is his responsibility. Also the crew.
XO/Commander: Second to the captain. It is his job to manage the crew and ensure they do their jobs. Freeing up the Captain to oversee his vessel operations and any record keeping.
Pilot: Having more than one is never a bad idea, just in case.
Engineer: One might suffice on a small vessel with helpers assisting him.
That's it for jobs every ship should have available.
Specialized jobs: Not every ship needs these jobs, but some will depending on the purpose of the vessel.
Doctors/medical staff: Always nice to have but not always necessary. Also pricey to employ if it's coming out of the Captain's paycheck if the ship is privately owned. Large vessels owned by companies and government will have medical staff as a necessary precaution.
Soldiers: Mainly for troop carriers.
Unloaders/loaders: This job is almost totally unnecessary assuming you have a place to deliver cargo with workers to load/unload for you like many truck drivers already have. One way a ship still might have these guys is if the place they will deliver cargo won't have workers for unloading.
Navigators: Nice to have a guy who can navigate with a computer map or without one, but inertial guidance and computer maps work great too... and you you don't have to pay either on the payroll.
That's all I can think of. Can you think of any more jobs that are either absolutely necessary or only optional per ship purpose?
The issue is that the typical starship in media scifi is usually militant and armed to the teeth.
So let's discuss the bare minimum jobs you need for ANY crewed ship first.
Basic jobs:
Captain: Directs where and when a ship goes here or there. Ship safety is his responsibility. Also the crew.
XO/Commander: Second to the captain. It is his job to manage the crew and ensure they do their jobs. Freeing up the Captain to oversee his vessel operations and any record keeping.
Pilot: Having more than one is never a bad idea, just in case.
Engineer: One might suffice on a small vessel with helpers assisting him.
That's it for jobs every ship should have available.
Specialized jobs: Not every ship needs these jobs, but some will depending on the purpose of the vessel.
Doctors/medical staff: Always nice to have but not always necessary. Also pricey to employ if it's coming out of the Captain's paycheck if the ship is privately owned. Large vessels owned by companies and government will have medical staff as a necessary precaution.
Soldiers: Mainly for troop carriers.
Unloaders/loaders: This job is almost totally unnecessary assuming you have a place to deliver cargo with workers to load/unload for you like many truck drivers already have. One way a ship still might have these guys is if the place they will deliver cargo won't have workers for unloading.
Navigators: Nice to have a guy who can navigate with a computer map or without one, but inertial guidance and computer maps work great too... and you you don't have to pay either on the payroll.
That's all I can think of. Can you think of any more jobs that are either absolutely necessary or only optional per ship purpose?