Advice on life

[mig_diver]

I have been thinking about and trying to figure out what my next step in life is going to be for sometime now. I now come to the experienced and very wise users of ScubaBoard and ask you all for your opinions and advice.

About me:
- I am 22 years old and currently live in Brisbane, Australia
- I have a degree in mechanical engineering from the Univeristy of Sydney
- I have 6 and a half years of retail experience
- I am currently a DMT with 46 dives and have been diving since I was 15 but only really got into it recently

In life I ultimately want to be happy. Money is not as important to me as enjoying my career is.

So I ask you, is there a way I can utilise my engineering education and mix it with my passion for diving and arrive at a happy medium?

Is it worth me going back to uni and getting a degree in marine science or something similar?

Thank you all in advance for your consideration and advice.

ScubaBoard ROCKS!

 

[BarryNL]

So I ask you, is there a way I can utilise my engineering education and mix it with my passion for diving and arrive at a happy medium?

Well, there's possibly some commercial diving where engineering is needed, but given the sort of decompression schedules, bone necrosis and memory problems commercial divers seem to have to put up with I'm not sure I'd want to do that.

Still, engineering - ever think of manufacturing dive equipment? I bet you could knock out backplates and sell them for half what Halcyon charges...

 

[Thalassamania]

With an ME degree I'd look into doing an MS in Ocean Engineering. Consider Woods Hole, Scripps, Univ. of Rhode Island (Ballard's there now).

 

[don Francisco]

A suggestion- You're only 22 years old, and have spent your whole life in school. Why don't you consider taking a year or so off & seeing what's out there for you. You can travel & live simply, working up to divemaster or instructor, and use that ticket to support yourself. Later on with a broader outlook you can decide what you want out of life & pursue it.

One cannot predict the future and the twists and turns of fate, but I venture a bet that there are more middle aged folks wondering about missed opportunities in their youth, than regreting having delayed their careers by a year or two.

 

[Garrobo]

I don't know what the jobs situation is in OZ but with an engineering degree in the US one should be able to get a pretty decent wage with a mechanical engineering or construction management company. At 22 you are still a baby as far as the rest of us are concerned, as one previous poster said, you've been in the protection of school all your life. Go out and make some bucks, don't get yourself wrapped up with a family and a bunch of debts and after a few years go on a search for the meaning of life. Maybe by then you will know what you should be doing. It took me about 40 years to figure it out. In fact, I sometimes think I still haven't.

 

[almitywife]

take your skills and travel!!

dubai, the tropics, i once met a guy that worked 2 weeks in the mines and lived 2 weeks in vanutau every month... there will be someone out there looking for a ME and you can compliment your diving with it

youre so young and your entire life in front of you.... time for some adventure

 

[Papa Steve]

I have been thinking about and trying to figure out what my next step in life is going to be for sometime now. I now come to the experienced and very wise users of ScubaBoard and ask you all for your opinions and advice.

About me:
- I am 22 years old and currently live in Brisbane, Australia
- I have a degree in mechanical engineering from the Univeristy of Sydney
- I have 6 and a half years of retail experience
- I am currently a DMT with 46 dives and have been diving since I was 15 but only really got into it recently

In life I ultimately want to be happy. Money is not as important to me as enjoying my career is.

So I ask you, is there a way I can utilise my engineering education and mix it with my passion for diving and arrive at a happy medium?

Is it worth me going back to uni and getting a degree in marine science or something similar?

Thank you all in advance for your consideration and advice.

ScubaBoard ROCKS!

Along with the feedback you get here from those who are familiar with the opportunities in the dive industry, If you haven't done so already, you should ask these questions to your parents. They may or may not know anything about the dive industry but odds are they will know better than anyone (maybe even yourself) what type of work environment will likely make you happy. I know I'm making an assumption that you have a healthy home environment. If you do, your parents will know your strenghts and weaknesses, your people skills, your leadership style, your general personality, your need, or lack thereof, for deep meaningful relationships, etc. Some people need a new challange everyday; some whant to settle in on a routine. All these things, and many more, are what make up "you" and will all come into play as you move towards a career that will provide you some of your happiness.

 

[Boxcar Overkill]

A Masters is needed to do just about any job you used to get with an undergraduate degree, and the job you can get with a B.S. used to be done by someone right out of high school.

Thalassamania is in a better position than most to know about the types of dive jobs available in the science fields. My advice is for you should listen to his advice.

 

[hvulin]

just do any job you can and dive as much as you can... - just make sure to keep your work separate from your (happy) life!

 

[dpbishop]

The people who dive the most are:
1. People in the dive industry
2. People who live near a place where you can dive year round.

The second group tend to make more money than the first, depending on their work. Look for a job in a place where there is good shore diving and you're wet suit will never dry out.