Types of Diving Jobs January 10, 2020 by lukesheppard

The dive industry is a wonderful place to work and there are plenty of sectors that you can work in and earn money too.  Not all of these are the same, obviously, and there is plenty of variety for you to choose from so we are going to be looking at different types of jobs you can get underwater in the dive industry.  There’s a job for all types of diver, some pay more than others but you can live the dream and get out of the office 9 to 5 in more ways than you think.

Teaching

This is where most divers start their career because it’s a natural progression from your learning career to just keep going and go professional. Teaching professionally is a great way to gain time and skills in the water but one of the best benefits is the confidence you’ll gain because you no longer think about yourself in the water.  Your lifestyle is great, especially if you work in a warm exotic country. The only downside, let’s face it, fellow Instructors, is the paperwork. Yes, you still get paperwork as a Dive Instructor and the pay isn’t fantastic, to be honest, but you’ll come away with loads of great stories and facebook friends, you’ll get a lot of friend requests.

Insta-Socialite

This one looks awesome but is actually a lot of work and you need to be super good with a camera and lighting and for every one picture they upload there are about two thousand that didn’t make the cut. This job works best as a pair so one of you can be the model and the other the photographer, oh and it’s worth investing in a good drone, so many videos nowadays have the obligatory drone shot.

Commercial

This is the best money maker but isn’t cheap or easy to get into. It’ll cost you about 10k just to get qualified and this isn’t your basic PADI course, it’s tough and you need to be comfortable in the water. Even when you’re qualified you’re not guaranteed a job in the industry, you have to know a guy and impress the company on your first job. If you’re lucky a company may send a scout to offer you a position during your course if your one of the best but you have to stand out.  It’s not pleasant work, your chances of getting hurt are pretty high but you will get paid well, especially offshore or sat diving.

Research

Research is probably the best for the planet to further understand it but you’ll need the education background and persistence to follow a project through to the end.  You’ll also need a financial backer or a grant unless you already own all the equipment you’ll need. That and an interesting premise to get the donors interested in parting with their money.

Military

Ok, you have to sell your life to Queen and Country for a bit but a Navy diver is one of the most elite out there. Much like a commercial diver, it’ll be hard work and in pretty rubbish conditions but bear in mind you won’t be trained as a diver on day one, you have to do basic Navy stuff first and then specialise.  If you don’t have the money to afford the commercial ticket then this can be a good alternative but it’s dangerous, especially if you move to EOD and double-check your tickets are transferable, not all military qualifications are recognised in commercial jobs.

Treasure hunter

This one’s slowly dying because of new laws and stuff, it’s no longer ‘finders keepers’ I’m afraid and a lot of the easy stuff has already been found.  Most of the sunken treasure left out there is either too deep for divers or too hidden that it’ll take years of research and looking to find anything worth any value.  Your best bet is to move into engineering and work on ROVs for a company. ROVs are the future of deep-sea treasure hunting but whatever you find will go back to the owner of the wreck or the company you work for…

Equipment Manufacturer

If you have the right stuff, and more importantly a qualification in product design then you can be making the next generation of diving equipment. Whether you become a brand new brand with your unique what-ever gadget or you work for an established brand, there are plenty of career opportunities around scuba diving equipment. Somebody needs to come up with the concept, somebody needs to test it, make it, market it, sell it to dealers, sell it to customers and repair it. There are tonnes of jobs in the scuba industry around the gear we use.