Can you dive Pearl Harbor ???

[ScubaBrett22]

Not trying to talk you out of it by any means, I think it's great, just laying it out for you. Thanks for your willingness to serve our country at such a young age.

You need to talk to a recruiter, both Navy and Cost Guard, the 2 may have very different diving opportunities. I met a Navy diver on Cozumel last year that does something around oil rigs and I think working mostly on scuba rather than a hard hat rig. When I was in the ONLY Navy SCUBA divers were safety divers and I don't think that was a full-time job. You can always loose your mind and become an EOD or SEAL...they get to dive

First of all, stay in school as long as you can. A collage degree before going into the military would give you a HUGE advantage and higher pay grade from the beginning. You can still be a diver and an officer, many are.

There is A LOT of math involved in hard hat diving, take as much as that as you can. Also the more you know about the human body the better, health, physics, kinesiology; understanding the way your body is supposed to work and what can effect it can save your life at 200'+. Get your body and mind in top physical shape and keep them there.

Marine Biology is a great field that is ever expanding with new concerns of the ocean's health. Scientists generally work off grants and don't make a lot of money. The big payoff is, depending on your reasearch, you can get some really great gigs in very beautiful parts of the world.

Military pay isn't great no matter what job you have, compared to similar civilian positions. Divers of course make more because of training and hazardous duty pay, but it's nothing compared to commercial divers.

If you are looking to make money as a hard hat diver, there are several very good commercial diving schools around the country.

If you go to the Coasties, after you get out, you may want to give up the "muck & yuck" diving and go into "tourism diving", another option to think about. Although that necessarily isn't a high paying job either.

If you are serious about making diving a carreer in one way or another, I'd suggest continue moving up in certifications and work towards an Instructor's cert...just don't move up too soon, taking one cert after another just to have them, get some experience in between classes...it will make you a better diver.

Yes i understand... I was hoping to become a Hard hat diver. I would love to be in the ocean 24/5 WEEKENDS OFF!!! LoL but it just depends right now i am in 9th grade i am 15 and i am a Nitrox diver and a Rescue diver and i go out all most every weekend. I am also working on my physical appearance by being in Weight training.... might help me get a few girls..... i am also extremely good in Science and math my current grade in both of them are A+ / A. The only class i am not doing to well in is Spanish but i am working as hard as i can.

I Have a higher chance of getting a collage degree because my parents enrolled me in 1 of the top Private schools in FL but the thing is i wont be able to get a Sunshine Scholarship because i am in "Special Classes" because i have a learning disability which is getting better. But its going to take a hell of a lot more then for me to have a learning disability to stop me from getting a job on the ocean...

I honestly hope i can get ether a job as a Marine biologist or a hard hat diver... Only my grades and time can tell =)

 

[okamiotoko2004]

Here are some good links for military divers.

https://www.netc.navy.mil/centers/ceneoddive/ndstc/
Navy Diver: On Duty: Navy Life: About the Navy: Navy

The links have requirements, course outline, and pay.

 

[covediver]

I know what your trying to say but i am still going to join the USCG Scuba Team because i want to serve my country and be in or on the ocean... I am a SCUBA Freak, Scuba Steve and Scuba Brett i am ether called those three names at school depending on the day and i love it. But does anyone know if its a well paying job working in the USCG Scuba Team or should i continue to keep going at school till 12th grade i am only in 9th and try to become a Marine Biologist?? I just would like to have a high paying or pretty well paying job .... Well wouldn't everyone in the world =)

to use a much overused phrase, as a youngster the whole world is your oyster and everything new is exciting. Your enthusiasm for scuba and all things diving is infectious and refreshing. Keep up the enthusiasm and don't let others disuade you.

For example, there are those that will tell you that there are no jobs in marine biology or that the only jobs in marine biology are held by scientists with ph.d. Don't believe them. I mentioned in an earlier post that a friend of mine had dived on the Arizona as an NPS archaeologist to conduct monitoring and assessments. As a college sophmore, a respected archaeology professor dismissed my buddy's ambition to become a marine archaeologist with an authoratative "there are no jobs in that field." Had my buddy believed him...

You do have lots of options to pursue. The secret to know what options are available. For example, you mentioned becoming a USCG officer. There are a couple of paths to do this, one is the Coast Guard Academy, which selects on merit and not by Congressional appointment. A friend's daughter recently graduated from that institution with a commission and very bright future. You might read the recent book "Rescue Warriors" for a very readibly look at the Coast Guard. I finished reading it this Spring. I used to box with the skipper of the cutter out of Santa Barbara when I was at NPS. He also was a graduate of the Academy, although I am not sure that is where he picked up that mean upper cut he seemed to throw perfectly. He had a number of very interesting assignments in his career.

Steer clear of advice from negative people. By that I mean, if you want to do something and someone gives you advice that starts with "you can't because...." run like hell. These are toxic personalities. But, if someone says "you might be able to do that if...." listen, evaluate what they say, and then figure out what works for you.

