To get a job as captain onboard a yacht you will first need to earn your yacht master rating. You will not be able to get your certification quickly unless you’ve already worked onboard a yacht and logged quite a few hours of time at sea. Like the engineer’s training and certification process, you will need to work up to the ability to work on the megayachts or superyachts. The most basic rating is the Yacht Master 200. It will allow you to sail vessels up to 200 tons and up to 150 miles from a safe haven.
If you pursue the OOW (Officer of the Watch) 500, it does not have a mileage limitation. Each yacht master level has its own set of eligibility requirements. Here is a breakdown of these requirements.