Hello y'all.
First off...sorry if my typing is messy...new slim wireless keyboard...I am still not use to it VS my old, comfy one.
I am a newbie to the Commercial Diving Industry as many others are. I feel that after reading a lot of the posts in this thread and others, it looks/seems to me that there are a lot of winers & cry babies.
I will be attending the CDA for their August 29th start date if all goes well. I am taking the maximum amount of courses they offer to increase my net worth to employers. This will create a "safety net" for me incase the CD industry gets slow, example: I will be certifid by the AWS for topside welding and underwater welding certificate from the CDA, NDT Certs, DCBC, ACDE, ADCI, HazMat/Hazwoper, EMT, DMT, HCT, Recreational Instructor, Master Diver, etc. The mixture of these certifications will ensure I will be able to get work in a multitude of different sectors if work is not available in another.
I FIRMLY believe in you control your own destiny. If you want something, get off your ass and do what ever it takes to get it.
The same applies for this industry. I know in Charleston, SC where my wife and I are moving to be closer to my parents (so they can watch our kids instead of us paying for daycare), I have MULTIPLE avenues for employment. If not by another company, then I will create my own employment by what ever means....if that means I will be cleaning boat hauls or training recreational divers...I will be in the water and putting money in my bank account.
I was told something that really sunk in my mind...Talk about being a TRUE diver is just air being released...to prove it you have to plug your mouth and get wet!
The problem is...we get people that only want the specific jobs or a specific pay and end up with "blinders" on to all the other jobs out there. Well...a problem for them...not for those like me that are leaders and not followers. (Passed a golden oppertunity as a Warrant Officer/Pilot for the Army due to my wife...I like to lead, so now I am going for this golden oppertunity.)
The United States's infastructure in is parell, it WILL require divers in the years to come. Y'all crying about this sector being "dead" need to just hang up the fins/jets and make way for those HUNGRY to work! The work is out there....you just have to go after it and PROVE WHY you should be hired over the other guy standing next to you....EVEN IF he may have more experience than you....but you have more DRIVE and AMBITION then him/her....you stand a better chance at hire because of HOW you present yourself.
Anyway...I know my rant is all over the place (as is my typos) as it is 3:55am now, but basicly...the work is there for those who know how to look for it.
I will post some more when not exhausted lol.
Dive Safe Y'all !!