Welcome Commercial Divers and those thinking about becoming one...

[fstbttms]

Ask me how many hard hat guys are replying to my ad for a part time hull cleaner on the Indeed web site.

 

[DivePureBliss]

Could anyone tell me more about Support diving ( how it relates to getting a CDL) For working alongside NASA, or research based diving etc.
Any info, links, or opinions would be greatly appreciated!

 

[Akimbo]

I have no idea what "support diving is". They key to understanding the diving industry as a whole has far less to do with diving and more to do with the work they want accomplished that happens to be underwater. You can take the most accomplished saturation diver in the North Sea and he would be of questionable value to most scientific diving operations. Different work, different experience, and different expertise.

A mentor told me "first figure out what you love doing and then figure out how to make money at it". OK, I am guessing a lot of people reading this and looking for a career love diving. That is the small part, now figure out what you love doing underwater that is of value to an employer or industry. I think it is fair to say that the range runs from the recreational industry to the offshore commercial diving industry. Between and within that range is a huge difference.

You could be an engineer that designs Scuba gear for the rec industry or that same engineer could design and project manage construction of multi-million dollar DSVs (Diving Support Vessels). You can get your Masters License and drive dive boats in remote Pacific Islands or that DSV in the Gulf of Mexico. A commercial diver could scrape barnacles off pleasure boats in 3' of water in San Francisco Bay or fix distribution manifolds in 800' of water in the North Sea. You have heard it before, Find Your Passion.

 

[Heliumthief]

As far as a 'support diver' for NASA, Oceaneering used to have that contract, but honestly, i would doubt that there's less than a dozen employed there...and I'm going to guess that 'research based diving' means some form of marine biology or oceanography? Akimbo is right- the Diving Industry is very wide ranging , and can be wildly different depending even on where you are based in the world. A Commercial Diver picks dead fish out of nets in Skye, dives in a reactor pond in Belgium, airlifts diamonds in Namibia, ties in a 16" flex into a manifold...at 5 ft...500ft....wearing speedo's and a snorkel/dry suits and scuba gear/hot water suit and reclaim hat...

There's no stupid questions- ask some more, and you might be able to zero in onto the information you want

 

[Alex Kral]

I am in Commercial Diving School right now! I just started last week at CDA Technical Institute. I literally talk about what every single day is like in commercial diving school on

My YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4KFhBP6FZd_yCQtL7GqFnw