Question Questions about age/schools/tuition/housing/industry/hurdles

[ScubaUlfraed]

31, turning 32 this year. At a crossroads. Currently exploring career options. Looking to enlist and then have the Post-9/11 GI Bill pay for dive school when I'm out, but I'm also considering taking out loans and starting immediately, and that boils down to the age factor. Called Ocean Corporation recently, and was told that most people start in their early 20's, that it's harder to get on board with a company past the age of 35. Is 31/2 too old to start with a school? And if I'd be going for a 4 year contract in the service, would 35/6 be too old? If I start at 35/6, did the school, would I really be wasting tens of thousands of dollars on a career field I'd be starting too late in?

Secondly, I'm considering the different schools I could go to. All of these options would involve me moving, so factors of housing/transportation would be a consideration. Also anyone who's been to these, how expensive was the rent and what were the transportation options?
-The Ocean Corporation: The de facto choice, as I'm fairly familiar with Houston and have friends there. M-F, four hours per day, 7-8 weeks. Fairly straightforward.
-DIT: I hear good things but I'm told it's also fairly expensive, among the other options.
-SBCC: I also hear nothing but good things. 2 semesters, probably full time studying, and the resources/facilities look pretty robust. I do have to wonder what the cost of tuition/living would be

I figure, like with everything, "you get what you pay for", but I wanted to ask people with experience.

Thirdly, I wanted to ask, where do commercial divers usually live? I imagine it's close by to whatever company they're with, they go where the work is, but is that just an inaccurate assumption?

Fourth, is Commercial Diving an in-demand field, or will I have trouble finding work, especially considering that companies, in all likelihood, may well prefer younger candidates?

Fifth, I hear that being a tender is kind of hell, hear you do it for maybe 1-2 years before actually getting IN the water. Can people tell me what it's like, and how you managed to get through that period? Are there OTHER hurdles or disillusionments you had to face?

And finally? I'm not one of those guys who's interested in Commercial Diving because of the "allure of pay" or whatever. I'd do it because it looks like a legitimately cool career field. Scuba diving, years ago, felt unbelievable, and I feel like doing diving, for a living, could be something I could actually engage with.

Anyway, thanks for reading all of my questions. I'm extremely new, so, sorry if these came off as stupid questions.

 

[Akimbo]

And if I'd be going for a 4 year contract in the service, would 35/6 be too old?

Probably. Definitely at the late end of the scale. Most 35YO divers are starting to think about moving into diver supervisor rolls.

Have you considered enlisting in the Navy and trying to get an ND (Navy Diver) rating? That would give you a 4 year head start, or you might learn that being a working diver is not for you. There are other ratings where you can get Scuba training, like EOD.

Fourth, is Commercial Diving an in-demand field, or will I have trouble finding work, especially considering that companies, in all likelihood, may well prefer younger candidates?

Commercial diving, especially in the offshore oil industry, is very cyclic and not very family-friendly. Are you even sure that you will like diving?

 

[ScubaUlfraed]

Probably. Definitely at the late end of the scale. Most 35YO divers are starting to think about moving into diver supervisor rolls.

Would you say that 31/2 would be getting in just in time?

Have you considered enlisting in the Navy and trying to get an ND (Navy Diver) rating? That would give you a 4 year head start, or you might learn that being a working diver is not for you. There are other ratings where you can get Scuba training, like EOD.

A great many times, but Navy divers/EOD age cutoff is 30. That dream died the moment I hit 31 last year. Between the age DQ and the Navy hitting their enlistment quotas it feels I have as much reason to believe I'd get an age waiver as I would believe I'm going to win the lottery, regardless of my physical shape.

Commercial diving, especially in the offshore oil industry, is very cyclic and not very family-friendly. Are you even sure that you will like diving?

Given I'm not interested in starting a family, that's a nonfactor. Spent most of my life being unsure what to do with my life, so when I know I want to do this, I know.

 

[ofg-1]

First, find a diving doctor, get a physical including a back evaluation. If you cant pass a lower back physical, it will complicate finding a job.
.

 

[bmag78]

Would you say that 31/2 would be getting in just in time?


A great many times, but Navy divers/EOD age cutoff is 30. That dream died the moment I hit 31 last year. Between the age DQ and the Navy hitting their enlistment quotas it feels I have as much reason to believe I'd get an age waiver as I would believe I'm going to win the lottery, regardless of my physical shape.


Given I'm not interested in starting a family, that's a nonfactor. Spent most of my life being unsure what to do with my life, so when I know I want to do this, I know.

If it's scuba you like why not consider working your way towards instructor?
I worked commercial dive support for years and not a single diver had any interest whatsoever in scuba. They were welders and pipefitters and...... Who just happened to work underwater.
Scuba and commercial are apples and bananas.
Both activities happen underwater, similarities end there.

 

[211ratsbud]

If it's scuba you like why not consider working your way towards instructor?
I worked commercial dive support for years and not a single diver had any interest whatsoever in scuba. They were welders and pipefitters and...... Who just happened to work underwater.
Scuba and commercial are apples and bananas.
Both activities happen underwater, similarities end there.

This is pretty much accurate. I will add that I know a ton of commercial guys who personally enjoy scuba, and few are deep technical CCR divers. I work as a commercial diver myself and I enjoy technical diving and run a dive charter in my off time.

 

[SlugLife]

I'm neither an scuba-instructor or commercial-diver, so take this with a healthy dose of sodium-choride-water.

