Leisure

Diver

Divers work underwater at sea, or in rivers, lakes, canals and reservoirs.

Annual Salary

variable

Working hours

42 to 44 variable

You could work: evenings / weekends / bank holidays; away from home

What's it all about?

Day-to-day tasks

Depending on the type of diving you do, you could:

  • explore, survey, build or maintain offshore oil and gas drilling rigs and pipelines
  • carry out underwater repairs, demolition or salvage on civil engineering projects
  • work in fish farming
  • perform stunts or do underwater filming for media projects
  • do scientific research or underwater archaeology
  • search for and recover missing persons or evidence for the police
  • lead recreational SCUBA dives or teach SCUBA diving skills in the leisure sector

Working environment

You may need to wear protective clothing.

You could work underwater or in an office.

Your working environment may be cold, dirty and physically and emotionally demanding.

You can get into this job through:

  • working towards this role
  • applying directly
  • training with a professional body
Work

You may be able to apply for diver training through your employer, for example if you're in the police or armed forces. Once qualified, you could work with an underwater unit.

Similarly, if you work in oceanography or marine biology, your employer may put you through specialist diver training, so that you can carry out research tasks under the sea.

Direct application

You could apply directly for jobs if you've got the relevant diving and safety qualifications.

You'll also need experience relevant to the industry you're working in. For example, you'll need a background in welding to work as an offshore underwater engineer, fixing pipelines.

Other routes

You'll usually do training with a commercial organisation or professional body to get your diving qualifications.

Training must be approved by the Health and Safety Executive. Examples include courses offered by the:

Requirements and restrictions

You'll need to:

  • pass a medical check

More information

Career tips

You might find it useful to have experience of recreational scuba diving before training as a commercial diver.

Many diving schools offer tests to help you decide whether you'll be suited to working underwater.

Further information

You can find out more about commercial and leisure diving careers through the:Health and Safety Executive; International Marine Underwater Contractors Association; Professional Association of Diving Instructors; British Sub-Aqua Club

You'd normally be self-employed as a commercial diver.

With experience and further training, you could move into roles with extra responsibility and more pay, like life support technician or diving supervisor.

If working in a dive centre you could move into a management role.

You could also set up a business, or work in a related field where diving skills are necessary, like swimming pool engineering or maintenance.

Skills required and how your skills match up

What skills are required?

  • to be thorough and pay attention to detail
  • the ability to use, repair and maintain machines and tools
  • the ability to accept criticism and work well under pressure
  • persistence and determination
  • to be flexible and open to change
  • patience and the ability to remain calm in stressful situations
  • knowledge of building and construction
  • excellent verbal communication skills
  • knowledge of physics
  • to be able to carry out basic tasks on a computer or hand-held device
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