... I am extremely interested in tec diving, and my main question is: How are you able to shell out the money and time for it while also having a diving related job?
I don't have a diving-related job, but I thought I'd respond anyway.
I took my first scuba course (a PE course) at the university where I was completing my PhD. Spent several semesters as a TA for the course while I was writing my dissertation. Drove down to Ginnie Springs, Florida, one Christmas break to earn Cavern and Basic Cave certifications. After completing my degree, I moved to Ann Arbor, Michigan--proximal both to training quarries in northwest Ohio and to the Great Lakes Huron, Michigan, and Superior--and continued scuba training/diving. Much of the free time and disposable income of this then unmarried assistant professor for the next several years was spent on scuba training, scuba equipment purchases, and Great Lakes wreck diving.
Yes, all this was
very expensive, but quite manageable since it was done over time. It helped that I had no significant debt, that I lived in an area where a lot of tech training was available and a lot of tech diving was being done, that I had no family with its associated expenses, and that I lived an otherwise spartan lifestyle.
Having kids now, and facing the reality of maintaining three college funds for them, I don't think I would be able to *easily* invest in tech training and purchase tech equipment at this point in my life.
Good luck with your plans.
Ronald