Called Ocean Corporation recently, and was told that most people start in their early 20's, that it's harder to get on board with a company past the age of 35.

This sounds like potential nonsense or age-discrimination to me. Scuba (or commercial-scuba) isn't like a professional sport, plenty of people are scuba-diving into their 70s and perhaps later.

I've done complete career-resets before. I can tell you, these career-resets sting, because regardless of the fact that you were a "Sr XXX", when you start career Y, you usually starts as a "Jr YYY." That said, you can often use your knowledge and work-ethic to work your way up a bit faster than someone fresh out of college.

would I really be wasting tens of thousands of dollars on a career field I'd be starting too late in?

My 2nd career got me to "Sr Software Engineer" and making decent money in a shorter time than my peers. Whether it was a "wise" investment or not is immaterial, because it's what I wanted to do. If military funding is paying for it, then the sunk-cost is perhaps less relevant.

The caveat here is that SCUBA Instruction (I don't know about commercial-scuba) reminds me heavily of junior-artists. It's like artists who pursue a career "for the love" and they love it so much they're willing to work for free to get a foot in the door. That's problematic, because that also means lots of people are aware of that, and then expect junior artists to work for free or near-free, and will simply move on to the next artist they can exploit.

And finally? I'm not one of those guys who's interested in Commercial Diving because of the "allure of pay" or whatever. I'd do it because it looks like a legitimately cool career field.

Bingo. This somewhat proves my previous point.

The other thing I might point out, is that SCUBA for a job, would be very unlike recreational scuba. There's no choosing locations with great visibility, tropical fish, warm waters, and so on, Depending on what jobs you take or are assigned to, you might be spending weeks or months underwater, in remote locations, etc. In many ways, it's like a construction job with the added complication and danger of being underwater.

 

[Heliumthief]

Early 30’s isn’t quite too old to begin a commercial diving career, but you would definitely have a restricted career path, which might not be an issue, depending on your goals…

What I mean is that you would be fairly unlikely to become a Sat Diver offshore, say…..which isn’t everyone’s goal obviously. By the time you are certified, then you have to spend a few years at the bottom rung of the ladder learning your trade before you can really start to be trusted to do the work asked. While at that first rung, you will be the New Guy, a grunt, doing what you’re told, when you’re told to, lifting heavy objects etc.

There‘s a reason why offshore companies generally wouldn’t take someone over, say, 35 as a new start, and that’s the reason. It’s a very physical job, both in and out of the water (and as the new guy, it’ll be mostly out of the water) with long, irregular hours, and the guy telling you what to do could be younger than you…a lot of guys can’t take that, and when you get into your 40’s, keeping the requisite standard of fitness to pass the medicals is a full time job…

I personally have been diving for 30 years, started when I was 21, and I reckon it took me 10 years to amass the knowledge and competence to confidently say I was ‘ A Diver’, but everyone is different….

and of course, there’s no rule book for this anyway….you might not become a Sat Diver, but you could end up working on Windfarms in Korea and have a wonderful life…take everyones advice into account and do whatever feels right for you…

(and scuba should be banned for commercial diving. There’s plenty of fatalities that prove that…)

 

[Dwmathews88]

31, turning 32 this year. At a crossroads. Currently exploring career options. Looking to enlist and then have the Post-9/11 GI Bill pay for dive school when I'm out, but I'm also considering taking out loans and starting immediately, and that boils down to the age factor. Called Ocean Corporation recently, and was told that most people start in their early 20's, that it's harder to get on board with a company past the age of 35. Is 31/2 too old to start with a school? And if I'd be going for a 4 year contract in the service, would 35/6 be too old? If I start at 35/6, did the school, would I really be wasting tens of thousands of dollars on a career field I'd be starting too late in?

Secondly, I'm considering the different schools I could go to. All of these options would involve me moving, so factors of housing/transportation would be a consideration. Also anyone who's been to these, how expensive was the rent and what were the transportation options?
-The Ocean Corporation: The de facto choice, as I'm fairly familiar with Houston and have friends there. M-F, four hours per day, 7-8 weeks. Fairly straightforward.
-DIT: I hear good things but I'm told it's also fairly expensive, among the other options.
-SBCC: I also hear nothing but good things. 2 semesters, probably full time studying, and the resources/facilities look pretty robust. I do have to wonder what the cost of tuition/living would be

I figure, like with everything, "you get what you pay for", but I wanted to ask people with experience.

Thirdly, I wanted to ask, where do commercial divers usually live? I imagine it's close by to whatever company they're with, they go where the work is, but is that just an inaccurate assumption?

Fourth, is Commercial Diving an in-demand field, or will I have trouble finding work, especially considering that companies, in all likelihood, may well prefer younger candidates?

Fifth, I hear that being a tender is kind of hell, hear you do it for maybe 1-2 years before actually getting IN the water. Can people tell me what it's like, and how you managed to get through that period? Are there OTHER hurdles or disillusionments you had to face?

And finally? I'm not one of those guys who's interested in Commercial Diving because of the "allure of pay" or whatever. I'd do it because it looks like a legitimately cool career field. Scuba diving, years ago, felt unbelievable, and I feel like doing diving, for a living, could be something I could actually engage with.

Anyway, thanks for reading all of my questions. I'm extremely new, so, sorry if these came off as stupid questions.

I’m 34 and went to ocean corp last year. Call me or text me anytime. I can answer all of your questions. If I don’t answer send a text as I might be in the water 252-619-8309