What it's like to be a sailing instructor at OCSC...

As any OCSC instructor will tell you, it is a special feeling to wear the OCSC instructor shirt and call yourself an OCSC instructor. We are well respected in the sail training community, and awards and press confirm that we offer a unique level of training and opportunity for students to grow and progress. Our instructors are proud to say they teach in the sail training program with the toughest standards, the most seasoned graduates and the best reputation in the United States. If you are offered a teaching position here at OCSC, you have joined a prestigious club. OCSC offers positions to less than one out of ten applicants on average.

Your colleagues...

Our staff of 40 instructors, full- and part-time, seasonal and permanent, stay with us an average of well over six years with OCSC, with a few over 20 years. Instructors enjoy a culture that promotes personal growth, collaboration among instructors and mentoring from experienced instructors and colleagues.

The San Francisco Business Times ranked OCSC Sailing as one of the top 100 places to work in the Bay Area in 2005, 2006 and again in 2007!

How we support our staff...

Part of that commitment to our staff means that we will help you, coach you and subsidize your efforts to acquire a USCG license and US Sailing Instructor Certification. We will train you on advanced skills that you may have wanted to acquire but had not had the opportunity. Coastal and Celestial Navigation, Offshore Passage Making, advanced performance sailing skills and more...

Control over your schedule at OCSC Sailing...

And our commitment extends to scheduling. If you are looking for something inspiring to do occasionally, you have control and can choose a schedule that fits around your social, sailing and family life. (We do expect at least six days a month from you from April through October, and we also do much of our teaching on the weekends, so generally, you will work as many weekend days as weekdays.) If you are looking for a full-time teaching position, we have plenty of teaching and skippering for you most of the year and more winter hours than any other sailing school in the Bay Area.

Do you qualify as an OCSC Sailing instructor?

In order to qualify, you must have exceptional communications skills, a big heart, and lots of patience and enthusiasm for your students’ growth and professional sailing skills. We are looking for instructors who will go beyond teaching and delight, care for and inspire their students.

Evaluation process...

To be considered for the instructor evaluation, candidates must possess a minimum of five years of sailing experience, sailing at least 20 days per year for those five years.

Below are the steps you should expect to take to determine whether you are a fit for OCSC and whether we are a fit for you.

Forward your resume to Rich Jepsen, CEO
Rich will conduct a phone interview
That may lead to an interview at OCSC Sailing
You'll take a battery of written exams on sailing and seamanship
And, a sailing evaluation and orientation to OCSC
There will also be a classroom teaching evaluation

Additional Details...

Licensed instructor's pay starts at a base hourly rate with increases for US Sailing instructor certifications.
Unlicensed instructors’ pay starts at a lower hourly rate until the license is acquired.
There is an extensive coaching and training regimen for new instructors to help ensure you feel ready to go on your first teaching day. While in training, you are paid a training wage. Instructor meetings occur once every other month with a social AND an educational element each time.
You have access to the OCSC fleet in a variety of ways.
Full-time instructors earn vacation time as they teach through the year.