My point is the value is in being able to have either:
A) The same sized crew with redundancies and backups from other crew that share overlapping skills
OR
B) You can run with a shorter crew because someone could fill two slots (if the law allowed that... some combos might not be permitted) and thus run lighter on crew space, life support, and on salary

If I'm saving all that, 5% does not seem enough. And if both of your jobs as a crewmember with two hats involve things you are legally responsible for (and for a Steward or Supercargo, that could include passengers/cargo with which there are likely to be some legal issues of handling and safety), you probably would seek a much higher salary than +5% due to the extra training and certifications. I'd expect at least +20% for key skills. If ship #1 would only offer +5%, ship #2 probably would offer a fair bit more to see the savings or to have the added capability and redundancy.

My feeling is the +5% was pulled out of the ether.

If you happen to know a lawyer who is also an engineer, as I know several, they charge a lot more money for the additional skill they spent time and money to develop (or another way to say that is they work in more complex technical areas of law and technology that those without both qualifications would be hard pressed to handle as well).

A pilot and a navigator are two key flight roles on a ship. Both are pricey skills and you want certification and competence. If you find one person that can do both, pay him +50% and be happy with saving +50% plus life support! He (or she) is worth it.

I doubt you could fill pilot and engineer billets though as the engines and power plant need oversight that would be distracting to the pilot on the bridge (like having to run down to Engineering or having to troubleshoot a plant glitch while they need to be watching scans, talking to traffic control, and laying out a course and flying it).

+5% to add a non-required Steward skill or some other such nice to have but not critical (assuming no passengers embarked) would be probably okay. Like having 'team leader' training as a software developer. It's worth something and opens options, but it isn't going to add +50% to what you make.

So as I say, I don't feel like +5% is a very sufficient value for a lot of the more desirable cross overs. People with those complimentary skills will be rare and worth more than +5%.

On Tue, Jun 9, 2020 at 10:28 PM Thomas RUX <xxxxxx@comcast.net> wrote:
Hello kaladorn,
On June 9, 2020 at 1:49 PM xxxxxx@gmail.com wrote:

That seems cheap for two 'responsible' positions. If your positions are First Officer (responsible) and Ship's Steward, most of the time, the former has a lot more gravitas and legal responsibility. So I'd say a lot depends on what the two positions are.
The primary skill in this case was logistics and the secondary skill was machinist based on the characters knowledge of machine tools such as fixed and robotic coordinate machines, mechanical, laser, electron beam, and force beam.

My reading and fuzzy understanding of the Civilian/Commercial licenses to get a Masters license the person has to have more than a passing understanding of how a vessel operates, ship handling, and other related fields/skills.

To be the Second in Command you have to know the same stuff as the Master but probably not the same experience.

The pay structure is not based on getting so much extra pay for knowing how to navigate and how to handle the passehgers.

Tom Rux
On Tue, Jun 9, 2020 at 4:40 PM Thomas RUX < xxxxxx@comcast.net> wrote:
Hello all,

Michael Z. Williamson has a series set in the Freehold of Grianne. In Book 1 Freehold p. 310 military personnel receive a 5% increase in pay for each secondary skill they have.

Tom Rux

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