Careers in scuba diving?

Question

Looking for information about being a proffesional scuba diving? the pros and cons? Salary (not important just curious)

Answer 1

Tyler,
As a Dive Rescue Specialst or what they carded me as "Public Safety Diver" I can tell you the list of careers not just jobs is long an empressive. Everything from rescue divers to evidence collection to commercial diving is available to you,as well as instruction diving were you are passing your love and education of anf in diving along to others. Commercial diving requires specialized trainning like that given to navy diver's. There is a big demand for underwater welders in the Gulf of Mexico right now and well into the future due to the damage of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita the oil wells and rigs out there right now are twisted and bent to the point they have to be re-fitted and that my friend is where the underwater welder comes in.
It is my understanding you must first complete and card in commercial diving(card means to get your certification cause it looks like a divers license) then move on to a specialty such as welding/cutting.
To answer your q about becomig a "proffessional diver" well that too is somewhat debated. Taking course from a "proffessional school" such as commercial diving academy will get you in that catagory, as would becoming a full time instructor teaching other like yourself how to dive through an acredidation such as PADI (proffessional assocciation of diving instructors) and yes there are others just search it out and chekc it out.
The pros and cons?
Location could be a pro, destination could be a pro, pay and payoff a pro, but to me satisfaction of a job well done and rewards of saving someones life is what has kept me in it for almost 18 years now. The rewards by the way almost never are $$$$ but rather knowing that life is here because of my team!
I can tell you rescue is far less often than recovery but now and then you get those rescues and it keeps you fueled for 18 years. My job as a firefighter/ paramedic/ rescue recovery diver is not chaulked full of pros we often dive in zero viz I mean can't see your hand in front of your face zero,cold waters, colder outside temps (winter dives through the ice) but that one time you snatch a life from the reeper it is worth all the cold, crappy sad days and nights we go through! And yes I still remember my teams first save of a mother and her 6 year old daughter on their way home from granny's for x-mas. I still 15 years later get a x-mas card and picture of Natilie and Nicoloe, so proffessional or not divng does pay off in too many ways to list here and in too many personal ways to list.
Some cons of being a pro diver, if your paid you go when they tell you to providing conditions are favorable for a successful completion, you could ways from home for 30 or more days as a commercial diver, poor viz, polluted waters, predators (sharks,eels,baracuda's,etc.) so many of our area lakes and water ways below surface are trashed with everything from old cars to sharp metal pieces that resemble spike????I have seen refirdgerators, ovens, boats and motors $$$$$$, and I have seen yes a body or two. Yeah you get use to seeing them or your mind does but that first bubble exploding $#^#@#@ I gave off still haunts me.
So Tyler wheather you go commercial or instructional or public safety diving on a team, getting those little but really big rewards is what makes it worth while. Oh yeah and the paychecks aren't bad either. My friend welds off-shore he drags in up to 3K a week.$$ But he could tell you:" you REALLY GOTTA LOVE DIVING IN THE GULF" to know that 3K is almost underpaid for what they do!
Good luck and check out the links below.
Remember safety is up to you putting off an unsafe dive today that would be a safe dive tomorrow or you just might end up meeting me and my crew!! Happy Diving!!

Answer 2

1/ It depends on what the diver is doing and where they are doing it. You're not being specific here. Divers may be Instructors or Dive Masters at a resort or they may be working retrieving golf balls.There are many things a certified diver may do for a living The golf ball diver makes more by the way. 2/ Just about anything people do on the surface but you do it underwater. Watching critters, building structures, removing structures, looking at history (wrecks), exploring caves, leading a group of tourists on a dive, teaching people how to dive as an Instructor and yes....even retrieving golf balls. 3/ Big variance here. Completely gear out in basic gear can set you back from a grand all the way up to 4 grand easily. Much depends on things like what you need for exposure protection (basic wet suit 300 bucks and up or a dry suit that starts at 800 bucks and up. See what I mean?) Your reg set could easily double in cost depending on the features you need. It's just too broad a question to answer properly without knowing what sort of diving you plan on getting into. 4/ Completing high school would help you with the basic math required. If you plan on working as a Dive Master or Instructor at a resort then more than one language would be an asset as well as a course in travel and tourism or even hotel management. Having more than one language would be a big hiring bonus. 5/ The actual diving portion of your training to say, become an Instructor, could be done in less than a year easily. I've seen people do it but they also devoted most of their time at it. You do it at your own pace and the schedule of the shop you're training with.

Answer 3

Scuba Diver Salary

Answer 4

This Site Might Help You.

RE:
Careers in scuba diving?
Looking for information about being a proffesional scuba diving? the pros and cons? Salary (not important just curious)

Answer 5

Rescue Diver Jobs

Answer 6

http://www.divingcareers.com/

That's the same as Ocean Careers in the answer to your other question. it has a lot of careers and the ups and downs and education requirements and things.

Good luck!