Looking For SCUBA career. Police, Fire Etc...

[PiercingDoctor]

Hey Everyone. I am wondering if anyone knows where to start looking for a SCUBA Diving job. I would like to work for the Fire Dept or Police Dept doing rescues and underwater searches or something similar. I would also enjoy working for an institution doing research and underwater exploration. I have read the posts on hear stating to start a charter business with my own boat, but i was looking for something a bit more exciting. I currently live in Sarasota, FL but i can drive anywhere within reason. Anyone got any ideas or know how to get onto the police/fire dive teams? Thanks for your help.

 

[cdolphin]

Try asking your question in the Public Safety Dive section
Public Safety Divers - ScubaBoard

and maybe in your local region section here on the forums.

Good luck!

 

[j.doe]

Up here in canada most dive teams are in addition to a day job of fire fighter , policeman etc...

If you want a trully dive related job where you do nothing but dive you should check out underwater welder. They make a fortune up here and are constantly booked up. That or tank inspector / maintenance.

In Alberta there is also a volunteer underwater search and rescue group however most of the time these groups are unpaid and hence it can not be considered a career.

 

[sardiverdan]

Not sure how Florida runs their program these days; however, out here in SOCAL we don't have full time paid divers in LE/Fire. These are all in addition to regular LE duties and you may get an extra 50-100 bucks to be a diver. The other dive units are volunteer units (no pay) as far as that goes. An take it from a guy who has been doing LE diving for 26 years now, you say you want something "exciting", I guess that would depend on your definition of the word. The work is never boring but looking for two days in zero vis, crawling through 3 feet of sludge on the bottom of a catch basis looking for a small piece of evidence, may not be the adrenalin rush you're looking for. Remember you will dive in recover mode way more than you will ever see rescue mode.

 

[Tropicalwolf]

Like the others said, there is really no money in LE/FF diving. Too many people with quals that are willing to do it for free. Those that don't, are paid an extra stipend and already part of the PD or FD.

 

[WetPup]

There's not a lot of paid work around research institutions either for divers. There's usually more than enough undergraduate and postgraduate students who are prepared to go out to dive as field assistants for free. You could of course try aim to become a professor at a research institute and do it that way, but that's a very long and drawn out process and chances of success in academia aren't great.

 

[Guba]

Most of my experiences with educators/researchers (they tend to be one and the same most of the time) who use diving in their studies were professional academians FIRST...the diving came later. I don't think I know a single one that was a diver who became interested in becoming a "researcher".

You also have to address the issue of why you are down there. If you are really there to dive and the research/recovery/etc is secondary, then most likely you're not going to be really great at it. Most of the LE/FF and researchers I know are dedicated to their job first and the diving is simply what goes along with it.

Another note...as for the researchers I know, for every hour they spend underwater in the field, they spend hundreds in the lab analyzing, cataloguing, and organizing their findings. The diving is actually a very small part of what they do.

 

[Tropicalwolf]

Another note...as for the researchers I know, for every hour they spend underwater in the field, they spend hundreds in the lab analyzing, cataloguing, and organizing their findings. The diving is actually a very small part of what they do.

Quoted for truth.

 

[PiercingDoctor]

Thanks for the input everyone. I never thought of some of these points of view before. i guess its up to owning a Charter one day.

 

[Goannaman]

1-800-USA-NAVY.

I intended that as a joke, but, assuming you are able to meet the requirements to be a Navy diver, they will pay for your training and gear, and when out, you can apply those skills to the commercial diving world.

And, since you can pretty much rule out a research gig (unless you are a grad student or researcher currently), Fire/Police (as they are staffed with qualified people in the department), and you ruled out running a charter... your options are pretty limited.

Good luck.