Aspiring commercial diver iso advice

[Jsmitty97]

Hello all, new to this forum and relatively new to diving which I so far love to no end. I in fact love it so much I would like to make a career of it, I'm well aware that commercial diving is a whole different world but It makes no difference to me. I recently apiplied and was a week away from starting at CDA (commercial diving academy) here in Jacksonville before my loan fell through and I could no longer go due to lack of money. So I've decided that my next best option is to join up with the navy, and enter the commercial sector after my service but after digging through a multitude of forums related to navy diving I've become a little discouraged. Not in regard to the the program and its rigorous training but more so just getting accepted into the program. Most of the fourms I saw were several years old but it seemed that navy divers are not in a huge demand and that there will be a lot of competition to make it. So basically my question is how hard is it to currently get accepted into the program and how much do I need to exceed to minimums to stand out? I will do any and everything to make it and I have every intention of drowning before I flunk out. I just don't want to sign up, meet the minimums, and then not make it cause the next guy could run 30 seconds faster than me and I end up scrapping paint the rest of my career. Should I even go the navy route or should I save my pennies and continue looking for different financing options? Biases asside please and thanky

 

[Heliumthief]

Well, I know very lilt about the US Navy, but I've been a commercial diver for 23 years, so I have a couple of things for you..

Firstly- why exactly do you want to be a commercial diver (highlight 'commercial')? If the answer involves something about the love of the oceans, the peace and tranquility, the feeling of weightlessness and the privilege of visiting the underwater realm, that's all fine, but you want to be a scuba instructor or marine biologist. Seriously, being a commercial diver means never being able to choose warm blue water over sewage or nil viz.

If you want to be a commercial diver, but want to go through the navy route, then you have to be totally at peace with not being accepted in, and spending your time as a Sailor, maybe even getting shot at in some ****** third world country...like I say, I know nothing of the US navy, per se, but the diving units are generally well thought of- and the U.K. Training is pretty good too, but it is generally all about combat, clearance, etc. (With the exception of the engineers, obviously) and when you've done your time, there's no guarantee that you will make it in the commercial world.i have worked with many ex-forces divers over the years, and most are/were great guys but there have been some real no-hopers who had confirmed kills, but couldn't dive without tieing a figure-of-eight in his umbilical...

This comes up occasionally, and my line is that if you want to be a commercial diver, then get the cheapest accredited course you can, and get to learning how to be a commercial diver as soon as possible. Work in the yard, always be ready to go at a moments notice, don't turn up pissed etc. Basically become the guy that the office can rely on as soon as possible. If you keep doing that for a few years, then at some point you will become a Commercial Diver.
If you want to join the Navy, because you want to be a Commercial Diver when you get out, I would reckon you will always come behind someone who has had a passion to become a SEAL or what have you. Sure you'll get some training, but you had better want to serve for a few years to pay for it...

Like I say, I'm UK based, so you need someone from the US to tell you the score, but I've heard that Young memorial in Louisiana is a good cheap diving course based on the doorstep of most of the GoM diving companies...
Oh, and did I mention that the offshore industry is in the worst hole since the mid-eighties? That's something you want to research too...!

Seriously though, you need to take the US opinion on this- it's a very different side of the industry from most of the rest of the world, and it's entirely possible I am talking bollocks....

 

[Akimbo]

I recently heard that advancement in US Navy diving is very limited. I don't know if your recruiter can assist in pre-qualifying you for a "diver" rating or not. Note that "Diver" became an actual rating in the 1990s instead of a secondary rating like when I was in. The “Diver” rating should not be confused with the “Special Warfare Operator” (SEAL) rating.

Reading through this forum will explain that demand for commercial divers is very cyclic, and we are in a trough now due to low oil prices. You will also learn that commercial diving is about performing heavy construction and repair work underwater. Mastering the work is a bigger part of training than the actual diving. The majority of Navy diving is involved in ships husbandry (shallow) with very occasional salvage work, usually performed by the more experienced divers.

I was incredibly fortunate to be in the Navy when it was developing Saturation Diving technology, but they have been far behind the commercial sector for decades. You might be better served by spending some time working offshore before getting commercial diver training. That will give you a taste of the life-style and a sense of the work. It will also give you a chance to earn some money for diving school.

 

[peta510]

Why don't you go to the commercial dive school in Minnesota? I think that's the cheapest one in the country. Or maybe it's the community college in Louisiana. None the less if you want to go to commercial dive school you can do it, but you might have to put some cash away for a year just to survive and have enough food to last you through school.