Underwater welding pros-cons

By sbcmweb (****)

Date 12-04-2008 01:40

Well, you already know what's here in Michigan....... Underwater welding is dangerous & technical, but pays very well on the right jobs.

Anything's better than trying to tough it out in this dismal economy here in the Winter Wonderland.

Man, I HATE winter. :-(

S.W.

By jrw159

Date 12-04-2008 01:47

Bear,
If you have not already done so, do a search on this subject because there is some good info in past discussions. I beleive age and conditioning are the biggest factors if memory serves me corrctly. Well, putting aside fear of tight spaces. LOL

jrw159 :-)

By sbcmweb (****)

Date 12-04-2008 02:28

From what I have heard, It's VERY physically demanding & you have to be trained to dive, & be able to handle the rigors of doing that before even striking an arc. Still, those guys make some killer money. You just have to be conditioned for the job, just like you said John.

For the right guy, a good paycheck. S.W.

By tigrooter (**)

Date 12-04-2008 02:36

talk to cactus he use to do it. I live in louisiana and know some that have done it and quit. One man quit after he was attacked by a squid in the philippines and almost killed.

By pypLynr (***)

Date 12-04-2008 03:46

My uncle used to do it. He was the back up for the first string dive welder on a drill rig. The top man went down on a dive and got eat up by some barracudas. My uncle told me that when the boss came to tell him about the accident and that he was now the first string diver , he told him to fire up the chopper. He quit right then and hasn't dive welded since. The moral to the story is - just make sure you understand all the hazards of your chosen profession.Also, you might want to research that school. 99% of dive welding schools require 100% of the tuition up front, before classes start. It is also hard on your health ,too .You breathe large amounts of nitrogen and from what I understand , that effects your nervous system greatly after prolonged exposure. I'm no expert but I looked into it once for myself. Good money, but it means nothing if I ain't around to spend it. -Just my two cents -

By chris2698 (****)

Date 12-04-2008 11:09

15,000 forget it there is a place in Louisiana it's a votech school so it is funded alot by the state and I think it cost about 4 gran or less.
Look up Louisiana technical colleges in like lake charles Louisiana it's somewhere around there and it;s the same as if you were to pay 15 gran to go to a private school. My dads friend use to dive and weld back in the early 80's this guy convinced me not to do it although in the early 80's there was no OSHA so I'm sure it was way way more dangerous. This guy had a problem with nitrogen bubbles in his joints of his shoulder. being 39 I think you said is probally not a bad age to get into diving because someone else on here would dives and welds down here in Louisiana said the older you are maybe better because I guess if you're young they'll throw you into some crazy stuff. I worked with a guy once who was a diver and he said something like diving down a hole like 3 or 4 ft in diameter and it being like 150 ft down something crazy. I don't know if it was true but if it is that could be some of the stuff you have to do.

Chris

By eekpod

Date 12-04-2008 11:33

Also be aware that just because you pass the school, you still don't have any dive "work experience". You will have weld expereince, but not alot under water only training. You will start out as a tender/ red hat. That's how all the new guys start, so that you get some experience with the gear and equiptment and how to operate it. I'm not talking welding machines, I'm talking compressors, dive chambers, hard hat maintence and such. Being older and more mature( i'm asuming here) will work to your advantage, because most new guys are young and cocky, but they can also carry the load easier than some us older guys.
I did it for a short while 10-12 years ago, although I didn't go the welder route, I was an underwater inspector. We didn't have any inspection jobs so you go out and do any other job that comes up, looking for pipe lines, changing out valves, locating lost equiptment, whatever needs to be done, if you are a diver you'll do it, sometimes they'll need a welder and you MAY go on that job, but remember the bigger outfits have lots of other people already so you'll be at the end of the line.
Most of your time will be offshore, away from the family. Sometimes on a small 100' boat, sometimes on an oil companys rig with direct TV, it depends on the project. Unless you dive deep, thats where the big $$ is but the gulf is not deep unless you go WAY out. But again, there not going to send a new guy down on a deep job in the beginnning, your going to have to prove yourself, and stick to it.

If I were you, I wouldn't do it after having been there, but thats just my opion. Don't listen to all the info the schools will tell you. Higher education these days is a business. There commodity is education, thats what they sell as opposed to TV's or groceries. I don't think they will lie, but they will embellish as needed. They want you to go thruogh their program and make money. You should contact the dive companys themselves and see if there hiring first, ( because with oil prices down they don't do alot of maintence) then ask about the rates and healthcare and what sign on bonuses they may have. When you talk to the schools they will tell you what companys they work with in the gulf.
Good Luck, Chris

By scrappywelds (***)

Date 12-04-2008 23:17

WE HAVE A GUY A THE PLANT THAT WAS A COMMERICAL DIVER / WELDER. HE TOLD US ALL ABOUT IT. IT IS VERY DEMANDING JOB, SCHOOLING IS DEMANDING, AND AFTER YOU GET OUT OF SCHOOL YOU WILL HAVE TO BE A BOTTLE TENDER / HELPER, THEN A HEAD TENDER, AND LAST A DIVER.

By Brian T. Beard (**)

Date 12-05-2008 04:28 Edited 12-05-2008 04:31

One of the best schools out there is out here in Washington State. Diving Institute of Technology( diversinstitute.com ), It is 30 weeks long and about $18,000. The school in Louisiana is cheap yes but there is a waiting list a mile long. Also, a dive school has "underwater welding and cutting" as a course, but the fact of the matter is that it is a dive school not a welding school. As I see you don't need welding school after 22 yrs, but a course on underwater would help. Adding, if you would like to go on a forum to here about some of the stuff/ happenings go to offshorediver.com. That site is not half of what this site is but it will give you an aspect of what the dive industry is like. I just hope you don't plan on going to the Gulf of Mexico to work and make alot of money, if that is the case it will take along time to pay for dive school and all the gear you need. There are land jobs that pay more then the Gulf. And as posted earlier, yes you do sit sideline/ tender for about 2 yrs before you hit the water. The average time you can do deep diving (100 ft. +) is 5-6 yrs. If you want to get wet fast look towards inland diving, (dams, ship repair, ect.) I have done some jobs with the Navy Divers and have been offered jobs throught the contracting center, so that is how I know a little about what you are asking. Better be able to run about 4-miles with no problem. Very demanding job - Strength & Stamina, both mind and body, God will take care of your soul. Good Luck, if you want you can PM me if you have any questions.

Brian