Catzen, I was in the Navy for 10 years before leaving to change careers. My bf of 15 years is currently a Navy Diver with a specialty in explosive ordinance disposal which means he is supposed to be dismantling bombs/mines underwater. He was taught and has used all sorts of underwater equipment in the course of his duties. Currently, he is in Iraq for his 2nd tour with a tour in Afghanistan in the middle and a tour in Darfur before this. This means that for the past 5 years he has spent about 4.5 years under constant stress in extreme war zones because as a special ops guy he is in high demand and I have seen him less than 6 months in 5 years. When I first joined, I was stationed in Guam for 2 years and became good friends with the divers there, my bf included. This was at the beginning of the 1st gulf war (1990) and I saw first hand how much in high demand they were for situations that normally the Marines and Army go to. Even in Guam, rarely do the divers have it easy. When the Army and Marines are undermanned in an area that Navy special forces are capable of doing (and many times more than capable) the Navy goes and supplements them.
Please don't take this the wrong way but I can tell you that the odds of you making it to Navy Diver is pretty slim. Navy Diver/BUDS/EOD classes have an extremely high attrition rate. I think the average is less than 10% success rate. It is a mental game as well as a physical one. If you are not mentally ready, you might as well not even try because they will break you and once they do, it is all down hill from there. I have seen many guys go through the program through my bf and it is not good when they don't make it. If you can make it mentally, great! but watch out for the physical part. Pull a hammie or something that takes any time to recover and you are out. Keep in mind that even though you are out of the program that you wanted you have guaranteed the Navy 4-6 years of your life. They don't let you out of your contract because you cant do what you wanted. You still have to give them the time and you likely go to the fleet unrated seaman and will spend a year or two painting the side of some ship.
If you are thinking about joining based on the pay after you get out, you probably should not join. I am not saying not to join but if you are only thinking about what it is worth to you when you leave, you are making a big mistake. I was in for the long haul. I only left
after I completed my BS in Electrical Engineering and was accepted into Law School. So I left knowing that I had a great future ahead of me with great earnings potential. However, I did not join with this plan in mind. I joined because I just wanted something different than what I had in high school.
The earning potential for underwater divers with specialties is pretty good (if you can find a job and if you get hired) and has advantages if you can get a civil service job, your military time earns you credit toward retirement and you get a leg up in getting the job because of the prior military service (not first dibs but possibly first look by the person hiring). If you are looking for a private sector job, all things are different and military experience is generally not enough. In all cases, military or not, diver or not, you should make sure that you follow through with your education and get a college degree while you are in the service as it is a big bonus while in and it will help you get a job when you get out.
I can tell you that joining the Navy was the best thing I had even done for myself. I would not change any of it. I am glad that I left, but do not regret joining. But I also knew that every day that I was on active duty, I was there to serve and protect my country. I was there to preserve freedom for me, my family and everybody else who honors the American flag. Every day, I knew this, even as I drank my way through Europe and sat semester after semester earning my credits in college.
If you are truly interested in the opportunity to serve in the military as a Diver or any other rate in the Navy you need to talk to a recruiter as soon as possible so they can even see if you are qualified. BUt make sure that what ever they promise you is in writing and in your contract. If it is not, it is not promised and you will be SOL for that promise.
Navy Diving | We Dive The World Over This is the link to the US Navy Diver Web Site. You should look this over and contact the Navy Dive Recruiter that is listed on that page or your local Navy Recruiter.
Good luck to you. No matter what, if you are interesting in Diving in general, you should take a class and try it. I never wanted to dive until another friend said I should and finally after all these years with a diver, I finally did it. It was a great shock to my bf when I sent him the picture of me underwater on my first dive as a certified diver. Now, if he can only make it out of Iraq in one piece and relatively safe and sane, we can go diving for pleasure on his next opportunity for leave.
Sad, but true! They have eliminated quotas. They now call it "Recruiting Goals"