 

[sharky60]

Set those goals and go for it!!!

Do what you love and the rewards will come.

 

[imwright1985]

Bret, try staying in as high of level math classes as you can in HS you dont have to pay for them (since high schools requirements are just enrolment) so take advantage of it, same with science because if you want marine bio you will def. need them. If you go any other degree you can clep test outa some classes for like 60 bucks which can allow you to skip some of the simpler classes, your harder classes you will have to actually take but after Honors Physics in High School I was able to sleep (literally) through Physics 1 in college with a low A. Your higher intensity HS classes either are near identical to College or just get a little more detailed in College. Also dont be discouraged about certain Scholarships there are a ton out there (Bright futures is a common one, some HS's have scholarships funded by Donor's, there are some for Race, Disabilities, and other special qualifications). If you join military with a degree you will usually enter right about leutenant rank.

 

[covediver]

If you join military with a degree you will usually enter right about leutenant rank.

Good advice. But so as not to confuse the kid, "leiutenant" (actually 2nd Leiutenant) is what a person will be commissioned as upon entry to the Air force, Marine Corps, or Army. The equivalent grade for the wet services is Ensign.

A good comparison is avaialble at

Department of Defense Rank Insignias - Officers Rank

 

[ScubaBrett22]

Bret, try staying in as high of level math classes as you can in HS you dont have to pay for them (since high schools requirements are just enrolment) so take advantage of it, same with science because if you want marine bio you will def. need them. If you go any other degree you can clep test outa some classes for like 60 bucks which can allow you to skip some of the simpler classes, your harder classes you will have to actually take but after Honors Physics in High School I was able to sleep (literally) through Physics 1 in college with a low A. Your higher intensity HS classes either are near identical to College or just get a little more detailed in College. Also dont be discouraged about certain Scholarships there are a ton out there (Bright futures is a common one, some HS's have scholarships funded by Donor's, there are some for Race, Disabilities, and other special qualifications). If you join military with a degree you will usually enter right about leutenant rank.

Ya i am taking every turn and every street to reach my goals. And i have been trying to get into Normal classes so my dad does not have to pay as much. But the Dean at my school will not allow me to excel in certain classes because i am a tad slower but i can do all the work within 45 min but i will keep trying till i win i never ever stop fighting ever. :cool2:

I told my dad about the Hard hat divers he reply's "Oh great now i get to worry about my son at 200'+" then he added "you cant do that i wont let you" then i told him about the USCG divers and the Army divers and he said "It's to dangerous i love you to much for something to happen" :cool2: But i am still going to try to join the USCG maybe convince him the thing that threw him off with the USCG divers is the bomb stuff LoL.

 

[imwright1985]

Ya i am taking every turn and every street to reach my goals. And i have been trying to get into Normal classes so my dad does not have to pay as much. But the Dean at my school will not allow me to excel in certain classes because i am a tad slower but i can do all the work within 45 min but i will keep trying till i win i never ever stop fighting ever. :cool2:

ask around if there is a proficiency test you can take or if at the teachers discression you could get moved into more normal classes. I dont know how your schedule is there but if you start all new classes in the spring see if you can find out whos teaching certain classes that you feel are relivant to what you want to get into and if you could possibly get to look through the books and see if you can do some of the stuff from the first few assignments or have a little understanding on the first test and depending on how well you do with that you might be able to get into regular classes. My cousin just got out of "special" classes a couple years ago and she went that route, now she is in honors classes but all she does is study and do homework because of how difficult it is for her but she wants to move on through it. Be kinda carefull with it because it may create alot more work for you than your expecting

 

[ScubaBrett22]

ask around if there is a proficiency test you can take or if at the teachers discression you could get moved into more normal classes. I dont know how your schedule is there but if you start all new classes in the spring see if you can find out whos teaching certain classes that you feel are relivant to what you want to get into and if you could possibly get to look through the books and see if you can do some of the stuff from the first few assignments or have a little understanding on the first test and depending on how well you do with that you might be able to get into regular classes. My cousin just got out of "special" classes a couple years ago and she went that route, now she is in honors classes but all she does is study and do homework because of how difficult it is for her but she wants to move on through it. Be kinda carefull with it because it may create alot more work for you than your expecting

Yep i know how it works... thanks for more info ... The books are all the same its just are classes go slower and review more stuff then "normal" classes lol but i like my classes we are the ones who think out side of the block lol unlike normal classes. But i will see what i can do.

 

[imwright1985]

if your doing the same stuff as regular classes just slower the main thing would be if your wanting to get into marine bio take whatever bio or marine bio classes your school offers and try getting into HS trig (should set you up for most college math classes except calc) by the time you graduate. Try looking at college requirements for marine bio and see if you need physics or chem and what the math requirements are and try getting into whatever HS classes feed into them. I was pretty advanced in HS from starting in the IB program so you might not be able to get through as many HS classes as i did but it helps ALOT when you start college to have Higher level Maths done in HS and some of the higher level sciences depending on what you want for your major