Commercial Divers
Work below surface of water, using surface-supplied air or scuba equipment to inspect, repair, remove, or install equipment and structures. May use a variety of power and hand tools, such as drills, sledgehammers, torches, and welding equipment. May conduct tests or experiments, rig explosives, or photograph structures or marine life.
- Median pay
- $72,990
- Doing it now
- 4,000
- By 2035
- Up 4.8%
- Usually needs
- Postsecondary nondegree award
a year
across the country
400 openings a year
to get in
What the work involves
- Communicate with workers on the surface while underwater, using signal lines or telephones.
- Take appropriate safety precautions, such as monitoring dive lengths and depths and registering with authorities before diving expeditions begin.
- Check and maintain diving equipment, such as helmets, masks, air tanks, harnesses, or gauges.
- Descend into water with the aid of diver helpers, using scuba gear or diving suits.
- Obtain information about diving tasks and environmental conditions.
- Inspect and test docks, ships, buoyage systems, plant intakes or outflows, or underwater pipelines, cables, or sewers, using closed circuit television, still photography, and testing equipment.
- Repair ships, bridge foundations, or other structures below the water line, using caulk, bolts, and hand tools.
What to study
The fields of study the Department of Education links to this occupation, most widely taught first.
- Marine TransportationSee 7 colleges that teach it
Who it suits
O*NET scores every occupation on six interest dimensions. This one leans hardest on these three.
Hands-on and practical
Analytical and curious
Organised and precise
Careers like this one
Where this comes from: the description and the task list are O*NET, which the Department of Labor maintains. Pay, workforce size, outlook and the education normally needed are the Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections programme, 2025 wages and 2025 to 2035 projections. Half of them earn more than $72,990 a year, which means half earn less, and what you would earn depends on where you work and how long you have been doing it. The fields of study come from the National Center for Education Statistics crosswalk.