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Divers work underwater at sea, or in rivers, lakes, canals and reservoirs.
You could work: evenings / weekends / bank holidays; away from home
Depending on the type of diving you do, you could:
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:
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.
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.
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:
You'll need to:
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.
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.