Commercial Diving

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I would like to be a commercial diver. I cannot decide what school to choose to begin training (I live in California). I might also be interested in being a Navy diver. But I don't know if its worth it to spend four years so that I can say "I was in the Navy" to future employers. There are so many options and different paths to take. If you think your experiences can help me decide what I want to do, please reply to my post and I would be greatly appreciative.Thanks for your time,Smaw482
Reply:My buddy Kevin went to the school in Seattle- it was a long time ago, but he liked it. It was expensive, as I recall. He had been working as a welder in the shipyards, and saved up his bucks. When he was done with the school, he was able to get work diving- he worked on oil rigs in the gulf for a while- Until his then girlfriend, later wife, put her foot down- it was really hard, dangerous work, and he got tired of it too after a while. When you work that hard, even though you get paid a lot, its easy to blow your money on wine, women and song, telling yourself you deserve it.Then he moved back up to the northwest and worked on salvaging the sunken hood canal bridge, underwater welding, underwater chainsaw work, and all kinds of fun stuff.Hard, dangerous work, fun, and it pays well.You gotta have a lot of stick-to-it-iveness to make it.Kevin works for the post office now, delivering mail. Course, he is over 50. He still flys gliders, hanggliders, and scuba dives.
Reply:I am a inshore Commercial Diver (or at least I was until about 6 years ago) in the UK. Just did compressed air diving surface demand stuff, never did or trained on mixed gases.As has been pointed out it is HARD and DANGEROUS work, did I mention it was also very very hard. However I loved it and would do it again. You wont believe how fit you get and need to be. It is not uncommon for a Diver to surface after working hard on the seabed and then throw his guts up after he has surfaced, and these were seasoned and very fit divers. It is hard.You continually push the dive tables to the max, otherwise you end up doing another dive another day, which is always more money.If you think the Navy (as an institue)would be good for you go for it. Any Navy Divers will always be chosen for jobs above Civvy trained divers. Anywhere in the world this is true. I was fortunate and had a company pay for my training , for which I was also given a good wage while I was training.In the UK there is a myth that there is a lot of money in Diving -  it may also be true in the US. There isnt in the UK. ~There eare a lot of out of work Divers in theUK (all willing to undecut the other diver to get the job). There are some people who are lucky and get a large sum of money for their work. There are others who do this work for about £100 a day or less. Not exactely worth the risk to your life (and future well being if things go wrong, which they can very easily).Mixed gases are a different ball game altogether. Your body was never designed to breath helium or tri mixes and after long term exposure to it in high partial pressures form it does weird things to the brain and body. Really bad cases end up as though they are 'punch drunk' - quite sad when you meet them. But they had been diving on mixed gases on oil rigs for 10+ years. There are other Divers who seem to get away with it.All commercial divers have accidents, hopefully they are minor and you learn from them. Having said that, Diving can be very safe.Do your back ground reading and make sure there is a market for you if thats the route you want to take. Or start up a Diving school - which seems to be the common way out for Ex Divers.Good luck and DO YOUR HOMEWORK before spending a great deal of money to find out that there arnt many Diving jobs in the first place, that there will be a lot of Divers going for that job (Divers are also quite clicky, and a Dive supervisor will employ people he knows and knows will work together, rather than employing a newby that could cause friction in the team). If there are lot of divers going for a particular job then the wages may be low as a result - marketforces and all that.steve
Reply:A long time ago, someone I know and trust gave me a good piece of advice: Don't join the military unless you want to fight.The Navy is an incredible institution, and it's important to all of us. But I wouldn't advise anyone to join the Navy just so they could say they were in it. If you want to be in the Navy, great. If not, there are probably other ways to develop your career.Bob RosenbaumFormer PublisherPenton's WELDING Magazine
Reply:I am and have been an inland commercial diver for the past 5 years, the work is often grueling, pay is less than any other skilled trade.   I am a journeyman pipe welder, and make much more doing this, compared to diving. You don't make $100-150 per hour. In the states, divers come out of school everyday, lots of them, supply and demand states... low wages, lots of guys will work for peanuts just to get some experience, thus cutting the throats of the other divers.  Samething in Canada, **** work and **** pay. I found in alot states you might make 100-150 $ per day, not per hour, same applies in Canada. Then you have to trust your life with guys who don't have the experience or the attention span of a flea.  Remember your life depends on them.  The companies make all the money on the broken backs and lives of divers, I suggest you look into another career. Diving will keep you on the road, away from loved ones and B R O K E, ya broke. You will make a couple bucks on jobs here or there, but never enough to enjoy life, you holidays will be between jobs, so you will have lots of holidays.  This is common in this industry, any is why it has a high turnover rate. Most guys don't last a year before they quit to find steady pay doing anything else but diving. Good luck.
