Scuba diving is an exciting and rewarding experience that can also be financially rewarding. Whether you are looking to make a career out of scuba diving or supplement your income with additional scuba-related jobs, there are many high paying opportunities for certified divers. From shipwreck exploration to underwater photography, those with the necessary skills can find lucrative work in the field of scuba diving. In this blog post, we’ll explore a few of the best and most lucrative high paying scuba jobs, as well as the experience and qualifications needed to pursue these opportunities. Whether you already possess the skills or are looking to develop them, there are plenty of job opportunities available. With dedication and the right training, you can find yourself enjoying the breathtaking beauty of the underwater world while earning a good wage. Let’s dive in and explore the possibilities!
- Underwater Photographer. Salary: $35,000 – $60,000.
- Golf Ball Diver. Salary: $36,000-55,000.
- Commercial Diving. Salary: $54,750 – $93,910.
- Marine Archaeologist. Salary: $39,000 – $72,000.
- Public Safety Diver. Salary: $39,000.
How much do scuba divers make?
The diving industry offers a variety of high-paying positions for you to consider, whether you want to spend some time living on a boat or go home after work. You can choose a career more wisely if you are aware of what each career path entails. Here are some high-paying diving careers for you to pursue:
Saturation diving
You can spend weeks at a time exploring the ocean by saturation diving. Although you might spend 28 days underwater, you should have one to two months off after your diving mission. On the job, you can anticipate working with a group of divers who rely on one another for their underwater expeditions. As a saturation diver, oil well installation and intervention tasks may make up a portion of your responsibilities.
A career in saturation diving requires both physical and mental fitness, just like other diving jobs do. It’s crucial to possess the mental fortitude to maintain composure and use the techniques you learned from your extensive saturation diver training when necessary because you may encounter life-threatening situations. Despite the high level of risk involved, this job offers you a competitive salary.
HAZMAT diving
Hazardous materials are removed from various bodies of water by HAZMAT divers. When you fix sewer pipes that are deep underwater, you can anticipate that as a HAZMAT driver you will handle toxic waste like raw sewage. Additionally, you might come across radioactive material, wet cement, and oil sludge.
With this diving career, you must exercise a lot of caution. For instance, you must receive immunizations and go through rigorous decontamination procedures. Additionally, you should anticipate using pricey safety equipment at work. Additionally, HAZMAT divers don varying-thickness suits according to their environment. To prevent leaks or exposure to potentially dangerous materials while submerged, each suit is pressurized and sealed. These safety measures ensure that you are looked after both before and after the dive.
Nuclear diving
Nuclear divers dive into radiation-exposed bodies of water. While all diving careers involve some risk, a nuclear diving career exposes you to a more hazardous setting. Due to its radioactivity, diving into water that initially seems safe could still be dangerous for you. Fortunately, nuclear divers are closely monitored for radiation levels to ensure diver safety. When they face danger, theyre trained to return to topside.
You can complete this task successfully if you have the necessary tools and abilities. You get to experience the exploration, operations, and technical aspects of diving inside a nuclear reactor in addition to the risks this job entails.
Off-shore commercial diving
You can get a good introduction to the commercial diving industry by working as an offshore commercial diver. If you possess the necessary credentials, you can pursue this career at the entry-level.
As an offshore commercial diver, some of your responsibilities might include rigging, welding a pipeline, or measuring the distance between various materials to be placed underwater. Your exact duties depend on the work that needs completion.
It’s also not worth mentioning that due to inclement weather and off-seasons, this profession doesn’t provide a consistent flow of work. Despite this, working here can help you assess your suitability for a career in commercial diving.
Inland diving
Compared to offshore diving, inland diving offers divers a more consistent work schedule, fewer risks, and shorter workdays. In contrast to other diving jobs that require spending a lot of time on a boat, inland diving typically allows you to leave work at the end of the day.
You could work as an inland diver in a lake, on a river, on a bridge, or on a dock. Salvaging, topside welding, cleaning water intake and outtake systems, inspecting designs, or repairing bridges or piers are typically among your duties. Inland divers, like offshore divers, might also do some welding and fix pipelines or ship hulls.
Naval diving
Various military branches employ naval divers. Naval divers receive training and perform duties similar to those of an inland or offshore commercial diver. Naval divers must adhere to strict guidelines because they are employed by the military. On this career path, you might perform tasks like salvage, underwater welding, and marine equipment maintenance.
Scientific diving
A career in scientific diving allows you to study aquatic plants and animals. You use special equipment as a scientific diver to conduct underwater research and gather samples. Usually, you can get a job at a big company that does underwater research.
Military and police diving
Both military and police divers work for the government. Military divers help with underwater demolition, search and rescue, and bomb defusing. Typically, theyre part of the special forces. On the other hand, police divers search for materials or cues that support a criminal investigation. For instance, during an underwater search, police divers might come across a dead body or a weapon used in a crime.
Underwater photography
Underwater photographers, also referred to as media divers, use waterproof cameras and equipment to capture images of marine life, coral reefs, caves, and shipwrecks. While underwater photographers typically begin their careers as independent contractors, they may later launch their own businesses or work for another underwater photographer. They could also take pictures for a resort’s marketing as part of their job. Each of these employment opportunities enables them to develop crucial underwater craft expertise.
In addition to having basic photography skills, underwater photographers must be able to adapt to a variety of underwater circumstances that could change the lighting, staging, or color of their images.
Aquarium and pool diving
Aquarium divers work for zoos, theme parks and recreational merchants. They clean and look after a variety of underwater animals. Theme parks employ pool divers who train a variety of marine animals and provide entertainment for visitors.
Tips for pursuing a diving career
Diving is one of those professions that is just not for everyone, especially deep-sea diving. But if you are physically fit, committed, and enthusiastic about the water, heeding these advice will help you get started on a fascinating career path:
Top 5 Jobs in the Commercial Diving Industry
FAQ
Where do scuba instructors make the most money?
Dive jobs on cruise ships, liveaboards (ego in the Maldives), and some other resorts around the world are places where you can find fixed salaries. The average fixed diving salaries range from 1000 to 1500 US dollars per month.
Is scuba diving a good career?
Your income as a dive professional can range from INR 15,000 to INR 75,000, plus any commissions you may earn on the sale of equipment and upselling of additional courses. Given that he has the necessary training and experience, an Indian divemaster can earn anywhere between INR 15,000 and INR 35,000.
Can you make a living as a diver?
- Working in the Recreational Dive Industry. …
- Commercial Diving. …
- Public Service and Military Divers. …
- Science and Medicine. …
- Treasure Diver/Underwater Prospector. …
- Scuba Diving Beyond the Waves. …
- Giving Back as a Scuba Diver. …
- Considering Scuba-Related Career Choices.
