Rodale’s Scuba Diving

Take This Job and Love It:  A Career in Diving

Few are those who can find work that they genuinely love. Often, this type of career develops out of (literally and figuratively) outside interests or passions.

There’s the ski bum who teaches skiing for a living. Or what about the whitewater kayaker who takes videos of rafting trips and sells them to participants as souvenirs? Then there’s that diver you met once at the local dive shop who you heard is now a divemaster on some Caribbean island.

Wouldn’t it be nice if your ‘office’ covered three-quarters of the world’s surface? Wouldn’t you rather ‘drown’ yourself in diving, rather than a mountain of paperwork? If you want more depth and meaning in your life, then maybe a career in diving awaits.

Those who love diving often dream of finding a job where scuba is a main part of every work week, rather than just a part of occasional vacations. Those jobs are there and waiting for those who are willing to pursue the training to qualify for them. Whether it’s work in recreational or commercial diving, there is definitely a way to take this job and love it.

Recreational Diving: Sharing Your Love with Others

The first encounter for most divers in recreational diving is with a divemaster. Whether it’s through a local dive shop or at some far-flung dive resort, divemasters or instructors are generally the first and frequent link between the public and the underwater world.

This person could be you. Those involved in the recreational diving industry are generally doing what they love and getting paid to do it. Sharing this love with others is what makes diving the great ‘buddy’ sport for both participants and dive operation employees.

A career in recreational diving offers a wide range of possibilities. The opportunities include: a wide range of instruction; guiding; day-boat staff; live-aboard staff; shop employment in various capacities; marketing; photography; videography; writing; and much more. Quite simply, the options are as varied as the seas.

After open water (and, sometimes, advanced) certifications, the next step toward a career in recreational diving is to contact the various training agencies and schools that offer specialized programs for career-minded divers. Many successful programs exist, with great track records of training and job placement for their graduates.

The schools vary in terms of school locations, training waters and boats used, types of programs offered, length and intensity of programs, home study possibilities, class size, instructor-to-student ratios, on-the-job experience opportunities; placement services, and more. It’s wise to contact several to make the best choice for your particular circumstances and goals.

Today’s programs concentrate on real-world skills to go with the textbook, pool, and open water education. This is important, in that knowing what to expect on an actual dive boat or in a shop is a crucial step in being prepared to work in recreational diving. That’s why you see so many of today’s dive shop workers smiling--they know the secret to taking a job and loving it is to go to school first.

With proper education completed, the opportunities are almost endless. From conducting certification classes to running a dive operation, a diploma from one of these agencies opens the door to a whole new world above and below the surface.

Commercial Diving: Not Just Navy SEALS Need Apply

It’s a myth that only former Navy SEALS work in commercial diving. Thousands of men and women who’ve never sailed the seven seas with Uncle Sam are sailing into incredibly varied jobs in commercial diving.

The World Deepwater Report 2000-2001, published by Douglas-Westwood, Ltd., predicts more than $70 billion investment in developing and producing more oil from under the ocean in the coming years. Commercial diving companies are currently vying for contracts to retrofit the bridges spanning San Francisco Bay, with jobs of five years or more to winning firms and their divers.

Many commercial diving firms are turning down work because there’s a lack of divers in certain fields. For example, Robert Anderson of Anderson Associates Engineers, a nondestructive testing (NDT) firm, says he has never seen a decline in demand for NDT people, with a typical shortage of 7,500 to 12,000 NDT-trained people.

This exciting field covers a wide range of industrial situations and locations. Virtually anywhere there’s water, there’s typically a need for commercial divers, whether it’s in oceans, rivers, lakes, containment ponds, or elsewhere. With more than 250 marine construction and contracting firms in the U.S. and about 350 diving contractors working overseas, it’s a far-flung and –reaching field.

The opportunities in commercial diving include, but aren’t limited to: underwater construction and other work; marine environmental control testing; operation of one atmospheric suits; platform construction, maintenance, and removal; drilling and blasting; salvage; seismic surveying; sewage (and other) line installation and maintenance; trenching; underwater surveys; gravity surveying; oil rig work; using remotely controlled underwater vehicles; diving bell usage and maintenance; wellhead repair and maintenance; many medical fields; hyperbaric chamber work; and much more. Of course, the locations are as varied as the job opportunities, with the Gulf of Mexico, the South Pacific, the Mediterranean, and the North Sea just a few of the worldwide possibilities.

Naturally, commercial diving education is much more intense and lengthier than most recreational diving programs. This includes not just up-to-date theory, but also hands-on knowledge and experience concerning specific underwater problem solving and work. These high levels of required training and experience also may mean more lucrative positions.

Schools in the commercial diving field report that job opportunities are better than ever. With a wide range of specialized courses and programs, it’s easy to find a specific field of interest, pursue the training, and then take a job and love it.