Reply:You know, i'm a PADI Diver with Deep and Nitrox.  It's way more fun if you just dive to enjoy it.  Doing a job underwater just wouldn't be the same.Although, i'm looking into salvage certification, might try doing that for a summer or two...Owner of Welding Wiki,The free wiki based resource for weldor's around the world.http://www.weldingwiki.comWe have cookies!
Reply:I second ythe Seattle school.  It's awesome. one of my best friends went threre after college wasn't right for him. Or me for that fact, lol.  Now I'm a Happy electrician, and he's a happy commercial diver/welder!  He is ALWAYS in high demand, and makes great money.  His family life suffers a bit, but he gets weeks off at a time, and works weeks on at a time.  He mainly repairs oil platforms all over the world after storms come through.  I can put you in touch with him if your Very Very serious about this.  The seattle school is very good.  It is worth it, and you get hired directly out of it.  Brian Lee  Sparkeee27
Reply:Howdy Howdy!  to add to the military thing... 4 years, doesn't seem to mean 4 years anymore.  I am seeing some of my friends being re-deployed AFTER they have been out for years!  One of them even had a bad shoulder injury.  theres always a catch.  Especially with the military, granted it is a wonderfull thing for many people, (besides the neccesity for defending our nation), but the beuracracy is great for screwing it's members.  So... just keep in mind, 4 years, might easily become 6...or 8... or whatever untill, they deam you physically unfit to fight...or swim...or do paperwork somewhere... Just be aware.  On the bright side, My dad was a highschool dropout, got drafted into vietnam, after being shot at a few times, he decided to get his GED while oversees, correspondence classes.  The military trained him in the aptitude he excelled in and he didn't even know it before that.  He got back to the states after his tour, and immediately went to ASU.  Where he met my mom, and got an engineering degree.  He went from poor, high school drop out farm boy, to collegeiate family man, thanks to the military.  Just be aware.  Good luck! Brian lee  Sparkeee27
Reply:Yup, Brian...the draft is back...just not the way one might have expected it.  I have several friends my age (mid 30s) who are vets of the first gulf war that have been swept up in this back-door "recruitment".  They weren't reservist or guard either, just vets with needed skills...one is a lawyer...I guess he was needed to sue the Iraqi leaders into submission.  I have a feeling this is really going to hurt the military's prospects in the future.  They were getting some pretty smart folks that saw the GI bill as a way to get ahead...I bet the next generation of smart folks will have to think much more about these open-ended commitments folks apparently are making in the military today.Smithboy...if it ain't broke, you ain't tryin'.
Reply:I was in the Navy...Construction Battalion.   I loved my service in there..but I got out when I could and dont never ever look back.  I dint take a thing from the Navy and they havent given me a whole lot.  I feel I just broke even with tehm   I dont recommend military to anyone.  IF you really want it, do what you want.  If you are troubled and need a real swift kick in the arse, military may or may not be right for you.  Most folks it aint.  Most folks end up in more trobule in the military than out, and once they are out htey cant claim their military service because of a bad discharge.  What a crappy way to go.  I was discharged medically but honorable.  I barely got that though.  Had a little issue as I was getting discharged and someone in my chain of command decieded to delay some stuff without my knowledge and tell me it was done deal.  It got fixed but still, theres some real bad apples in there.   They can really make youre life miserable if you mix it up wiht the wrong folks.IF it Catches...Let it Burn
Reply:Originally Posted by TxRedneckI was in the Navy...Construction Battalion.   I loved my service in there..but I got out when I could and dont never ever look back.  I dint take a thing from the Navy and they havent given me a whole lot.  I feel I just broke even with tehm   I dont recommend military to anyone.  IF you really want it, do what you want.  If you are troubled and need a real swift kick in the arse, military may or may not be right for you.  Most folks it aint.  Most folks end up in more trobule in the military than out, and once they are out htey cant claim their military service because of a bad discharge.  What a crappy way to go.  I was discharged medically but honorable.  I barely got that though.  Had a little issue as I was getting discharged and someone in my chain of command decieded to delay some stuff without my knowledge and tell me it was done deal.  It got fixed but still, theres some real bad apples in there.   They can really make youre life miserable if you mix it up wiht the wrong folks.