possible commercial diver so many questions

[muddiver]

1. What's a great place to train.
#1 Santa Barbara City College
#2 Youngs Memorial College in Louisiana
#3 The Army National Guard - see the unit in Corpus Christy, TX

2. Do I need to go to one of these schools?
Most commercial diving companies will not hire someone that is not family that has not been through one of the schools.

3. What's the best area of commercial diving to get started in construction/salvage/oil rigs ?
Offshore oil patch diving is the best place to get the experience you need to be a recognized commercial diver. Most can breakout in two to three years (to breakout is to finnish your apprenticeship). If you want to work inland on the west coast or up in the north east you need to get in the union, Pile Drivers Union.

4. Any ways you could have saved money when you got started ?
Don't bother renting an apartment, just store your stuff and go offshore with the first company that will hire you. Also, don't buy a bunch of diving stuff because you will not need it until you breakout. If you make Lead Tender you might start looking for a diving helmet, but until then just get the basics: 6 inch cresent wrench, good work knife, steel toe boots, hard hat, work jeans or Carharts, safety glasses, leather gloves.

5. Anything you would tell you when you were getting started?
Be prepared to travel to where the work is. Always say "Yes Sir". Ask questions about the work and the tasks at hand after thinking about ways to do the task. Don't volunteer any extra info about you that could be embarrassing. Do your job, don't gossop or whine, don't disrespect the seasoned hands, don't touch anyones stuff without asking, don't kiss ass, Never, never, never touch or drop the divers helmet.

I would really appreciate any help your willing to give. I'm basicaly pullin everything together to make this happen. Is it worth it ?

 

[Wetsuit 4 life]

"Are there any good channels to secure work post training?"

For me in Vancouver the best thing to do was go to all the local onshore diving companies and start handing out my resume and copies of cards and just talk to the staff then follow up a few weeks later.

For offshore companies such as oil and gas production and pipe laying i have no idea, i have heard of people flying off to Indian and other areas where there is work and trying to find work then.

 

[muddiver]

For U.S. offshore and local companies it's the same program, go to their office with a resume and your tools ready for work.

 

[Davidstealey3]

i would avoid divers academy international or the comerical divers academy.

Divers Academy
they have moved the campus from the deleware river to a quarry. so instead of doing the training in the dark water that would benefit you, you get to see and that is not the best thing in the world. but the traing you would recive could be good. when i graduated they had some good instructors, but i have no idea whats going on there now.

Commerical Divers Academy
this is run like the military. you have calastenics (sorry for the bad spelling) to do every morning. if this does not bother you than good. also they will give you a card for underwater welding, burning, and ndt, that are not worth the paper they are put on. they are specific classes elsewhere out there to truely be certified in this area. they will teach you how to do it at dive school, but you are in no way a certified in them. i can show you how to wled, but that does not make you a certified welder type crash course is what you get.

you really need to do your homework and look into all the schools to pick what is best for you. i did not get any type of job placement help when i left. they did not do this for the students. you have to know what you want to do before you get out. and the companies wont talk to you till your last month of classes about coming to work for them.

muddiver is right. you have to be willing to go where the work is, and show up ready to start work before the interview. if you go in wearing a suit and tie you wont get the job. but show up in work clothes with your steel toes on and tools behind you and you will most likely start the next day.

some schools will make you buy a **** load of gear you will hardly use. i had to get an oralnasal and o nose pluger for a kirby that i never used in class. so that was money spent i didnt need to spend. a lot of my class mates bought there bailout and reg, and didnt get them till the last week of class. i didnt buy them cause we own a shop and i would of got them cheeper than they were selling them. they might want you to but a wetsuit and drysuit, but dont. get the drysuit for the class and wear it the whole time. it will cost you more, but you can go get a wetsuit after you get a job lined up if you will need to have one. i did some dives in the ohio river and the guys i dove with wore tshirts and coveralls. water was warm enough for this durring the time i was there.

hope this helps you out some. if you would like to know more of my experience, send me a pm and i will give you my number and we can talk about it some