Hi, my name is Mark Dutton. I am a 34 year old, novice recreational diver. As it turns out, diving is my true passion. It's just taken me until now to realize this. Every time I'm in the water, I feel at home and always look forward to returning. I have no experience welding. I admit that I do not fully understand what is involved in underwater welding. This may be a long shot; but, what opportunities does a 34 year old recreational diver with limited diving experience have if he would like to pursue training to become an underwater welder? Any advice on training in specialized schools, military training, etc. would be greatly appreciated. Thank you for your time.
Sincerely,
Mark Dutton
brownsfan770@yahoo.com
I can tell you (not from actual experience) but straight from some commercial diver's mouths that at 34 you'd better be very motivated. You most likely would have to attend one of the recognized commercial diver's schools such as Ocean corp in Houston, Tx or some of the others around the US and Europe. Then you have to apprentice or work as a tender for awhile before they let you 'break out' and dive on your own for any sort of project in the field. That doesn't mean you cannot do it but that its tough if you are in your 30's with no experience other than rec. diving.
Rec. diving and commercial diving are two very different worlds. Just like rec. flying and mil. flying (my forte) are two whole different ballgames altogether and barely related. Just my nickle's worth but go for its your dream. There is no age limit I don't think but what your body and mind can handle. Call some of the comm. dive schools' because I was interested as well and being 42 yrs. young I was told that it would be very tough to break in the comm. diving biz and make a living.
Dear Sir,
Thank you very much for your honest reply. I appreciate your wisdom. I have requested information from the Ocean Corporation and the National Polytechnic College of Science. I am looking forward to seeing what each of the programs has to offer. Fortunately, I have kept myself in excellent physical condition. Mentally, the challenge is very appealing to me as motivation. At the very least, it will be an opportunity to build up my dive hours to open doors down the road for other recreational opportunities. Thank you again for your time!
Sincerely,
Mark Dutton
Mark,
No problem, like I wrote, I am no expert but had inquired about the same thing not too long ago and that was the answer I got. Good Luck to you too!
Oh yeah,
As far as underwater welding goes, its an interesting skill that takes specialized training as you might guess. How hard it is I cannot say but that if you can do it you open doors in the oil industry and nuclear repair fields as well. But that it takes years probably to build up a reputation and hours for experience. Again, good luck to you! There are discussions here and elsewhere (google it?) talking about underwater welding techniques.
Mark,
I am a non working commercial diver right now.I agree with Ason1965 for not working in the industry he seems to be well informed. To add to his post... the diving industry itself is certainly at a low as far as job opportunities. Also the way the industry works is that you need so many hours at a certain depth to maintain anything above category 1 diver. So many experienced divers have lost there credentials and when new jobs do open up, those divers with much more experience will be the first ones hired. As far as underwater welding.. I believe that there are some schools that specialize in it but to begin with you should be a certified topside welder. Remember commercial divers are not always in the water and any trade skills are used topside and will help you find that first job.. ( if you can??? )
Ken.
NDT/Q.C. comm diver (cat 1)
Topic Welders and Inspectors / Education & Training / Looking for advice on becoming an underwater welder
