Commercial Diving in Canada

[nldiver1984]

A few weeks ago I was laid off from my cubicle job (company cutbacks, and I work in IT so you know which department got axed first). Right now I'm searching for something different but I don't really want to go back to a job where I have to deal with impatient and complaining people all day (it can be emotionally dragging sometimes) and was looking into commercial diving as an option. I have a friend in British Columbia going through DiveSafe International to do his initial cert and says he's loving it, but he's a carpenter by trade and my handyman skills aren't the best even though I do try. I also have an electrical apprenticeship which I haven't finished. I'm just not confident enough to be around live electrical equipment or installing new because I'm a slow learner and contractors don't like slow. Here in Newfoundland everything in the resource industry goes up and down like a dogs stomach. I would imagine commercial diving would be the same in that regard, but I'm eager to try something new. In Canada we have the advantage that if we qualify for unemployment benefits we can get retrained (for free) and do a program of our choosing, so there wouldn't be any student loan at the end, though there would be potential lost income if I went back to school rather than work. I've ranted too much here but I want to ask any commercial diver in the country if this would be a good move for me. I'm 30 years old so I don't know how much of a living I could make as a diver before they ask me to hand over my gear for good. Thanks for your input on this.

I know there are countless other threads related to this, but I thought if it was country specific then I would get different responses.

 

[decompression]

I would never say do or don't do something but offer my experiences for others to add to their knowledge. I've been in the dive industry for 20 years and most of that on the west coast (BC). The commercial dive industry on the west coast is much smaller than elsewhere (Texas, Great Lakes etc) and although there are jobs in fish farms it's very high turnover due to the fact the work is hard and the pay is poor. Other than farms, you'll be slave labor for many years until you've earned your place to get some of the better jobs actually underwater. Others can share their experiences as there are a few certified commercial divers on the board. Keep researching and I'm sure you'll find out what works for you. Best of luck.


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[DCBC]

The commercial diving industry in Canada is growing. If you go to school, consider Seneca College in Ontario. It's arguably the best civilian diving training school in the World.

If you don't have some mechanical ability, I'd stay away from the industry. It's one of repair, maintenance and construction. Diving is secondary; you're paid to do a job. The job just happens to be underwater. Good luck!